To Buy or Not To Buy..AYE!!
 

Here is my situation. I live in Columbus, Ohio and one of the local mazda/subaru dealerships in town has a 1994 SVX L for sale with 78,568 miles. They said they at least put a new clearcoat on it and the "complete" overview of the car they have on paper took them a whole hour to perform. They want around $10,900 for this car.

Next issue, on autotrader, someone has a 1996 SVX with 71,500 miles on it, but it is an LSi model with a sunroof (bonus!) and claims that it is in mint condition, he sounds like a nice guy. He is asking around $12,800 for the car.

The question: which to buy? I am a little concerned about the SVX at the dealership, they claim to not have to perform any repairs whatsoever on the SVX that was traded in. But, should I travel a couple hours and pay a little more for one from a private seller.

Decisions decisions..any helpful tips that anyone might be able to offer would be appreciated.

Thanks all!

Engage mr. nice guy personality

1. Take down the VINs for both SVXes.

From the look of the milage, on both, if the cars were not taken care of properly, are about to cost you more in tranny.

2. Call up 1800 SUBARU3.

3. Tell them that you are going to purchase these vehicles and would like to know if any major repairs have been preformed (tranny, engine, etc -- if it is big, it will show up on their system --like tranny rebuilt).

4. Take both cars out for a spin. See if you like the way it sounds.

5. Check the tires, check for any weird sounds or any missing parts on the car (I have a missing ash tray cover and dealer is asking for 90 USD for the part).

6. To be honest, I'd take the 96 over 94 but AWD will eat up more gas and more parts to fix if the transaxel goes south. In theory, 94 should eat less gas.

7. A little advise. I got mine in IL from a small dealer. Paid 4800 for 94 L with 74000 miles. But I have put in at least 1.5 times to fix the brakes, tranny and differentials, get new tires etc. So you DO get what you paid for. The book values on these runs around the figure that the dealer is pointing at.

8. Let me know which one you got.

Lwin
:D


Did i miss anything else guys?

Thanks!
 

Yeah, I drove the SVX at the dealer today, and there is a strange sound coming from the rear right that has me worried. But the 96' is in Indianopolis a couple hours away, so if I head over there that will mean I might have actually made a decision to get one of these lovely cars! Thanks for any other advise anyone may post.

My personal opinion: If the gentleman with the '96 has service records and the car is truly mint, I'd grab it (If I liked the color :) ). Also remember that Subaru will only have records on repairs that were done under their warranty. If the cars have had repairs out of warranty, Subaru will not have them in their "Star" system.

Re: Thanks!
 

Well, I hope you get it. It'll give me someone to stop and see, or possibly convoy up to Reading PA with at next year's meet. And, don't forget to sign up for the 10th anniversary meet in June 2K2! Over 100 SVXes have signed up so far.

Re: Thanks!
 

If it is a L (FWD), sound comming from the rear, I will not worry too much about -- I might be wrong here. It might be the tires. I had god knows what tires on my car which were bald when i got mine. I replaced them to Pirelli P6000S. Not a single noise at all.

Just a thought. Do a carfax check -- although it might not tell much.

Lwin

Noise?
 

< and there is a strange sound coming from the rear right that has me worried.>

....a bad bearing perchance? :confused: Don

Re: To Buy or Not To Buy..AYE!!
 

Honestly, I'd go for the '96. If the owner has records for the service done to the car, and it truly is in the condition he's claiming (mint), then it'd be worth the expense.

You mentioned hearing a noise from the rear of the '94. Yeah, it could be tires, but understand that the SVX can eat wheel bearings - especially when driven hard.

A well-cared-for SVX is worth the initial expense. It truly makes a world of difference in maintenance costs. My car was pampered, and after 121k miles has needed no major service.

