1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
how has it been maintained are the big concerns. From the sounds of it, mechanically it's in good shape but how are the cosmetic's?
Seeing as it's 17, if you see obvious signs of rust, you should do a thorough search. That being said if you don't see any rust... you should do a thorough search. Not all of them rust or rot out but strange things happen. I worked at an independent Saab shop when I was in school and one customer had a gorgeous c900 that looked like it just rolled off the line but when it went on the lift, the underside was rusting in every place i'll mention below.
When looking for rust check wheel wells, the trunk compartment, door's, under side of the hood, jack point's, frame rails to the front bumper and most importantly the lower control arm area. Look for body work, does the hood have an even gap at the curve by the windshield as well as the doors and hatch. Understandably, it's an older car so nothing will be perfect cosmetically but at the same time it gives an idea of future issues.
I bought my 86 SPG almost 5 years ago with a bad gearbox for $1200 and 165k, other than a cracked dash and sagging headliner (yes and the gearbox) the car was perfect cosmetically and mechanically. My mistake was in the excitement of "finally getting my SPG" I didn't look it over as well as I should have and I overlooked the body work on the passenger rear quarter panel, which had been replaced along with the hatch. So year's later it's showing sign's but what can you do and hell, it's a great car.
Don't be scared of the mileage either, as long as it's been maintained it will treat you well. I had an 86 turbo years ago that I bought with 279k on it from the original owner who babied it from day one. A year later I sold it to a friend and it has well over 300k on it.
Sorry for the long post and I hope this didn't scare you in any fashion, just make sure you look it over really well and do a little research. You'll know what's right. good luck and take care
Fish
Funny thing, one of my favorite driving moments is bringing it home the day I bought it. It was an 85 mile drive (had my freind's dealer tag) with no reverse, 1st gear, popping out of 2nd and one of the worst pinion bearing scream's I'd ever heard in my life. But it was sunny, it was Good Friday and I finally had my SPG. Almost forgot, my dad was following me in my other car (A.K.A. the doner) which had the tow bar in the back in case the gearbox gave it up.
posted by 146.145.19...
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