No SVX for me....

#1 02-18-2002, 10:32 AM

Well, for those who have been following, I went up to CT on Saturday to get my SVX.

This car was demolished.

I swear I don't know how anyone could have abused the car so badly in only 56,000 miles. There wasn't one 6"x6" section anywhere on the car that wasn't dented or scratched to the primer.

To top it all off, whoever had it drug it against something putting two scrape marks the entire length of the driver's side rear quarter. At least 1/4" deep. That was the straw that broke the deal. They took plenty of pics for me, but "never noticed" that it was basically wrecked.

The rear end was stone chipped so badly you would have sworn that they drove it backwards on the highway.

How can you put big scratches completely through the paint under the spoiler on the trunklid??

It looked like they constantly kicked the doors shut.

I was in tears.

Sadly, I was still considering purchasing it because all the cosmetic things could be fixed. 2-3K in new paint job and I would be good to go.

Until I drove it.

Front end was waay loose. Wobbling noise from front right side like tie-rod ends or ball joints, steering was notchy, brakes were completely warped, and so on.

Worst part - tranny. When going from 2nd to 3rd at WOT, it made a sound similar to going over a rumble strip on the highway. Dr-dr-dr-dr-dr-dr, then shift. At that point I did it again... and again... couldn't get it to reproduce, but I was on a smooth part of the highway, so it was definately not the road.

Salesman said "must be the new transfer case, I'm not sure what the break in time for those are..."

Needless to say when they advertised the car on ebay it stated "Clean" and under condition they put "none."

I walked away and drove the 9 hours back home.

The whole experience has upset me so much that It'll be a bit before I go looking again....

Arg....

All the anticipation and waiting and hasle for not....

BTW, green1995SXV, I don't think I'm doing this saturday... sorry.

Mr. Pockets · #2 02-18-2002, 10:51 AM

Man, I'm really sorry to hear about your ordeal. That's absurd how the dealership misrepresented the car in such a way.

In the future, I recommend finding an SVX for sale near a member of this club. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be willing to go check out a car for you.

As for the rumbling during the 2-3 shift at WOT, mine does that. It has since I bought it. But I'm so rarely accelerating that hard...

The first SVX I looked at to buy was beat to hell and back, too. Don't let it discourage you - when you find the right one, you'll 'know.'

Zeppelin · #3 02-18-2002, 10:51 AM

Aww man, you should've told me! I live about an hour southeast of Buffalo.. We could've gotten together and I could've let you test drive my car, and shown you some points to check when looking at buying the car.. If you're ever going to be in the area again, look me up!

Aredubjay · #4 02-18-2002, 11:03 AM

Wicked, don't let this experience sour you on the SVX. The creeps who misrepresented the car are at fault here. There are still some great SVXes to be had. Take your time and find one that's right for you. Best of luck.

Ron Mummert · #5 02-18-2002, 11:40 AM

What was the asking price for this creampuff?
On average there are one or two SVXes for sale weekly in the Baltimore/Washington area. If you give me your criteria, I'd be happy to screen for you.
Ron.

#6 02-18-2002, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
What was the asking price for this creampuff?
On average there are one or two SVXes for sale weekly in the Baltimore/Washington area. If you give me your criteria, I'd be happy to screen for you.
Ron.

Well, now that I know it's difficult to get loans on 94's, I'm looking for a 95 and up only.

Dk Green, Red or Black

<70k miles

Not beat to hell.

I'd pay as much as 10k for a good one.

I plan to drive it 70m/day to work, so stone chips or a few scratches and dings are do able, but I'm really not looking for a 50 footer.

But like I said, I've spent alot of personal time and energy on this one, so it will definately be a couple of months before I go looking again...

The guy who built my office building drives a nice red one, maybe I should see if he's willing to sell....

Aredubjay · #7 02-18-2002, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WickedSubie

Well, now that I know it's difficult to get loans on 94's, I'm looking for a 95 and up only.

Dk Green, Red or Black

<70k miles

Not beat to hell.

I'd pay as much as 10k for a good one.

I plan to drive it 70m/day to work, so stone chips or a few scratches and dings are do able, but I'm really not looking for a 50 footer.

But like I said, I've spent alot of personal time and energy on this one, so it will definately be a couple of months before I go looking again...

The guy who built my office building drives a nice red one, maybe I should see if he's willing to sell....

