how practicle would a svx be for me?

Originally posted by sharky512345
I can't really get an old beater since my parents are requiring the car to have AWD AND dual airbags.

Smart parents!

I'm also impressed that you asked and seem to be listening.


Randy ii

Not to deviate too much from the original subject, but,.............

Do you know why the British drink warm beer?






Because they have Lucas refrigerators!!

Bah, dah, boom!!

-Mark

(MG's- It's a love/hate thing.... )

[sharky512345]

Originally posted by svxeno


Smart parents!

I'm also impressed that you asked and seem to be listening.


Randy ii

well all the high prices, high insurance, and things that can go wrong with the SVX has kinda scared me away.


A lot of the cars you guys are suggesting a way too expensive for me. believe me, if i could afford a '98 impreza RS or could find a turbo legacy i would get one. But I don't have a whole lot of money, with what my parents are pitching in I probably have about $5000 max, maybe, MAYBE $6000 absolute max but I doubt they would help that much.

[SSSVX]

for your budget, you could get a pretty good used car.

why are your parents required the car has AWD? is that
because of worrying about the snow conditions? do you
really need an AWD, are you living in the very hilly area?

in my opinions, FWD - with a set of good snow tires can
be working pretty good on snow. it could work better
than the AWD with the bad/wrong tires.

toyota/honda/nissan, they're good used cars. all cars
should have dual airbag(right?) in usa after year 95.

i think, AWD will drink more gas and cost more to replace
the tires, to fix if there's anything goes wrong.

i don't know what kind of person you are....you want a
two door sport car or a 4 door sedan?? if i want a low
maintenance fun car to drive....civic si, sentra se-r, i
think they perform pretty good and reliable.

anyway, just my extra opinions to open up your options,
if you think that might work for ya...

[sharky512345]

my parents are requiring that i have AWD because in the winter we could only get the AWD cars out of our driveway, our FWD car couldn't get up the hill. the roads get really icy and snowy in the winter (2 feet of powder on the roads, not plowed or sanded yet). that was how the last winter was, and that is why i think my parents are requiring all wheel drive. this winter even our AWD gmc safari and subaru legacy were spinning around some of the corners, with snow tires and we weren't even driving that fast.

2 door, 4 door, either way i don't really care, either one would work. I'm thinking about a Impreza if i can find a good one, all the legacys i have found have a lot of miles (150,000+) even the ones for $5000 . Or if i can find a good deal on an audi quattro (not too likely).

[Reaper450128]

That sucks... I'd offer you my Legacy, old stand-by that she is, for around $4000-$5000 (just under 120K milles, still running fine), but I'm still going to need it while I do this rebuild, and even then you're on the wrong coast out there.

You really can't find cheap Legacys out there? I bought this one almost two years and 10000 miles ago for just over $5000. I assume you've looked at your local dealer's used stock by now, that's where I got mine.

[UberRoo]

Although not largely unreasonable, your folks' requirements kinda suck. I have XX good reasons why you should drive a beater.

1) They're fun! Because you have so little to lose if you break the car, you're willing to try stupid things. (If I told you not to try stupid things, what would be the point? You probably will anyway. We all do [did].) There's also a big difference between dangerous and stupid. All dangerous things are stupid, but not all stupid thing are dangerous. Stupid things will teach you a lot - like how brakes work. Such as when you lock 'em up, you can't steer.

2) You will probably destroy your first car. I've never been in any sort of accident (aside from racing accidents, which really aren't accidents because you expect them to happen fairly often,) but just because you don't have an accident doesn't mean you won't destroy your car. My first car was absolutely cherry perfect. I paid for everything entirely by myself - and I still beat the piss out of it. It was a real waste of a good car, but it was fun to do. I just wish I hadn't paid for something so nice.

3) I own a beautiful SVX. It's a nice car. I baby it. I buy the expensive gas, oil, tires, and insurance now. I love driving that sexy beast. I have to worry about door dings. I can't park it in dark alleys in the bad part of town. I have to wash it regularly. I can't strap lumber to the roof. Sometimes I want to play and can't. If you don't play now, you probably never will. When you finally upgrade, you'll appreciate it that much more.

