Looking at buying an SVX

DrFaustus · #1 02-22-2006, 03:08 AM

I've wanted an SVX since I saw one in the Subaru booth at an auto show long ago. I never had the cash to buy one new. Fast forward to today. I'm in the market for a car and have enough cash sitting in the account to buy one. I've been reading up on them and what problems they have. Over the weekend one came up for sale. Here's the link -

http://tinyurl.com/qd43z

I'm heading up to check it out in the morning. Is this SVX familiar to anyone here? Anything in particular I should check for, beyond transmission and wheel bearings being in good shape? Anything you can tell me would be appreciated.

I'll be buying some car within a week or so, and an SVX is on my short list of four different models I'm looking at.

Dr. Faustus

SSSVX · #2 02-22-2006, 03:19 AM

No wonder it looks so white to me. It just had a paint job done.

The color doesn't look like the typical pearl white to me in the picture.

Do a test drive and make sure the car doesn't have any weird shifting or noise based on your driving experiences. Do a search and I think there's some list of problems to look at to buying an used SVX in this forum.

The price seems high. Check with the seller what he has done to the car.

Good luck. What other cars you are looking at as well??

Pure_Insanity8 · #3 02-22-2006, 03:28 AM

I think I would avoid this particular one. There appear to be a few too many "ricey" bits to it... indicating possible abuse. The asking price also seems quite high (esp. for that mileage).

If you go to check it out (don't even offer half what they are asking)... please tell them to replace the exhaust and rear bumper they hacked for the terrible fart can outlet, rewire the A-pillar gauges properly, and remover the rediculous stickers. J/K, but those are the big red flags I'm seeing as a reason to avoid this SVX.

Good luck on your search. I suppose you could give it a test drive to see how you like how the SVX drives (I'm sure you will... if this one is in O.K. mechanical shape).

dcarrb · #4 02-22-2006, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pure_Insanity8

I think I would avoid this particular one. There appear to be a few too many "ricey" bits to it... indicating possible abuse. The asking price also seems quite high (esp. for that mileage).

I'll second this. Best to steer clear of examples that have been modified with a hacksaw.

dcb

DrFaustus · #5 02-22-2006, 10:51 AM

Yeah...that car has issues that go much deeper than the photos. It's definately abused. The transmission and wheel bearings are both acting up. Luckily, there are several others for sale in the area. I'll be checking them out.

Perhaps I should buy one with a shot trans and just drop in the 5 speed.

Earthworm · #6 02-22-2006, 10:56 AM

There is a helpful document in the how-to's and the SVXipedia on http://svx-iw.com entitled, "What to Look For in a Used SVX".

http://svx-iw.com
->SVXipedia
-->General Information
--->What to Look For in a Used SVX

Pure_Insanity8 · #7 02-22-2006, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrFaustus

Perhaps I should buy one with a shot trans and just drop in the 5 speed.

Not a bad idea... save some money AND end up with a SVX that is a bit more fun. Let us know how it goes.

AvPPoW · #8 02-22-2006, 12:22 PM

Too bad you're in colorado, or I'd tell you to come drive mine!

It's Just Eric · #9 02-22-2006, 12:31 PM

It has a windshield vinyal...Itll end up like the rest of them...example here http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31458
Yeah....too many pod gauges too. good thing you steered clear, nearly 6 grand for a hunk of ....svx...like that is absurd
Good luck finding one hat hasnt been abused

DrFaustus · #10 02-22-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by It's Just Eric

Good luck finding one hat hasnt been abused

Thanks. I'm looking forward to abusing it the way *I* want it abused. Cone damage on the front bumper may happen. I haven't decided whether I'll race the new car, or my old Triumph Spitfire.

I found another white SVX in Denver at a dealership/service shop that specializes in Subarus. They want 6k for their's as well. It looks bone stock and the ad points out a fresh reseal on the engine and a small tear on the passenger seat. It's a '93 with all the options. I'll go check it out tomorrow. I'll offer them $3500 in cash on the spot if it's decent. Failing that there are two blue ones at another dealership (I noticed they were mentioned here as being spotted in CO as well). And a silver one by a private seller. No real good info on the silver one, just a two line ad in the paper. If all those are junk, I'll start looking for an early Audi S4.

