Another New Guy

Hi,

Another new guy. I own an Impreza, and saw an SVX for the first time the other day: "What is THAT?!!". I remembered that Subaru made a sports car, looked it up online... hey, Italian body, Subie mechanicals... cool! So, since the SVX I saw is the ONLY one in our county, I guess I'll talk with the owner, and see if she'll sell it!

Questions:

1. Should I make sure it has a rebuilt transmission? And new wheel bearings?

2. What is a reasonable price (the body is perfect).

3. Am I crazy? Where do you get parts on the west coast? (I live near the California/Oregon border, but will drive up to Seattle, if necessary).

4. Is the 6-cylinder engine in the SVX the same as the "new" six offered in this year's Outback?

Thanks,

Zeke
=========================

[Tim]

Hey, welcome to the board!


1. Those are the primary things that go wrong. Both can be a tad bit pricey and inconvenient to replace, and is also random as to when problems arise. Some people go on for 140k miles without problems and otthers can have problems within 30,000. Proper care and attention are needed for it.

2. What year svx is it? how many miles are on it?


3. If you are crazy then we all need to be commited . I'm not sure about the parts but you could get them from subaruparts.com or have them shipped from Liberty subaru in New jersey.

4. No, the H-6 in the new one is 3 Liters pushing out 210 hp, while the SVX is 3.3 liter pushing out 230 hp.

[ensteele]

Welcome to the Network.

Welcome to the Network.

__________________
Earl .. ><SVX(*>

1992 Pearlie LS-L ~103K (06/91)
1993 25th Anniversary Edition ~94K (02/93) #176
1993 25th Anniversary Edition ~58K (02/93) #164
1994 Laguna Blue LSi ~130K

1997 White Chev Suburban LT ~62K
1988 Silver Toyota Corolla ~202K

And two mini-longhair dachshunds with their heads hanging out the window and ears flopping in the breeze.
======================
Earl,

You have FOUR SVX's!!! Holy Smokes! How do you afford maintaining them? And WHY do you have so many? Does your wife think you're nuts? Is this, like, addictive, or something? (And will you sell me one of them? Then, there would be TWO here in Lassen County!). ;-)
========================

Welcome to the asylum. Check out this site, they are in Seattle.
http://www.cars101.com/subaru_svx.html

[LarryIII]

Jwzekas,

Welcome to the SVX family from all the nutty SVXers at the Reading IV SVX Meet.

Here's a thought: Green Marine actually has to defend people like me. If that isn't nuts, I don't know what is !

[svxistentialist]

Welcome Zeke.

Hope you find a car. Earl [ensteele] is not the way to go. He is a collector. He wants one of every colour. He is likely to buy the other car in Lassen county out from under you.

Try and get a good post 94 car with reasonable miles and good service history.

Best of luck,

Joe

[ensteele]

Originally posted by svxistentialist
He is likely to buy the other car in Lassen county out from under you.
Joe

That depends - what is the color of the other car in Lassen County? j/k

Zeke, it is a long story why I have 4 of these special cars. I am not married (she thought it was more fun to have boy friends) and I have that many because I can! I didn't start buying them until after she was gone anyway!

There is one advantage in having that many. You don't put that many miles on any of them to have to do that much maintenance.

Two thoughts:

!. Earl: the cars are DEFINITELY cheaper than a wife or mistress!!! (I know! I've had two wives and three mistresses-- ALL of them were EXTREMELY expensive... Heck, I should have had five Subies! I would have saved $150,000!!!

2. Joe: Why "after 1994"? According to one SVX website, "There were no major differences" during the years of production-- or were there?

3. What got me (and probably lots of others) were the WINDOWS on the SVX!!! Like, other than an Italian Auto Show car from the sixties, I'd NEVER seen anything like it! Any other "weirdness" in the SVX design, like a computer chip that purrs like a cat? Or a steering wheel that follows sushi houses?

4. Oh, one more thing: HOW do you guys tell that the WHEELS are mounted backwards? (a comment heard on this site). I mean, I thought such a thing (mounting wheels wrong) wasn't physically possible!

5. PS: According to the Edmunds review, SVX owners are eccentric oddballs... true? I'd like to think that I march to the beat of my OWN accordion! ;-) Of course, I am the only person I know who likes Citroens, bubble cars, and Volvo 544's... hmmmm...
============================

[Earthworm]

2. All 93's were 25th anniversary editions that were only red in color.

3. Well some have an ABS relay that purrs...until you hit it. What about the speed sensitive wipers?

4. The left side rims are marked with an "L" near the valve stem. The spokes should chop the wind when driving forward.

5. Everyone is different with what they like. We just all like SVX's here

[svxcess]

Originally posted by jwzekas
Two thoughts:

!. Earl: the cars are DEFINITELY cheaper than a wife or mistress!!! (I know! I've had two wives and three mistresses-- ALL of them were EXTREMELY expensive... Heck, I should have had five Subies! I would have saved $150,000!!!

2. Joe: Why "after 1994"? According to one SVX website, "There were no major differences" during the years of production-- or were there?

3. What got me (and probably lots of others) were the WINDOWS on the SVX!!! Like, other than an Italian Auto Show car from the sixties, I'd NEVER seen anything like it! Any other "weirdness" in the SVX design, like a computer chip that purrs like a cat? Or a steering wheel that follows sushi houses?

