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  #16  
Old 09-18-2005, 04:25 PM
carajo
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Question another one considering an svx

Hello all... Since my daily commute should very soon be tripled, I started looking for something that has awd or 4wd for the snow, and stumbled upon the svx. I was intrigued and thought, if I'm going to spend the money on something, why not get something a little fun.

The responses here have been great (though I'm disappointed it won't be as reliable as the other subarus my family has owned), but I'm wondering how good the cars do in the snow? (Yes, just shoot me now for wanting an SVX as a winter beater.)

I found online a 92 LS-L with 127K miles, pictures look great, but "may need transmission"; they're asking $2,700. I'm trying to find out exactly what the seller means about the tranny, whether it's gone or going - wondering if I could squeeze a year out of it if I'm only driving it once in a while. I'd rather drive stick, so I'd want to wait a year to pull together the cash for a 5 speed conversion. Anything anyone can tell me about whether that's a horrible idea or not would be appreciated.

I'm not expecting it to be extremely fast or anything - I drive a stock Mercury Cougar 2.5L v6 MTX (though it seems like a race car after driving rentals for 3 weeks, ford fucus, suzuki forenza, toyota cororlla).
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  #17  
Old 09-18-2005, 04:39 PM
n00b on demand's Avatar
n00b on demand n00b on demand is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carajo
Hello all... Since my daily commute should very soon be tripled, I started looking for something that has awd or 4wd for the snow, and stumbled upon the svx. I was intrigued and thought, if I'm going to spend the money on something, why not get something a little fun.

The responses here have been great (though I'm disappointed it won't be as reliable as the other subarus my family has owned), but I'm wondering how good the cars do in the snow? (Yes, just shoot me now for wanting an SVX as a winter beater.)

I found online a 92 LS-L with 127K miles, pictures look great, but "may need transmission"; they're asking $2,700. I'm trying to find out exactly what the seller means about the tranny, whether it's gone or going - wondering if I could squeeze a year out of it if I'm only driving it once in a while. I'd rather drive stick, so I'd want to wait a year to pull together the cash for a 5 speed conversion. Anything anyone can tell me about whether that's a horrible idea or not would be appreciated.

I'm not expecting it to be extremely fast or anything - I drive a stock Mercury Cougar 2.5L v6 MTX (though it seems like a race car after driving rentals for 3 weeks, ford fucus, suzuki forenza, toyota cororlla).

I'd say no. Get an imprezza...they are fun to beat in the snow! SVX's are great and alot of fun in the snow too but far far more expensive....and they can get expensive real quick if not taken care of!
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  #18  
Old 09-18-2005, 05:01 PM
cpelsy2k1
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im probably going to have to agree with most of the guys here. Im a college student too and the only way im affording the svx is by driving it 6 months a year! They are great cars but the tranny, bearings, and many other big things seem to go causing $$$. I would buy the car only if its got a rebuilt tranny that has few miles on it, thats how i bought mine, if your tranny S#))'s out your in the sh)# $2000, good luck!
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  #19  
Old 09-19-2005, 06:02 PM
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Earthworm Earthworm is offline
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"may need transmission" normally means "needs transmission".

The SVX is a good car in the winter only when combined with winter tires. It is a heavy car and, when driving in the winter with all seasons, it shows! I should know, I'm in Canada (stereotype)

I used to drive a Justy and it was near impossible to get stuck. You REALLY had to try! The problem is it doesn't put out enough heat once it gets down to -20°C or so. Those are my experiences...have you considered a wagon?
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  #20  
Old 09-22-2005, 12:20 AM
dwd1985 dwd1985 is offline
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Thoughts from another student

