The SAABga continues!

by "Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
Published 10/26/2017 at 13:54

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STARS: 2

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Welcome back to the never ending saga where I post about a car that I am 100% committed to buying and the next day say how terrible it is and am no longer buying it! Well the crack pipe Saabaru with a “minor” headgasket leak, potentially bad clutch, nail in the tire, soft shocks, dented subframe, and mostly worn brake rotors and front pads is back!

Back in the sense that it is no longer TOTALLY written off. The seller texted me today and said he thought about it and the lowest he can do is $8k. Now, I already have a flight into SFO and I booked a rental to drive home to LA (such is life when you 99% commit to buying a car and change your mind). But anyways I am checking out another Saabaru nearby and well I might as well test drive this one!

Before you tell me that I am NUTS, I am not bringing any money with me and so I am NOT buying a car that day no matter what! Hopefully the banks are closed too by the time I finish the test drive, dont want any ideas creeping into my head (GOOD THING I CANT PULL $8K FROM THE ATM!)

Haha but really, I am sticking hard to not buying anything until after I arrive in California on the Nov 11th with my Miata. Then if its still available and nobody wants it for that price, I imagine he would be more amenable to my offer. But at least I get a free test drive out of it!

NOTE TO FUTURE SELF, FUCK YOU FOR CHANGING YOUR MIND AND BUYING IT ANYWAYS.

BTW, here was the other maintenance done to the car to provide more history on it:

6/10/2010 - Purchased car
7/1/2010 - 42,000 miles Exhaust leak fixed
7/7/2010 - 43,246 miles Smog check pass
7/22/2010 - 43,727 miles Oil change
7/23/2010 - 43,668 replace front right axle
6/6/2011 - 49,496 miles Oil change
9/1/2012 - 51,252 miles Replaced front pads
4/23/2015 - 54,204 miles Installed Fujitsubo Legalis R Axleback, Tomei equal length header, Subaru gaskets, Subaru exhaust bolt and spring kit, Replace oil cooler to STI version, Oil change, Coolant
8/4/2016 - 58,690 miles Oil change
12/3/2016 - 60,976 miles Front axles replaced with OEM Subaru axles, Oil change, MOC Intake Cleaner, MOC Fuel Injector Cleaner, Factory Air filter, Transmission gear/oil, Brake fluid flush with Motul, Parts wash, Subaru longlife coolant, Denso iridium plugs IK22, Cabin filter, Replace R Valve cover gasket, valve cover, spark plug and cam plug gasket, AC belts
1/10/2017 - 61,688 miles Bridgestone Potenza RE970 Pole Position Ultra High Performance tires, replaced all 4 at Costco (40,000 mile warranty) free lifetime balance and rotation
7/11/2017 - 64,487 miles Alignment
7/12/2017 - 64,600 miles Secondary air system block off plates, reprogram ECU
7/XX/2017 - Smog check pass (couldn’t find this receipt)
8/15/2017 - 65,400 miles Oil change

Tomorrow I will be changing out the air filter and cabin filter.

Replies (29)

"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
10/26/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 6

I hate my future self...that guy’s a dick. Also screw past self too, lazy good for nothing piece of crap.

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
10/26/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 3

Please don’t buy that car.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 14:06, STARS: 0

I mean I really dont want to. But Ive always wanted to test drive one. I will test drive it, say I need a week or two to think about and let him list it again. Then I will see how my 7.5k offer flies after that point if it does not sell. I will let someone crazier than me pay more than that.

Yeah its probably still worth 8k considering the market but not to me. That $500 of peace of mind is important. Either way a free test drive is of no harm and will give me a better idea about the car model in general.

"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
10/26/2017 at 14:06, STARS: 3

Seriously don’t buy that car. Seller is either misinformed or lying. I’d rather not own a car from either one of those people.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 14:10, STARS: 1

Well I agree which is why Im not bringing money. Its a free test drive to make my useless flight diversion not a TOTAL waste of time. Plus it will help me when shopping others to get a better idea of how different ones feel. I still do want the car for my price, it can come with no engine for all I care if it was priced right. It is rust free and that is hard to come by on these. I want to get a feel for the seller in person just to give a better judgement to others on the forum too.

I agree the situation is sketch and hence why im not bringing money nor really considering his $8k offer.

"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
10/26/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0

I guess

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/26/2017 at 14:36, STARS: 7

Test drive it, yes. Then walk away no matter how much you like it (which sounds like your plan anyway). And buy the next nice example you find, unless the guy says $4k in which case shake his hand and run with it.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 14:52, STARS: 3

For this particular example Id still take it for $7k no questions. Id still have to think about my original offer of $7.5k. But NO WAY IN HELL would I do $8k. No amount of mental gymnastics would get me there. Even the shop did say its in good shape and drives well. So I dont think anything else is wrong.