4) Insurance is MUCH cheaper. If you just get basic liability, it'll cost you about half as much, maybe even less. I paid less for my first car (the cherry one) than I do for a year's worth of insurance. I paid less for my beater than I do for a month's worth of insurance. I could buy a new beater every month!

5) Air Bags? This is a hot topic, but from what I've seen, proper seat belt use is good enough. Actual accident studies have shown that things like air bags just make people feel safer - so they drive faster, take bigger risks and get hurt just as much. Anti-lock brakes does the same thing. I highly recommend that you have them, but only after lots of practice and playing in a car that doesn't have them. It will teach you a lot. Try this: Get a beater and drive into a big tree or stump of whatever at a walking speed (less than 3 miles an hour.) You'd be amazed at how well seatbelts work. If you're still not convinced, try it again at the speeds you normally drive and you will be convinced.

6) AWD? It just allows you to try dumber things - like pulling out into fast-moving traffic on a wet day. As far as snow goes? Well, frankly the SVX is probably the worst AWD vehicle ever made when it comes to snow. Anything RWD is a joke, but FWD cars work pretty darn well in the snow. In the snow, 4WD, not AWD works best. RWD=fun, FWD=safe, 4WD=capable, AWD=versitile.

7) All your friends will think you're cool 'cause you drive a pile of junk. Okay, maybe not. But if you have any car at all, most friends just won't care as long as you can drive it. I knew somebody who had a Mercedes, paid for by Mommy and Daddy. He got rid of it because everybody teased him about it. The most popular guy I knew in high school drove a rusty station wagon. he was popular 'cause he could fit eight people in it and if we all chipped in a dollar, we could fill the tank. (Gas was cheaper then.)

8) Spend your money on better things.

9) You can fix virtually ANY car problem for WAY less than $5000. Example: I paid $200 for my beater (I think.) I spent $90 on an ignition pick-up, $5 on shifter knob, and $75 on a new CV joint. These are all the problems I've had in four years. If the engine explodes, I'll just buy another beater, but it'd still only cost me $450. Audi makes reeeaaalllly nice cars, but you pay for them. You want a free one? I can get you three of them. They all have bad trannys. It's only $4000 for a new tranny.


10) Who needs more reasons. Get a beater.

Originally posted by UberRoo

I can't strap lumber to the roof.

Correct. You fold the rear sets down and put the sixteen 10' 2x6's inside the car. (They fit!)

Originally posted by UberRoo

Well, frankly the SVX is probably the worst AWD vehicle ever made when it comes to snow.

Apparently you've never driven an SVX shod with quality winter tires. An SVX can be a blast in the snow. (Contrary to what Pontiac says, wider isn't better..... at least for snow tires.)

-Mark

[UberRoo]

My little '86 GL Wagon will hold a lot more than 16 two-by-fours.

It'll also walk away from my SVX in the snow because it doesn't have wide factory tires, because it has a manual transmission, and because it's 4WD. But it's true about AWD SVXs being a blast in the snow - so are RWD vehicles. True 4WD works better in the snow - it just doesn't work as well for nearly everything else which is 90% of the time. As for them being the worst AWD vehicle in the snow, I am being party facetious, but am emphasizing the same point made about wide tires.

The active AWD transfer coupling in the SVX works only when the tires slip which happens too quickly and too easily in the snow for it to be responsive enough. This is particularly evident at low speeds at very low throttle. If you just romp on it, it'll lock right up, but that's not the best move when trying to climb a slippery hill. That 10% differential in speed it must allow for turning tight corners in parking lots is going to be there all the time. In the really slippery stuff (clay mud, snow and ice, soft sand) when just a few percent more traction makes all the difference, that's when it'll let you down.

Granted, the rest of the time when you're not right on the edge of traction, it works very well and gives you a large margin to play with. That's the Holy Grail of traction control; a computer that can match a fully locked up driveline. (You'll notice the new STIs come with a button that does just that - overrides the computer and locks everything up.) But I digress...

Oh! Amen for quality winter tires! Good tires during any season will make a huge difference. (When will people stop buying the cheapest tire possible and realize that tires are incredibly important?) My Michelin Pilots can stop my car as fast in the pouring rain than the el-cheapo, Les Schwab, Toyo, million-mile tires did on a hot dry day. I actually tested this and found the distances to be the same from 60mph, wet and dry.

Jeeze.... I can go on and on.