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  #1  
Old 07-31-2002, 10:04 AM
clarkerussell
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Need advice on a new SVX

Hello all,

I'm looking to buy my first SVX and the car that I'm looking at a 1997 LSI with UNKNOWN milage. According to CarFax the car had 98K miles on it, and then it was rolled back to 58K. I've been told that the car is in great shape for whatever that's worth), but I have yet to see it. Considering the milage/title issue, what would a fair price for this car be? It's Polo Green and it is an LSi.

When I look at this car on Saturday, what type of problems should I look for? I'm going to work on a deal that will let me have the car checked out prior to title transfer. Since I'm having it checked out, I'll be looking for a good mechanic in the following areas:

Western NC
Upstate SC
Eastern Tennessee
Northern Georga

Thanks in advance!

Clarke
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  #2  
Old 07-31-2002, 12:11 PM
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Mr. Pockets Mr. Pockets is offline
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I've never dealt with a rollback before. Was the odometer really rolled back, or was it just replaced? You mention title issues - does it have a salvage title?

I'd be wary of this one. Yeah, the SVX is rare, but try not to fall in love with the first one you see if it's just not right. There are well-maintained SVXs out there that are worth their (admittedly substantial) weight in gold. An SVX that hasn't been taken care of will not leave you a happy owner - I guarantee it.
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  #3  
Old 07-31-2002, 12:36 PM
clarkerussell
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Yea, but...

I can buy the car for $5500... And the title is only bad because of the potential odometer fraud. It's not a salvage title or anything, it just looks like the car lost 40K miles. So, unless the odometer was replaced with a used one, it was probably rolled back.
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  #4  
Old 07-31-2002, 12:51 PM
billisa
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Watch out and take advantage

My limited sense is that SVX's sell very well without having to roll back mileage. So why was this done? To up the price a bit more? And how can you trust a vehicle where someone thought it necessary, and lacked the scruples, to roll it back?

On the other hand, why not use the roll back in your favor! If the car checks out COMPLETELY from an independent, knowledgeable mechanic, you can use the roll back issue as a means of negotiating a better price than a 98k vehicle would have cost. Now that the roll back is known, it's a liability, not an asset.

KNown issues are transmission problems, wheel bearings and brake rotors -- however, on a roll back vehicle you have to have someone look for anything conceivable.
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  #5  
Old 07-31-2002, 12:54 PM
billisa
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And another thing...

$5500. is cheap for a 97. (I think) Why is it so cheap? Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. You could be on to a real buy, but the book value is higher than what they want.
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  #6  
Old 07-31-2002, 01:23 PM
clarkerussell
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Yea, I know it's cheap...

I've tried to decipher the CarFax and this is what I see:

The car was a leased vechicle with 25K-30K a year put on it for it's first 2-3 years. The last "good" recorded milage was at 98K

On 12/26/2001 the odometer reading was reported as: 98,890 miles

On 04/18/2002 the odometer reading was reported as: 58,274 miles

The 98K mile report was from an inspection.

The 58K mile was reported at an auto auction.

It looks like someone possibly "pulled one" on the leasing company to get out of excessive mileage, but that's just a guess.

The dealer that has the car has been very forthright with the mileage error, but he knows nothing else about it. I'm trying to find a Subaru dealer nearby that will look at it.
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  #7  
Old 07-31-2002, 01:31 PM
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Earl Duff Subaru in Harriman TN is a good bet, if you're in that area.

