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Date: Wed, 08 Sep 1999 16:02:34 -0500
From: kai-mingnopsamlear.com (Kai-ming Mei)
Subject: Re: What can I expect from an 88 SPG?


Good post! A LOT is left up to chance (unless you know the complete history of the car) This is the way I think of it. If a car is $2000 then think of it as $2000 down and anywhere from $75 to $150 per mo. that you have to make in payments (for repairs). If you stick that money aside you will never defer maintenence and will likely have enough for any major mechanical problems. Of course that on top of gas, and ins. and parking and tickets. In article <37D60DBA.415Bnopsamnet>, jvanabranopsamnet wrote: > Alex Zepeda wrote: > > > > >That's a hard question I think for anyone because how is someone > > >supposed to know how it has been taken care of throughout it's life? > > >That's what you look at, and don't just take their word, ask for > > >paperwork. > > > > Well how about worst and best case scenarios? > > There are really way too many variables to even account for. > > Example: > > My '90 SPG was purchased in April of '98. I paid $3500 for it; it > needed about $30 in repairs at the time. It has a salvage title, > but I don't know why. It had 44k on it when I drove it home. To > date, I've put $418 in actual repairs into the car, including three > new motor mounts, a new water pump, and a new turbo bypass valve. > I'm just to the point of needing new brake pads. All other work > that's been done on the car has been purely voluntary (new wheels > & tires, upgraded ignition system, exhaust, etc.). It is a > *really* nice car. > > My '87 SPG was purchased in November of '98. I paid $2100 for > it. It "needed" nothing, but I spent about $200 in miscellaneous > maintenance issues immediately. When I went to smog it, I found > out the catalytic converter was shot and the exhaust manifold > gasket was leaking. Fixed those two items. After less than 1,000 > miles the clutch started slipping. Fixed that. A few miles > later the front left wheel bearing started making bad noises, > so I fixed that. After about 4,000 miles, the pinion bearing in > the tranny started making noise (very little) and within the last > 1,000 miles it's gotten much worse, so now I am looking at a new > transmission - $2000 professionally done. All in all? I've > dropped close to $1800 into the car *before* handling the tranny. > *None* of these items were expected, and I doubt whether any > mechanic would have picked up on them. I've now invested more > in my '87 SPG than I have in my *'90* SPG including the > purchase of the cars. I got about 6k out of the '87 at this > point, and 16k out of the '90 at this point. > > Take the car to a mechanic - he'll pick up on the obvious items. > Get maintenance records - they will let you know what stuff has > been taken care of recently and give you an idea of what to > expect in the future. But, no matter how much research and > looking you do on the car, there *is* a certain element of risk > involved and I strongly recommend not sinking every last penny > into a used car. Save at least a couple hundred dollars to > take care of anything that pops up in the initial months - and > things *will* pop up. The car is being sold for a reason; sure, > some cars are creampuffs and impeccably maintained, but most > people decide to sell their cars (especially something 'neat' > like an SPG) because something isn't right, or because repairs > are expected. > > Used Saabs can be an *excellent* investment. Many Saab owners > cherish the cars and would do anything for them - these are the > guys you wanna buy from. People who spared no expense and are > selling it only because they want something new. The other group > of Saab owners are people who inherited the car or wanted to > 'live the dream of Europesn car ownership' and weren't prepared > to handle the cost of ownership, or weren't willing to put the > time and effort into finding a qualified and skilled mechanic. > These are people who let repairs go and did the minimum necessary > to keep their car on the road. These people usually sell when > something is needed and often aren't forthcoming about the > details. If you can find the former group of people and steer > clear of the latter group, what you'll end up with is a fine > car that's way undervalued in the marketplace and one that with > a little help from you will be happy for a very, very long > time. > > Happy Hunting, > > -Justin > '72 Sonett (newly added) > '80 900T (183k+ - odo dead) > '87 SPG (160k) > '88 900T (140k) > '90 SPG (60k) > '88 9000T (226k) > And a dozen more, gone but not forgotten...

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