Site News - 6/4: Advertising Position/Commission Available | 5/10: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads!
[General | Members | C900 | 9000 | NG900 & OG93 | 93 | 95 | NG95 | 99 | Sonett | Vintage Models | Clubs | Other Cars | FAQs | Gifts | Member Photo Galleries | Member Directory | Classifieds | Manuals | *Buddy Registry | *Mileage Registry | Polls | What's New | Raffle | Photo of the Month | Sponsors]

C900 Bulletin Board
1979-1993 & 94 Conv [Subscribe to Daily Digest]
(Search Author's Posts: e.g. Keyword:username)*Members Only

[Main C900 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ | Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: Overwhelmed
Like This Post: - Subscribe to Daily Digest for this Bulletin Board
Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email] (#32) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:23:41 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Overwhelmed, RadioFlyer, Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:28:00
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup

I will offer you the same advice I offer everyone who wants to drive an old car:

Don't approach it like a new car. There is no 'scheduled maintenance' plan that tells you when things need to be replaced, or how to anticipate future repairs. Everything has aged long beyond its original design, and the history is unknown so you can't even guess as to what might fail and what might live.

*Whenever* I buy an old car that I intend on driving, I do a FULL reset. Every service that can be done is done, every system gone through and every wear item replaced regardless of how good it might look and every common problem on that particular brand/model addressed. I'll spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars in parts and the car won't go anywhere for several weeks to a couple months. But what emerges out the other side is a reliable car with a known service history and future needs that can be readily anticipated.

Folks on other forums have reactions along the lines of, "Why did you replace that, it wasn't broken!" but there is peace of mind in knowing when it was done and the quality level of the part in the car and the competence of the work that installed it. Then I don't have to worry about it.

It's incredibly easy to address problems as they come up, and frankly it's probably the cheaper approach. But it costs time and frustration, and those are two things I am very bad at. I'd rather waste some money on the front end and know that I have zero worries for a long time than drive around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have been daily driving *nothing* but old cars since I got my license 20 years ago, and sometimes (like right now, FML) it can be a bear. But most the time - and I'm talking 19 out of 24 months - I have a fun, interesting, unique car with few ongoing costs and zero reliability issues. When I have two old cars, that 1 out of 24 months where one of them is broken is not a problem. I take the broken one, fix the issue, and resume business as usual.

I think there is real merit in getting your wife something new. If she is concerned about getting stranded or just wants a change of pace, that's fair enough. No point in introducing a marital struggle to compliment your vehicular struggle, so if you've got the means, that's a problem you can (and should) fix.

For your Saabs, nothing sounds insurmountable but you need to focus on one car and one problem at a time. Since the '80 seems to be drivable, just loop up the power steering hoses and drive with manual steering and squeaky brakes for a while. It'll build up your upper body strength! The '94 has been outsourced, so you have no control over that. Focus on the thing you can: The SPG. Either dump it, or rip that motor outta there and replace the steering rack, head gasket, engine seals, alternator bushings, steering pump bushings, timing chain guides, vacuum hoses, engine mounts, inner drivers, clutch, brakes, and then put it back together. That's a solid month of moderately intense weekends worth of work, and probably $1500 in parts and machine shop time. But when it's done you will have a great, reliable Saab and the ability to spend June with the '80. By mid-summer, you will have three great Saabs, and a jealous wife who is stuck in her nice but ultimately not interesting Mazda 6i. :)

posted by 12.195.130...
Posts in this Thread:
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

Name: Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
E-Mail: (Optional)
Re-Enter E-Mail: (Confidential & Secure - Not revealed to other users!)
Note: Please check your spam folder for BB responses.

Subject:

Posting rules are simple - No for sale/wanted ads may be posted here - use the site classifieds.
You may not cross-post your message to multiple BBs.
Not permitted: political/religious topics and being disrespectful (personal attacks, insults, etc...).
 Site Members do not see any red text, inline ad links, bottom of page anchor ads, box ads, or anti-spam check.

Message: (please no for sale/wanted classifieds - post those in the Saabnet.com Classifieds)
Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).

Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post above, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).
Optional Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/)
Link Title: (Optional)
Optional Photo/Image Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/img.jpg)
Photo/Image to Upload: (Please be patient while file uploads)



StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2025 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP - Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot


Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!