I can't remember the name of the dealership in Boone, NC, but, he was at the 10th Anniversary meet and owns 3 SVXes -- he is also a member of the Network. Just call and ask for John (the owner) and have him hook you up with a service man. Tell him "The SVX Network sent me." He'll take care of you.
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  #8  
Old 07-31-2002, 01:45 PM
Boone
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I guess it's possible that a broken speed sensor was misdiagnosed and they replaced the gauge cluster. But.. wade a minit... that means 157+K miles. OR the 99K might be a typo. Have the dealer pull up a history on the VIN and let your educated common sense be your guide. Might be a great buy.
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  #9  
Old 07-31-2002, 01:46 PM
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There's one of a few scenarios:

1) Odo was rolled back
2) Odo was replaced with a used one due to a failure
3) Mileage was recorded incorrectly at inspection

Between a car with 58k and 98k, there should be some significant difference with wear and tear. Look for the condition of the leather on the drivers seat, the wear on the brake pedal, and tires (depending on driving style, the 58k might still be on original tires).

Are there any legal implications on titling such a car?

VK
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  #10  
Old 07-31-2002, 03:22 PM
clarkerussell
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No problems that I see

There are no legal issues that I know of with getting a title for odometer rollback.
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  #11  
Old 07-31-2002, 05:32 PM
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When an odometer or speedometer is replaced the normal procedure is to advance its reading to the correct mileage or a tag must be affixed to the driver's door jamb attesting to the mileage at the time of replacement. If neither of these holds true it usually denotes fraud or attempt to defraud.

Considering the price, 'caveat emptor' would seem to be the phrase of the day. Also consider the adage "you only get what you pay for" (or less.)
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  #12  
Old 07-31-2002, 05:44 PM
gcookaustin
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I would think it might be a typo, and I don't think it has 98K + 58K miles on it either. However, if I was going to roll back mileage I would probably put it back to 58K myself. I would think the car would be fine, and that sounds like an especially good price. Depends on how it drives I guess. Shoot, if I was going to buy an SVX and never had one before (and had the money), I'd go for it.
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  #13  
Old 07-31-2002, 07:28 PM
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Ladies & Gentlemen - This is a RARE '97 for a lousy $5500.00!
I'd take a shot at it in a heartbeat, were I as wealthy as LarryIII, Aredub & Ensteele, who seem to collect SVXes like I collect flies.

Ron - polo green with envy again.
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  #14  
Old 07-31-2002, 07:44 PM
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Rollback and Carfax

As a person who works at an auto auction and sees these things all the time I'll be the first one to say that carfax sucks! Basically these companies use any info out there (wrong or right) as a basis for reporting and since they put money on the title (carfax is $5000 that it is a clean history) they are only going to loose money by not reporting a problem. I recently sold a 97 Impreza with 240000 miles on the title simply because of an error when it was titles (should have said 24,000). My guess is the auction was in error when they did their CR. The bad thing about Carfax is they don't provide any back up for their findings. This is what I would do.

1. Look at the title the seller has. What are the miles on it and the date on it. Its illegal to use an used odo in most states esp for a legitimate dealer. If the person did it themselves thats different but I would doubt it. I'm sure the lease company already slapped them with a hefty fee and probably pursued fraud charges.
2. Go to Subaru with the vin and run a complete history of the cars service history. If it had a 60k service a while back bingo. It has a ton of miles on it more than likely.
3. If you get me the full vin I'll see if I can research it for ya at work.
4. What's your plan for the car? Drive it til it dies, collect it, drive it for a year then sell it? This will tell if its worth it a car with Not Actual Miles is typically worth about 15%-20% less then one with a good history at that age but as the car ages and gets more miles on it the NAM value comes closer to the actual value of a clean car. A clean title is always worth more in the eyes of collectors but I have a feeling this will begin to change since there is sooo much info out there regarding miles and such but there is no uniform way for checking and correcting errors.
5. Don't think your gonna get it corrected b/c unless you have 3 months to let it sit and are willing to invest about 100 hours of your time fixing the problem your won't get it done.
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  #15  
Old 07-31-2002, 10:48 PM
golddrum11
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did I overpay?

even though the 97's are not that diffren't from even the 92's at all, there were only a llittle over 900 sold in the US and that's a cool stat. $5500 sounds like a deal. i mean I payed 7500$ for my 92' but it only has 49000 orig miles and the guy's on the level about it. I wonder do you guys think i overpayed?
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