I am 100% looking at it as a car that needs $5-6k in work. So the question is, can the car sell once fixed for $8k + 6 = $14k? Probably not. But where would it sell? $11k? $12k? DEFINITELY. I am not looking for a flip or anything like that but its a good judgement of whether something is a good deal. The market for these is indeed CRAZY. And others who see HEAD GASKETS REPLACED (along with timing belt job), sub 70k miles, NEW CLUTCH, and everything else thats new. That is worth something. I would pay $10k for that right now no questions asked. But you cant find that!

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
10/26/2017 at 14:55, STARS: 0

Is your flight on Southwest? Because you could always cancel it as long as it’s at least 24 hours ahead of time, and have the funds in your Southwest account for 12 months from the original booking date.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 15:01, STARS: 0

The problem is I need to get to LA no matter what that night. My original flight was $160 from NY to LA. Then this car came up and im on Virgin and that $160 included a fee to make it flexible (it was like $25). So I just moved it to SFO for the difference in fair (at the time about $40). But now its too late to move it back (difference is now another $200). I could still cancel it for free and keep my money in the account but I still need to get to LA lol.

So yeah the one way rental for around $100 is my cost of this problem situation.

"haveacarortwoorthree2" (haveacarortwoorthree2)
10/26/2017 at 15:47, STARS: 1

Tell him that you’ve thought about it and highest you can do is $7k.

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
10/26/2017 at 16:09, STARS: 1

They’re all Saab Stories.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 16:24, STARS: 0

Thats basically the plan. I am just going there to test drive. I still would take 7500 but id rather tell him 7k is my price.

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/26/2017 at 16:55, STARS: 2

I hear you. Your overall plan sounds solid.

I know they’re not as fast but you could look for an E46 wagon. Can be had with manual, and awd if desired. They make great weekend/ snow cars, and have better highway manners than the Subie platform. Probably could get a good one in your range with a little homework and for sure a good ppi.

I might be biased.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 17:04, STARS: 1

Actually yeah that would be awesome if they are in my price range. I definitely will look into it. “Fast” to me just means faster than my Miata. But even so, it really only has been turbocharged stuff like a MCS that has really made it feel slow. Miatas “feel” fast on anything thats not uphill.

But either way, I could care less that car is beautiful and would make me happy I imagine. BMW problems aren’t any worse than Subaru problems. Gotta pay to play!

"RacinBob" (racinbob)
10/26/2017 at 18:51, STARS: 0

I liked that car, especially when I hear that it has 65,000 miles on it. Let’s say that your all in cost for a $8k car plus repair is $12k, and you plan to drive it for 5 years and sell it for $6k. That’s $1250 a year depreciation. Granted the car when it goes will be 17 years old, but even at 15,000 miles a year it will have 130,ooo miles which is low miles even compared to 2005 SAABs and WRX’s today. I think that makes it very doable.

The first question is whether you can afford a $12,000 car. If you can’t we are wasting time. If you can, we are haggling over $200 a year but meanwhile you are not coming up with another with this mikes and in this condition.

I don’t have a problem with the car. The guy appears to have taken care of it given the maintenance, the new tires, and it’s clean interior. That means a lot. The rest is just risk, If you hate risk, buy a new SI, but you will pay more.

If you don’t have the money, don’t buy as much of a car. Go find a 2002 Si or something. Also, if you can’t imagine keeping a car longer than 2 years, get something really cheap. But if you want a SAAB 9-2x, this seems like a good car for the long haul.

BTW - $4k seems a lot for a clutch and gaskets. If I were the shop, I would drop the motor to do the heads, meaning the clutch replacement at the same time is about the cost of parts only. I would have guessed about any shop would be in the range of $2500.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 19:50, STARS: 0

I agree with you that it is worth getting. But to me, I see the problems as just red flags. If they were problems advertised from the beginning, I would have paid $8k without an issue. The additional risk is because the seller is either stupid or lying. So to further safeguard myself, I need to get a lower price and spend more time to think about. I have to meet the seller and get a feel for how sketchy they are. If rather just wait for the next one at this point. Even if I pay more, there’s just too many factors making this off putting to me. I don’t mind mileage, I mind abused mileage. And issues like subframe dents and brake pads that only last 10k miles worry me. Nail in the tire and not knowing about it seems negligent to me as well. Overall, it’s just additional risk that makes a $7k price fair to me. It’s the way he handled it that bothered me.

