Network name: svxcentric
Year: 1997
Trim: LSi
Drive: AWD
Color: Brilliant Red
Mileage: 103,XXX
Manufacture Date: 10/96
VIN: JF1CX8653VH100246
Comments: On 11/7/2009 I bought the SVX that was listed here:
http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=51890
Cosmetically very good for the age and miles. Just some stone chips on the nose and rear spoiler plus minor door dings and scuffs from parking lots. The plastic parts showed typical oxidation. The interior is beautiful. The only interior modifcation came from what looks like a dealer installed cell phone mount and remote antenna/repeater. Only wish the dealer had not screwed the mount directly into the side of the center console. Removing it will leave holes. The drivers side window switch cluster has a loose switch for the passenger rear window. Aside from this the interior is practically new.
Mechanically the car is in very good condition. I only found the following issues on my inspection:
Power steering whine (minor) - I observed a damp area under the power steering reservoir. The whine decreased significantly when the car was warm. I suspect that the 30 minute O-Ring fix listed on this forum will take care of it.
Shimmy under hard braking (major) - During the test drive I observed wheel shimmy under hard braking. Most likely this is warped front brake rotors although the seller thought that the rotors had been replaced recently. Light moderate braking had some puslsing but no shimmy. This is major because of safety but minor from a mechanical standpoint as the front rotors are easy to replace and I already planned to upgrade them anyway.
Clicking sound from rear at crusing speed (?) - On the ride home I noticed a faint to moderate clicking sownd (radio was off) coming from behind me. It sounded similar to the click when a cv joint is going bad. It was constant and varied in frequency with road speed. I really hope it isn't the rear diff but I haven't identified it yet. I'd appreciate it if anyone has ideas about this.
Jim