Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 18:57:13 -0700 From: Justin VanAbrahams <jvanabranopsamnet> Subject: Re: 900 S Turbo
B.A.D. wrote: > > Thinking about buying a 900s 16valve turbo. It's an 87 w/ 188,000 miles on > it. The body is perfect & it seems to run good, but it makes a rythmic, > surging sound in the engine when driven at high speeds (70mph+) My mechanic > is selling it to me & he doesn't know what the sound is. Question: Anyone > ever have a simular sound in their SAAB? What might it be? Is 188.00 miles > too many to consider buying this car? Thanks. > > Brian - bad1nopsam.com An '87 with that many miles, in the U.S., IMHO, wouldn't be worth more than $2000 if that car is in good shape - $3000 tops if its immaculate. A surging sound likely isn't a good thing, but it's probably not that bad. I cannot really think of anything expensive that would cause a surging sound, UNLESS it's something with the turbo (could be an old compressor or a vacuum leak) but that would be evident by watching the turbo/APC gauge - if it's flicking or not staying stable while cruising *I* would cruise - right out of the deal. :) But, if it's your mechanic selling it, make him give you a labor warranty. It's not fair to ask him to cover parts on such on "old" car, but if he agrees to cover labor costs on anything that requires fixing in the next 6 mos to a year, it might be very worthwhile... -Justin