That grey SVX has been relisted on ebay. I went and had a look at it last week for the winning bidder. But then they changed their mind and pulled out of the deal. So here's my report in the hope that it will be interesting for anyone else who is thinking of bidding on it.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=160231450139
Overall it's a nice tidy car, but it needs a bit of love and attention. The bodywork is straight, the interior is nice and there are no serious mechanical issues that I could find. There are no mods apart from an aftermarket immobiliser system, most likely required for insurance.
Identification
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The license plate is G16RAG, this is a vanity plate. The windows are etched with K154BRX, that must have been the original plate. The chassis number is JF1CXWAR0EH002128. The Applied model code is CXWAK7E. The Option code is BL. The Trim code is 220. The Colour code is 222. The Engine type is EG33DNX1DE. The Transmission type is TZ102YP1BA. This all matches up with the registration document.
Exterior
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The paintwork is very good as far as I could tell, Charcoal grey with a black roof. There are some minor scratches. There are very few stone chips on the bonnet. The hood ornament is slightly damaged by water. The front wiper arms have surface rust. There is a bubble of rust on the rear left wheel arch and a small paint chip on the rear right wheel arch. The front right wheel arch has a slight paint scuff. The boot lid is a bit faded and has an approx 5 by 2 inch scuff mark in the centre of the back edge.
The front indicator on the drivers side has stress fractures but is not cracked. The waterfall grill is faded. The lights are good and all bulbs work. There is condensation in the rear lights.
The windows are bronze tinted and look very nice. The front passenger window has roller scratches.
There is a small tear in the rubber seal on the top corner of the driver's door. But it seals OK. There is a 0.5 inch hole in the rubber seal at the rear of the sunroof in the centre.
Wheels and tyres
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Front Left is a Pirelli P6000. Low tread. Will need replacing soon.
Front Right is a Pirelli P6000. Low tread. Will need replacing soon.
Rear Left is a Continental. Low tread. Underinflated. Poor condition.
Rear Right is a Dunlop. Medium tread.
Spare is present and unused.
Alloys are in very good condition but two are on backwards.
All wheel nuts are present and in good condition.
Jack and tools also present.
Mechanical
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The engine runs sweetly and the transmission works in all gears and modes. No additional trans cooler fitted.
The power steering works. Brake and steering fluid levels OK.
The oil is brown. The ATF is brown and smells a little burnt. The front diff fluid is brown but nice and thick.
The radiator appears to be filled with water. Didn't look like antifreeze. not quite full. No evidence of any overheating.
There is oil leaking from both rocker covers.
After test driving, there was smoke coming from left cat. Caused by ATF leaking from the trans and dripping onto the cat.
There is a little bit of oil leaking from the rear diff. There is ATF dripping from on the hoses to the stock transmission cooler.
The battery looks old but works good. There is some rust under the battery.
Air filter not too bad.
Shock absorbers seem OK.
I thought I could hear a slight squeal from the alternator bearings under load but I can't say for sure.
The exhaust looks OK.
The front CV boots look OK. Couldn't see the rear ones.
Test drive
==========
The car starts easily and drove very nicely. All gears worked. Power mode engages on kickdown. No binding. No slipping. No bearing noises or clicking from CV joints. No unpleasant bangs or rattles. No tappet noise. No exhaust smoke.
The brakes seem to work, but the pedal felt strange (very hard at first then suddenly soft and spongy). The ABS failure light kept coming on. I did a few hard stops but could not get the ABS to activate. I suspect there is a problem with it. I couldn't remember how to read the ABS codes.
No ECU codes stored. I couldn't remember how to check TCU codes.
Interior
========
The leather seats are good, but the driver's seat has a little bit of wear. Motorised function works. Seat heaters work.
There is a 1 inch hole in the carpet on the passenger side of the transmission tunnel where it has been rubbed by the seat lever.
The fabric covering the rear shelf has peeled off.
The steering column lower surround is missing.
The aircon works in all modes and blows hot and cold.
The vent under the clock is broken/missing.
The radio works and the original 12 disc changer is in the boot. The electric aerial is faulty. It goes most of the way up but needs to be pushed down by hand. The rear-window aerial is not connected - that is normal on UK cars, the UK stereo only takes one.
The headlamp washers work. The wipers work in all modes. All the dash lights work. The central locking works. The horn works. All the turn signals work.
The car has two master keys and one valet key that doesn't operate the boot and glovebox.
The sunroof works with a little push.
The driver's seatbelt says manufactured 1997. The passenger one says 1992.
All the electric windows work, but the Auto up/down feature on the drivers window does not.
The fake wood dash is in very nice condition with just a few minor scratches around the gear stick.
No evidence of any water getting inside.
There are some black floor mats in the boot. I assume they are original UK spec. They are not as nice as the JDM ones.
Documents
=========
Current registered owner is Chris Johnson of Birmingham. I don't recognise the name. He bought it from Vivian Gater, also of Birmingham in June 2005. I don't recognise that name either. There are 5 previous owners.
There are MOT documents from Jan 07.
Receipt showing oil change and repair to rear exhaust joint Jan 07.
Pass.
There are MOT documents from Feb 08.
Fail on passenger front shock and handbrake.
Advisory notice that right rear shock has slight leak.
Receipt showing both front shocks and handbrake shoes replaced
Pass.
Pre sales inspection report showing car in good overall condition. Notes paint respray on rear corner. I did not notice this.
There is also a 1993 owners manual.