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Agree with yaofeng (no big surprise there..) Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:20:58
In Reply to: Considering 1986 9000 Turbo 5 speed newbie questions, AndrewCConti, Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:14:09 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The first rule of buying a car is to assume the seller is a devious liar. Let them earn your trust from there. Nothing personal.
Unless you've actually inspected the car for the proper turbo installation and vin plate (to establish year), you don't know what is in there. I've run across cars where the seller thought it was a turbo, because all Saabs are turbos. I've had others that were a bit fuzzy about the year. I've also opened the hood and found the engine to be different than advertised. I saw one "CSE" that somehow the "E" fell off - so far so good. And the sunroof, leather, and BPC had also fallen off. The CSE was a CS, and a poor one that that.
If the car doesn't start, it could be because of a bad wire, bad starter, or the engine is seized into a solid block of metal because it was run out of oil six years ago. Again, you're trusting someone 3000 miles away to be telling you the truth, when NOT telling the truth is in his/her best interest. The guy just might be looking for a way to get a junker out of his driveway and not have to pay a junkyard to tow it. And send it far enough away that small claims court makes no sense. Paranoid? Somewhat. Overly paranoid - Who says that? OK - no, not really.
As Yaofeng notes, NE is rich with Saabs, and much newer ones at that. If you're a newbie, starting with a 23 year old car that isn't running is taking a pretty big step. For the cost of shipping a car across the country and the risk of having nothing but a conglomeration of old parts supported by wheels, look for something newer. You should have no problem finding a decent 95-97 (I like the 96-97 if possible) car that is actually running.
And there is no such thing as a $500 car. Well, yes, but not if you want it to run. I picked up a '97 a few years back that had complete service records, and the PO had done everything by the book at a dealer. A beautiful creampuff car that had been fully serviced. And I still had to drop another $500 or so on it to bring it up to snuff. If you're buying something older, you need to set aside a kitty for stuff that goes wrong, and if the car starts at $500 (or in this case, won't start at $500), you'd better assume a LOT is wrong.
Between the Boston area, NH, and southern Connecticut, newer 9000's are thick on the ground. Look for a car you can actually touch and drive. I consider myself to be relatively savvy about the 9000 breed, and if the car doesn't start, I'd walk away. Yes, it could be that miracle blown fuse, and you're walking away from a super deal. Or the engine could be toast. OK, buy a new engine - but without driving it, you don't know the tranny is a slurry of gear teeth in the sump, the brakes are shot, the steering rack is a mere suggestion, and the cooling system spurts more regularly than Old Faithful. But the upholstery is nice.
Sorry to ruin your day, but I hope this prevents a worse ruin.
posted by 99.162.183...
, Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:20:58 <-- Viewing This Message
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