Date: 15 Aug 1997 14:56:39 GMT From: bentleynopsamss5.digex.net (Bentley) Subject: Re: Used Saab
lutrennopsam.net said something like: : I am currently interested in an 87 Saab 900 and the car is at my : house..... Cool. I currently have an 87 Saab 900 at my house as well. : It is a family friends and the car appears to be in decent : shape. You realize, of course, that buying a car from a friend has killed more than a few friendships... Anyway, "decent" doesn't cut it with used Saabs. Get the service records. What's that, no service records. Run. : 1. The Speedometer and other instruments are not back lit at night...How : much would this cost to have fixed (not a fuse I checked) Well, to nitpick, they aren't backlit at all, there's a series of bulbs at the front of the housing that shine backwards onto the guages (and they stay on even with the headlights off, curiously enough). Also note that there are two dash dimmer switches, one on either side of the steering wheel. One controls the guage cluster, the other the rest of the knobs and such. Make sure they're both turned up (clockwise). See if the lights come up on both (they're on the same circuit). : 2. After driving the car for about 30 minutes of kinda hard use...(.never : above 4000 rpm) I noticed a smell that smelled like burning oil...then I : went home parked in the garage and opened the hood...defiant odor which to : me smelled liked burning oil. After about 30 minutes of sitting I moved : it back and looked under the car this is what I noticed: : -It looked like drip or two of oil on the floor You need to track it down. Mine was leaking tranny oil, and I couldn't figure out where the oil was coming from because I assumed it was engine oil. The front seals often leak a little on Saabs this old (mine do), it's just something to keep an eye on. To replace them requires lifting the engine off the tranny, an expensive option unless you have an engine lift. Also, in 1987, the model had a shift-light idiot light. The sensor is on the passenger side, easily visible by standing at the wheel and looking toward the bottom. Mine leaked, and I've talked to other owners who had the same problem. Easy fix. : -Engine appered to be still warm : -It looked like a water type fluid coming from near the front : right wheel The A/C condensor is over there; most cars put the cooling unit up by the radiator, but they're actually at the top of the engine bay on this model (that's what the the little vents near the back of the hood are for). Might just be condensation. Look for the greenish (or yellowish) tint of coolant to be sure. : -the bottom of the engine appeared to have oil (i think?) around : what looked to me like a cap on the botttom Not sure what you mean by cap. : 3. When Starting the car cold it idles at a very low paceand almost conks : out then comes back alive but sometimes conks out when I try to go Heh. Mine does this too. Vacuum leak in the dash somewhere. The car revs, falls off, revs, falls off, for about 30 seconds, each time ALMOST stalling. Then the emission control thingie changes modes and it runs fine. You gotta remove the whole dash to get to the vacuum lines, so I haven't bothered with it. : Other than those three things the car appears to me to be in very sound : shape as it both runs and handles well They're very solid cars from a body integrity and suspension point of view. ....Are these things major things : that I should worry about or are they quick fixes that I dont need to : worry about...how much should I expect to pay to have the repairs : done..please reply via email if possible but if not then the newsgroups : will be fine...thanx in advance for any response Well, everything is relative. If the price is right, maybe it's worth the risk. But don't pay book for it. Heck, I'll sell you mine for a good price! -- > B E N T L E Y < bentleynopsamss.digex.net
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