I am in my third year at Colorado State University, and I bought my 1992 SVX only about 2 months ago. When I bought it, it had 145,000 miles, but a rebuilt tranny with only about 5K miles on it, new brakes, new radiator and a new alternator. I did alot of research on the car, and was aware of the problems SVX's have when I went into it. They were asking $3,200 for it. I test drove it, and fell in love with it. The windshield was cracked pretty severely, and after doing some research on it, found it would cost about $1,000 to replace it. So I talked the owners down to $2500. So at the time I bought it, I was planning on spending about another $1400 on repairs for it (I also needed new tires, because this SVX had sport tires, and I needed something all season to deal with the Colorado snow). So I bought it, and was very pleased, but noticed after a 2 hour trip home that some steam was coming out of the engine. I took it to a repair shop, and was told that I had bad fan relays. There are 6 relays, and each one costs about $45. I moved the relays around and found the bad ones, and replaced them both ($100). All was well right? Well about a week later, my check engine light came on, so I took it to the repair shop, and was diagnosed with a bad knock sensor, and quoted $500 to replace them both. I declined for the moment, because the diagnosis itself cost me $150. I figured I would save up alittle more money before I got that fixed. So then alittle later, the car totally died, and at the repair shop, I was told that when the new alternator was installed, a wire was left loose, and it fried itself out. There was another $430 down the drain. I had now spent a total of $700 fixing it, and still needed to fix the knock sensors, the windshield, and get new tires. I love my SVX, but in terms of recommending it to a college student, I WOULDNT! If money is tight for you at all, dont buy this car, because parts are expensive, and there are some prevalent problems. I hope this helps you make a descision.
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  #21  
Old 09-22-2005, 08:01 AM
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michael michael is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dwd1985
I am in my third year at Colorado State University, and I bought my 1992 SVX only about 2 months ago. When I bought it, it had 145,000 miles, but a rebuilt tranny with only about 5K miles on it, new brakes, new radiator and a new alternator. I did alot of research on the car, and was aware of the problems SVX's have when I went into it. They were asking $3,200 for it. I test drove it, and fell in love with it. The windshield was cracked pretty severely, and after doing some research on it, found it would cost about $1,000 to replace it. So I talked the owners down to $2500. So at the time I bought it, I was planning on spending about another $1400 on repairs for it (I also needed new tires, because this SVX had sport tires, and I needed something all season to deal with the Colorado snow). So I bought it, and was very pleased, but noticed after a 2 hour trip home that some steam was coming out of the engine. I took it to a repair shop, and was told that I had bad fan relays. There are 6 relays, and each one costs about $45. I moved the relays around and found the bad ones, and replaced them both ($100). All was well right? Well about a week later, my check engine light came on, so I took it to the repair shop, and was diagnosed with a bad knock sensor, and quoted $500 to replace them both. I declined for the moment, because the diagnosis itself cost me $150. I figured I would save up alittle more money before I got that fixed. So then alittle later, the car totally died, and at the repair shop, I was told that when the new alternator was installed, a wire was left loose, and it fried itself out. There was another $430 down the drain. I had now spent a total of $700 fixing it, and still needed to fix the knock sensors, the windshield, and get new tires. I love my SVX, but in terms of recommending it to a college student, I WOULDNT! If money is tight for you at all, dont buy this car, because parts are expensive, and there are some prevalent problems. I hope this helps you make a descision.

$500 is a bit much for knock sensors, check the how-to section, you may consider doing them yourself.
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  #22  
Old 09-22-2005, 08:52 AM
The Goat The Goat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carajo
Hello all... Since my daily commute should very soon be tripled, I started looking for something that has awd or 4wd for the snow, and stumbled upon the svx. I was intrigued and thought, if I'm going to spend the money on something, why not get something a little fun.

The responses here have been great (though I'm disappointed it won't be as reliable as the other subarus my family has owned), but I'm wondering how good the cars do in the snow? (Yes, just shoot me now for wanting an SVX as a winter beater.)

I found online a 92 LS-L with 127K miles, pictures look great, but "may need transmission"; they're asking $2,700. I'm trying to find out exactly what the seller means about the tranny, whether it's gone or going - wondering if I could squeeze a year out of it if I'm only driving it once in a while. I'd rather drive stick, so I'd want to wait a year to pull together the cash for a 5 speed conversion. Anything anyone can tell me about whether that's a horrible idea or not would be appreciated.

I'm not expecting it to be extremely fast or anything - I drive a stock Mercury Cougar 2.5L v6 MTX (though it seems like a race car after driving rentals for 3 weeks, ford fucus, suzuki forenza, toyota cororlla).
Two words: Backup car.

What I'll be doing is driving my SVX when it snows this winter in the Poconos, and driving my CRX when it doesn't. And...sometimes driving the SVX on really nice days. And when we go to family events and stuff.

Edit: I've recently decided that from this point forward, I'll only own vehicles that end in X.

Last edited by The Goat; 09-22-2005 at 08:55 AM.
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