I just did an autotrader.com search. There are 138 SVXes listed. Some may be near you (you can set the search to search within XX miles of your zip code). As a matter of fact, I found a '94 Pearly (HEY LARRY III!) in Aurora, IL for 5795. Hmmmm. Says it has moonroof, which means it must be AWD, right -- although it doesn't list AWD in the features.

ensteele · #8 02-18-2002, 12:29 PM

Wicked

If you deal with a private owner, one thing that might help is to have them videotape the car. The previous owner of my car did that for me. He even drove it so I could hear it shift, watch the tack, and I could hear the stereo etc. He ran through each and every part of the inside and outside of the car. He put it up on a hoist and showed me everything there as well. When I climbed into the car for the first time, it felt like I had been there before. I looked around, and saw everything (including the little scratches)that I expected to see. There were no surprises. It made it a great experience. This is a great tool if the person has a camera and is willing to do this for you. If a person is honest and wants to sell the car, they should be willing to work with you. If not, go to the next one. I know my experience is on the rare side, but somewhere inbetween is good too. Good luck in your quest for a good car. I know how your hopes can build, and what a let down it can be. These cars really get to ya.

#9 02-18-2002, 01:39 PM

<<Salesman said "must be the new transfer case, I'm not sure what the break in time for those are..."

Needless to say when they advertised the car on ebay it stated "Clean" and under condition they put "none." >>

IMHO I think we should start an e-mail campaign from this group exhibiting our displeasure at "ommiting" some of the issues of the vehicle + letting someone drive 9 hours to discover it.

It's a crappy way to do business.

Randy (Wantin' ta kick some dealership butt) ii

Seraph · #10 02-18-2002, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aredubjay

I just did an autotrader.com search. There are 138 SVXes listed. Some may be near you (you can set the search to search within XX miles of your zip code). As a matter of fact, I found a '94 Pearly (HEY LARRY III!) in Aurora, IL for 5795. Hmmmm. Says it has moonroof, which means it must be AWD, right -- although it doesn't list AWD in the features.

If anyone is interested in the 94 pearly, I'd be more than happy to check it out. Let me know.
Lwin
847.668.4079

Seraph · #11 02-18-2002, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by svxeno

IMHO I think we should start an e-mail campaign from this group exhibiting our displeasure at "ommiting" some of the issues of the vehicle + letting someone drive 9 hours to discover it.

It's a crappy way to do business.

Randy (Wantin' ta kick some dealership butt) ii

I agree. With the SVX, you can't just listen to horror stories or look at one on a website. You have to drive one for a while to kow what is good and what is bad about that car. People should not just give up on a SVX because of stories. They should actually drive one and then they should talk. By then, you are so much inlove with the car that nothing else matters

Lwin

Beav · #12 02-18-2002, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WickedSubie

Well, now that I know it's difficult to get loans on 94's, I'm looking for a 95 and up only.

Dk

I ran into the same problem (I also ran into a few crappy cars..) with financing a car over seven years old. I ended up using paypal and paying the owner with my American Express card. At 9.9% it was a better rate than any used auto loan.

Beav

#13 02-18-2002, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by WickedSubie

BTW, green1995SXV, I don't think I'm doing this saturday... sorry.

Thats fine man, Let me know when you finally get your svx, and we'll do lunch!!

-Mike

SSSVX · #14 02-19-2002, 01:54 AM

While looking, I tested two Pearlwhites, two teals and one mean green.
1)pearl - excellent body, just rebuilt tranny-98K, at dealer, but engine not so good so I didn't buy
2)pearl - good body, don't know about tranny-89K, at dealer, engine was so-so so didn't buy.
3)teal- good-excellent body, engine-good-90K, don't know about the tranny so didn't buy.
4)mean green- good body, engine-okay-44K, don't know about the tranny not enough features - so didn't buy.
5)fifth one-teal-my SVX - fair body, engine-strong-55K, new tranny two coolers - so that's the one I bought - well, I owned my car 6 mths till now still need to do some works.

Actually I already knew when I bought it.

Be patient, take some times, you will find a good one. Good Luck.

svx_commuter · #15 02-20-2002, 05:44 AM

Sorry to hear the SVX didn't work out. If I ever to get buy something over the net I'll ask for e-pictures or as stated above a movie. What a great idea. You should report those guys to e-bay.