4. Oh, one more thing: HOW do you guys tell that the WHEELS are mounted backwards? (a comment heard on this site). I mean, I thought such a thing (mounting wheels wrong) wasn't physically possible!

5. PS: According to the Edmunds review, SVX owners are eccentric oddballs... true? I'd like to think that I march to the beat of my OWN accordion! ;-) Of course, I am the only person I know who likes Citroens, bubble cars, and Volvo 544's... hmmmm...
============================

Zeke,

#3 definitely qualifies you to join this group.
As for #5... I like Citoreons. Best back seat of ANY car that I ever double dated in. I used to own SAABS back in the late sixties.

Earl wants one SVX of every color. I want one SVX of every model year. I only have 3 more to go.

Larry III (I am not John Hoffman...SVXCESS)

[svxcess]

Originally posted by ensteele93


That depends - what is the color of the other car in Lassen County? j/k

Zeke, it is a long story why I have 4 of these special cars. I am not married (she thought it was more fun to have boy friends)

Earl,

She collected boy friends & you collect SVXes.

Larry III (Not John Hoffman...or Josh Grobin's father)

I plan to get one SVX for each model year. Then I will put them all in a building on display. I'll name it the "National SVX Museum." Then you'll all eventually have to come to Wilmington, DE To look at them and other SVX paraphenillia (sp.?).
I plan the following to get the following LSi AWD models:

'93 Red (25th Anniv. model)
'95 Laguna Blue
'96 Polo Green (not to be confused with Stan Burg & Charlie Green)

It's like collecting Hummels, except you don't put these in a china closet.

[CigarJohnny]

Welcome to the network, Zeke! You definitely sound like you would fit in with this crowd. And believe me that is a compliment. I was at the Reading meet yesterday and Friday and you could never want to meet a nicer bunch of people.

As far as why Joe recommends a 94 and up SVX, it is due to small refinements they made to the transmission and radiator that make them a little more efficient in cooling the transmission.

What you ultimately decide should be based on condition and price. A 92 with a perfect body and interior but with a failing tranny might be a bargain if the price was right and you could allow for replacing the tranny in your budget. You could always install a 94+ transmission in it when you replace it. On the other hand there are others with later SVXes that have had their trannies fail prematurely. It is ultimately anyones guess when any given SVX will crap out on you. Your odds are slightly better with a later one but only slightly. It all depends on how well it was maintained. Was it serviced regularly? Did it have an external transmission cooler on it from the get go? Does it have one now? What is the mileage? How was it driven? So many factors come into play.

My 92 has only 73K on it and I know of some 96 & 97 examples with higher mileage. My transmission has been replaced once by me and possibly one other time before that. Best practice is to go into it knowing that the best research will not guarantee an example with a transmission that will not die. You should figure on it and budget yourself accordingly. I would look for the best example at the best price regardless of model year and go from there. Any replacement transmission from Subaru will have the enhancements found in the later models. If you find the perfect low mileage 92 (or any year actually) with flawless body, interior and drivetrain but you know the transmission is gonna go, try to get it at a price that will allow for a transmission replacement in your budget and go with that. Once the tranny has been replaced it makes no difference if it is a 92 or a 97 as long as the rest of the car is in fine condition.

There are quite a few members out your way that would be happy to help you with any questions or problems you might have once you purchase this unique car. Just take your time finding one and do your research. Good luck in your hunting and again, welcome to the club!

Hi,

Just a couple more thoughts:

1. I figure a "west coast car" would be better-- no salt on the roads here! True?

2. Looking at Autotrader.com, prices are from $14000 down to $5,000. Okay, now some guy claims that "front wheel drive is rare" on the SVX. True? Personally, I live in snow country, so AWD is preferable... otherwise, why get a Subie? I mean, the only other AWD sports cars are the Audi TT and Porsche AWD Carrera!!! I little too pricy for me! Besides, Porsches are SO common!!! (at least here in Northern California).

3. Years ago, I was told by a buddy, "Buy a car from someone who belongs to an enthusiast's club-- it will be better taken care of, and he'll probably have all the maintenance records." True?

4. IS there an "SVX Club" in the Pacific Northwest? (Yeah, I know there are Subie clubs, but somehow, those guys are not quite the same... lots of WRX boy hotrodders... Nothing wrong with that, it's just that now that I'm 48, I'm not into streetracing and burning rubber!).

5. Hey Johnnie-- are you Irish, or do you just like Gaelic? Yeah, we have lots of Micks in my family (the Riley and Plunkett side-- Ever heart of Saint Plunkett? He's our distant ancestor!). Unlike most Irishmen, though, I rarely drink or smoke cigarettes-- must be the German/English side of me!).

Thanks.
=========================

[WestCoastSVX]

Originally posted by jwzekas

4. IS there an "SVX Club" in the Pacific Northwest? (Yeah, I know there are Subie clubs, but somehow, those guys are not quite the same... lots of WRX boy hotrodders... Nothing wrong with that, it's just that now that I'm 48, I'm not into streetracing and burning rubber!).

=========================

Northwest SVX Enthusiasts

Hi Zeke, welcome to the network. Check out the above site. We aren't exactly an official organization like some of the other Subie clubs, not yet anyway, so far we are mostly the members of this forum that happen to live in the NW. As the site shows though, we do get together for meets, etc.