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Re: Looking for advice Posted by Saana88 [Email]  (#207)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Saana88) on Sat, 13 May 2006 08:55:08
In Reply to: Looking for advice, Steve, Sat, 13 May 2006 06:19:28 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I guess that depends on how you live, how you drive, and what you expect out of a car. The 9-5 is good for the more upscale life with higher performance, more living space, greater sophistication, et cetera.
The 900 will be good for a basic, everyday car as long as you are prepared to take care of a sixteen-year-old car and know what that involves. It's smaller, a little slower, and the book is still open on reliability, both with the 900 and your 9-5. Both of my 900s have '89 gearboxes in them which tend to be excellent. Your story could be different. Lots of folks here have fine 900s because they got one that was in good shape, treat them well, and spend a lot of time and not so much money maintaining them. That's the story on an old car. If you pay someone else to maintain it, you'll go broke in a hurry. If you do all your own work, you won't have a whole lot of spare time until you get the nagging things out of the way, things that invariably come with a used car. Can you change a brake caliper, heat shield, transmission fluid, water pump, engine oil, ball joint(s), and exhaust? If so, you may want to get the 900 as a car to hand to offspring or a winter car, otherwise you'll be losing money by selling the 9-5 which has plenty of life left in it.
I've found myself with two cars. I've had my '88 four-door for nearly four years, and in October 2004 along came a blue convertible, which I bought, wanting a younger, more reliable car. I drove the convertible last summer (April-November) and it was fun, but then the salt started flying and I realized my white car was sitting around doing nothing when it is still perfectly useable. Since I've put three years into maintaining it, I know what is about to break and am caught up on everything. It took about two and a half years to get all the existing conditions taken care of. That's the used car game. Now it's down to seeing how long I can make it last, not only through the winter but during the summer as well. The convertible is sitting, and I'll use this time to work on things that need to be done to it, and it's standing by in case something happens to the four-door. I, however, would rather ride my bike to work. Yesterday was a fun drive, and I appreciate the car (it was raining heavily) but there comes a time when I personally feel the need to get out of the car-commuting, oil-consuming, stress-inducing rat race.
Verdict: stick with the ninefive unless it has some glaring issues or you can sell it for a very nice price. Get the '89 only if you need an additional car. I drive by an early '90s 9000 every time I drive to work and think about it, but two cars are too many for me.
Cars don't pay for themselves; it's all about how much of the losses you can recoup.
, Sat, 13 May 2006 08:55:08 <-- Viewing This Message
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