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/26/2017 at 20:41, STARS: 0

I’ve had two back to back, basically been driving the same car since 2009. You might say I like them.

Yeah, PPI and reading up on the bimmerfest E46 wiki, you’ll know what you need to know. Cooling system. Suspension bushings, rear springs, rear subframe (on some). Takata airbag recall. Crankcase Ventilation system (CCV, CVV, whatever). Oil leaks. All very DIY-able, because the car was put together in a way that it can be taken apart.

I drove my ‘01 like I stole it, and replaced a lot of parts. I’ve been a lot nicer to this one, but both are high mileage. I’ve driven both around short rally courses at Team O’Neil with zero modifications, including catching air in my ‘01 up there. Even those guys were like, “geez this thing is pretty good!”

A manual xi version might be hard to locate, admittedly. But they’re out there. The automatics aren’t worth it, unless you’re in a ton of traffic all the time. The 5-speed is geared much better for the engine.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/26/2017 at 20:45, STARS: 1

You couldn’t pay me to drive an automatic! I don’t care what traffic I face, I hate automatics for a daily. Awd is not a hard stop requirement. I’m fine with RWD for snow adventures, I’d be getting snow tires anyways. My Miata can handle snow just fine, it just doesn’t have ground clearance for any real stuff.

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/26/2017 at 21:11, STARS: 0

Haha, well I’m about the same, but have to be practical with two kids. My son said the other day, from the back seat of our Volvo, “Daddy, how come there are only two pedals?”

The rwd E46 wagon would be fine in the snow if you’re used to a Miata in the snow. That opens up your options quite a bit on that front...

Funny story on auto v. manual: one of the first conversations I ever had with my wife was, “Whose car is that?” (referring to a then-new 2005 Volvo S40 T5 awd I saw in her driveway). “Mine.” she said. “Is it a manual?” I asked. Her answer? “Of course!” This was a good start....

*On that note, that’s a good car. But good luck finding one.

"RacinBob" (racinbob)
10/26/2017 at 21:48, STARS: 0

Separate the seller from the thing. In my experience, cars are inherently reliable, so if the seller changed the oil, and did quality things like putting $600 worth of tires before he sold it, as well as over the top maintenance things, it’s probably a pretty good car for $12k all in. Especially since the owner only put 25,000 miles on it in 7 years. If it is not, what is your comparable?

I mean you could buy a used car from far worse guys such as my Brother........ By the way, he’s not in LA.....

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/27/2017 at 06:21, STARS: 1

“Good luck finding one” is the story of EVERY car that I actually want lol. I figure if I add enough “rare” car options to a pool, it increases my odds of finding one! Fuck you probability and statistics!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/27/2017 at 06:37, STARS: 0

Well my comparable is shopping entirely different cars. Maybe its true that all Subarus have bad head gaskets and $5-6k of maintenance required is normal. Yes I can afford it, but do I want to? I am not particular about any one car (other than Miatas, I love Miatas which is why I already have one!). So if something else can make me just as happy with less headache? Then its not a bad option. Other people have suggested some very interesting options that I would like to look into.

"RacinBob" (racinbob)
10/27/2017 at 08:18, STARS: 0

Gotcha, well then you don’t sound like someone who holds a car for 5 to 10 years. So look for a car that can be sold with little depreciation in 18 months.
 

Both of these are in the $7s. Everybody should own a K20 motor once.

My recommendation in your neighborhood is this ‘05  LINK

or this ‘08  LINK

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/27/2017 at 09:28, STARS: 0

haha, that’s true! In that case, include the V50 in your search because you’ve got nothing to lose. There was one on CL in Vermont recently, a manual, too, for about $5k. I’m sure it sold quickly.

When I bought my current E46, I wasn’t really shopping, but it came up for sale at a place where we’ve bought lots of cars over the years. They didn’t even have pictures on the website I just called them up and said I want it based on the description.

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/27/2017 at 09:53, STARS: 0

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/d/2001-bmw-325it-e46-wagon-5/6362054729.html

Just paint that lower trim white (or black) and get rid of the awful yellow inserts in the headlights... and maybe those wheels... ok nevermind.

"jonny11quest" (jonny11quest)
10/27/2017 at 12:19, STARS: 0

I love that color and the wheels. Great looking car.

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/27/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 0

Thanks! The wheels were from a 90's 328i; they never came on the wagon, but no one ever notices stuff like that.

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/28/2017 at 17:29, STARS: 0

I mean i keep a car plenty of time. But to me something more than likely $5k is an expensive car so I’m just very cautious about getting the right deal and not getting scammed.