Quote:
Originally Posted by louie
Hey there guys, new here obviously. I'm looking at my first real car of my own. I've been driving around a 1995 Mazda 929 until now.
I live in MI so the AWD is kind of a benefit. It's either this or a 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT 5spd, and anything more than a foot or two of snow in the Fiero (even with snow tires) and I'm done.  Still going to look into them both, but I wanted to see what advice you guys could give me. The SVX is being sold at a pretty decent price.
Anyway, the car is a 1992 SVX, I believe the color is Claret. It has 135,000 miles on it, and has a bit of front end damage (both fenders, the hood is a little bit dented up, gonna need new headlights/corners).
I know the wheel bearings and transmission are known to go bad. With 135k, I'm sure I have a bit to worry about. She also said something about the alternator, but that shouldn't be too big of problem for me.
What exactly am I looking for? How can I tell if the transmission is on it's last leg or if the wheel bearings are about to kick the bucket? Are there any other things that I really need to pay special attention to? I don't feel like buying into a complete wreck. I appreciate any of your help.
edit: Uploaded the pics from the ad. Not the best, but I guess it'll do.  The fender damage and hood damage is pretty evident, but repairable. I don't mind buying the car cheap and putting some money into it to make it look good as long as it's in good running condition. |
Louie
First and foremost you are very welcome to the Network. It's nice to have you here and I hope we can help you.
Next, check out this buying guide:
http://www.subaru-svx.net/photos/user.php?How-To|14346
Like a lot of helpful information, it can be found in the How-To section above top right. Spend some time doing research there.
As Keith says, if the snow is deep enough, the car will glide up on it and lose traction. [Now Keith is from Texas, and they know bugger-all about snow down there!
] You can offset this by taller winter tires, and the car is genuinely excellent on traction if you have enough ground clearance.
I would advise be wary about how much it will cost to fix up that particular car, from the pictures. The driver side looks to me like the inner wing, the valance, is bent or pushed back. That would need straightening before a replacement fender would fit. Plus the beam behind the bumper will be bent or crushed pretty bad. I'm not trying to put you off it, I love SVXs.
However get an expert body guy to look at it before you do your sums. It is bad news to buy a cheap car, and then have to put so much money into it to rectify, that you have now paid over the odds than if you bought a good running car not needing repair.
Just weigh up the costs carefully, OK?
Best of luck with it.
Joe