It’s possible that you’ve never heard of that forgotten performance car, the Subaru SVX. Even if you consider yourself an automotive enthusiast or more specifically a Subaru fan, this short-lived sports car might be a bit of a mystery to you. Marketed as Subaru’s first “performance luxury coupe,” the SVX was introduced in 1991 (as a 1992 model) and with all the hunger for performance coupes in the enthusiast world, it had the potential for big success — but it didn’t last very long.
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Under the hood was a 3.3L flat-six engine that produced a healthy 230 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque. That’s not a lot by today’s sports-car standards, but back in 1992, sports cars like the Chevy Corvette were making 300 hp, so the SVX was powerful enough to raise eyebrows. Unfortunately, the Subaru SVX was a complete flop. It had strong competitors from brands like Nissan, Acura, and Toyota, and it was more expensive than most cars with similar performance. Total SVX sales in the U.S. were around 14,000s after five years on the market, and 1997 was the final year for the plush Subie.
Despite its low sales and eventual demise, the SVX is a bit of a cult classic. Enthusiasts who value driving dynamics and unique styling continue to lust after it. But just how much does one cost? And once you’ve got it in your garage, how hard will it be to maintain?
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How much is an SVX worth today?
As is the case with all used cars, values depend on a lot of factors. Mileage, age, maintenance history, and general condition should all be top concerns no matter what sort of car you’re searching for. This holds true for SVXs, but it seems that no matter how nice an example is, there’s a ceiling for prices of these quirky Subarus. Auction site Cars and Bids has several examples of the SVX that have sold in recent years, none of which have broken the $12,000 mark — most are priced below $10,000. Even models with astonishingly low mileage (below 40,000) have failed to break through the $10,000 ceiling at auction. The low mark for an SVX on Cars and Bids? $4,000.
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Some nicer examples of used SVXs have sold on the auction site Bring a Trailer for more money, but sales are limited. Less than 20 SVX models in the last four years have sold for over $10,000 on Bring A Trailer — with only one bid up to $20,000, back in 2021. Prices that high seem like a bit of an outlier, so we wouldn’t recommend paying that much. For a bit of context, the SVX, in its final model year, was priced between $31,120 and $36,740, depending on trim level.
How difficult is an SVX to work on?
I’ve driven and worked on a few SVXs over the years and I wouldn’t call them easy to work on, but they’re not exceedingly difficult, either. Some owners say that working on an SVX is relatively simple thanks to its flat-six engine configuration. The engine bay is relatively easy to navigate, without many difficult-to-reach items — getting an owner’s manual will definitely help you if you need to locate anything specific in the engine bay. Oil changes are also reported to be relatively easy. According to a post in Reddit’s r/subaru, however, the car’s age means limited parts availability, so if something breaks, it could be relatively expensive to replace — if the parts are even available.
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Early SVX model years had some common problems customers noted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — specifically with the transmission. The 1992 model year has 245 registered complaints with the NHTSA, over 200 of which are related to the powertrain, the transmission, or both. The forum subaru-svx.net backs up those complaints, with lots of owners warning about transmission failures — especially when owners don’t stay vigilant about fluid changes.
So you’ll almost certainly want to steer clear of early models. The NHTSA transmission-failure complaints drop off over the years, but keeping a close eye on maintenance history when shopping for an SVX is never a bad idea.
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