Andy

dcarrb · #11 02-23-2006, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrFaustus

I haven't decided whether I'll race the new car, or my old Triumph Spitfire.

With all due respect, if you're gonna race an SVX you might as well rescue one that's destined for the salvage yard and build it into a race car. You'll be saving one from the Grim Reaper while preserving the rapidly-diminishing fleet of stockers. You can probably pick-up a tired '92 for a couple of grand, replace the tranny with a 5MT and still have thousands left over for other mods, versus what you'd pay for a mint, low-mileage SVX.

dcb

shotgunslade · #12 02-23-2006, 06:17 AM

Patience is the secret to buying an SVX. I looked for almost a year before I bought my second one. Found a 94 with 74,000 miles in great shape for $6,400. They are out there, but you have to look for them. I agree that you should avoid modded cars, unless you know the modder. Cars.com seems to be the best resource.

DrFaustus · #13 02-24-2006, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcarrb

With all due respect, if you're gonna race an SVX you might as well rescue one that's destined for the salvage yard and build it into a race car. You'll be saving one from the Grim Reaper while preserving the rapidly-diminishing fleet of stockers. You can probably pick-up a tired '92 for a couple of grand, replace the tranny with a 5MT and still have thousands left over for other mods, versus what you'd pay for a mint, low-mileage SVX.

dcb

It'll be a daily driver, so nothing radical will be done to it.

Outside the possible MT conversion. Everything will be easy to reverse if someone wanted to change it back to 100% stock.

Nothing wrong with tearing around an AutoX track on the occasional weekend.

DrFaustus · #14 02-25-2006, 07:51 PM

I looked at three SVXs today in the Denver area. The first was a silver '92. It had a new transmission drop in about a year ago. It drove well. It handled
nice and tight. The sunroof didn't work and it was a little more scuffed up than I would like. It was missing the Subaru badge on the front. The guy is asking $3200. Here's the ad http://tinyurl.com/h6yv9 . I should note that the car does have the grill, just not in that picture. The guy is going off to college back east and not taking the car with him. He says he's owned it for about five months.

The next one was a blue '95. It's better cosmetically, but has a blown transmission. It has no sunroof. He offered it to me for $1500. The ad is here http://tinyurl.com/l3hnw . He posted the ad before he knew the tranny was no good. This one seems to be an excellent candidate for a MT swap. Is there anywhere in the Denver area that could do it for me? I simply don't have the space or equipment to do it myself right now (My garage is full with with two cars on stands while I do winter projects on them).

The final one seems to be the best, but I haven't seen it yet. Here's the ad http://tinyurl.com/p6lmm . This car is at a shop that deals cars on the side. About 90% of their business is Subarus. They bought the car at auction because it looked great, got it back to the shop and found all sorts of stuff wrong with it. They've gone through the car and done the following:

New front struts
New left front axle
Rebuilt transmission
Valve cover gaskets
New timing belts
Reseal oil pump
Rebuilt rear brakes

All in all, I have a list of about 40 new parts, plus the parts to rebuild the transmission. I'll be test driving that one Monday morning. Is $5800 a fair price for a car that's been reconditioned? It looks like they went through and fixed anything that needed fixing, so it should be as solid of an SVX as you would expect to find. What do you guys think?

Dza · #15 02-25-2006, 09:05 PM

Car #1: Is an LS-L without a spoiler? Not a great price for 151k, no badge, scuffed, toast sunroof, etc. But on the other hand the tranny is newer.

Car #2: Gets my vote for awesome 5 spd candidate, especially if you are mechacnically inclined (as your garage and winter project cars suggest). Make the SVX project #1 and do the others NEXT winter.

Car #3: Price is really high for a 92 with 110k, but they did fix a lot of stuff. On the other hand you can buy a 92 with that kind of mileage in good shape for 3k, then use the extra 2800 to do a lot more with it.

Simply one man's view from your last post. You'd know best, as you saw all 3 up close and personal. Must be nice, some of us had to buy blind from the internet!