And, the way I see it, there's no point to buying an SVX if it's FWD. In my opinion, you need the AWD to experience what the SVX is all about. Offering FWD was a desperate move to lower the price of the car.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

A FWD SVX is like... (as told to me by CRZ_MSL)
a Miata-- with an automatic transmission
a Dodge Viper-- with the fuel efficient 6-cylinder engine
a S2000-- with a 5KRPM redline
a Mercedes S500-- with cloth seats and manual windows

How could it be like a Miata if it's a thousand pounds heavier and FWD?
How could it be like a Viper if it's FWD?
How could it be like an S2000 if it's a thousand pounds heavier and FWD?
How could it be like an S500 if it's FWD?

In any case, I don't want any ONE of those cars - I want an SVX. To ME, an SVX means AWD. I'm not going to get into an AWD vs. FWD argument, because none of us who prefer one or the other is going to be convinced on this forum.

I know what AWD does for ME. I'm glad some of you are happy with FWD, but it's not MY cup of tea.

I don't WANT to compare the SVX to another car. It's one of a kind to ME. Bringing in comparisons means you're saying it lacks in a certain category, and to ME it's perfect.

mmm nothing like good Chinese food while reading about my car. My vote on the 94 is a bad bearing, figure ~200-250 bucks to get it fixed, and make SURE it is fixed right, these things can easily be "fixed" only to go bad in another 5k miles. I had that same rumbling sound when I bought my car, it was coming from one wheel, and based on my research, I knew it was a bearing.

Sure enough, I replaced it and bam the car now drives quietly. For the record, I would get the 96 AWD one if it were me doing it again.

-Raptor (my internet alter-ego, Mat just gets too damn confusing)

Hey Guys and Gals (if any),

Goto www.autotrader.com and type in SVX and just see how many are out there. I got 5 pages worth of hits. All years all price ranges.

Enjoy.

PS. There are a couple Pearlies out there also for those interested.

what is your problem mr. pockets?
 

whether the fwd option was an effort to make the car cheaper or not it does not lessen the experience of owning or driving an SVX. in fact in many ways it heightens the experience. less weight, better performance in some ways, and less to worry about mechanically. maybe i am taking your comment the wrong way and if am then i am sorry, but it sure did rub me the wrong way. when i bought my svx it didnt matter whether it was fwd or awd, i liked the car, the way it looked and the ponies backing it up. if i am not mistaken the svx used an 80 front and 20 rear split anyway. big deal!? i would really like to see you put your super duper awd svx against my barely a svx (because it is fwd). we will see who is laughing in the end. what the hell is wrong with some of you guys....first we dont want answer newbies questions now svx's with fwd are not TRUE svx's.............................i give up! :rolleyes:

Yeah, I know. Just got an e-mail back from the guy with a 94, one owner. Trouble is, he's all the way the heck out in Texas.

update
 

Just wanted to let you all know the current status of my adventure to aquire the elusive SVX...I have talked with the seller of the 96 Lsi and he assures me it is in great condition, here is also what he sent me via e-mail.....

*********************
I went to the Edmunds website and ran my car and the 94 you reference, here's what the site came up with:

1996 Subaru SVX 2 Dr LSi 4WD Coupe - Color:Red, Mileage:71,400, Condition:Clean, Avg wholesale $10,495, Avg Retail $13,299
1994 Subaru SVX 2 Dr L Coupe - Color:Red, Mileage:79,500, Condition:Clean, Avg wholesale $4,871, Avg Retail $6,824

As you can see there is a pretty big difference! I ran the CARFAX report and have pasted in the results, it came up clean.

The Transmission was replaced at 51k with the updated version(suppose to fix the problems SVX's have had in past) The interesting thing about this is that I was not having any problems with the transmission at the time. The dealer where I get my car serviced suggested that I get the new transmission before my warranty ran out. He said it was the smart thing to do because the updated version was better & more reliable than the version they built the car with. It didn't cost me a dime, so I had him go ahead and do it. I have have all the paper work. I've never had any problems at all.

Anyway, I hope all this answers your questions. If you have any other questions let me know!
*******************

This just sounds like a great deal. He says he is willing to let it go for around $12,000, which sounds fair to me. Thanks for all the input from everyone...by the way, didn't mean to stir up this obviously gruesome discussion about AWD vs FWD!! Thanks All!