Anyone near Manassas, VA? (Saab got hurt, Part II)

I'm in Knoxville, TN, with a Saab 1995 9000CS that got hurt in an accident and I'm interested in a Saab for sale in Manassas. Anyone interested in giving it a preliminary look before I make the 7 hour drive up there? If yes, e-mail me at lkrz at aol dot com The insurance company has declared mine a total loss -- cost more to repair than the car is worth. They're offering me considerably more than I expected -- and more than the total I've spent on the car in the 1-1/2 years I've owned it. I need to decide if it's worth keeping and having my friend that owns a body shop fix it (they'll deduct $800 from my payment if I do) or let them take it and buy another one. It's got 105,000 miles on it. There are two 1996 9000CSEs at the Manassas dealership. Both look good and are priced at less than I'd get for mine from the insurance company. I'm leaning toward getting one, since they have amenities -- leather seats and sun roof -- that mine doesn't. But they are auto while mine's manual. Relatively low mileage. But they're unknown quantities and history. And I'm very concerned about rust on DC area cars. I lived up there for some time and spent a lot of money replacing exhaust systems and had the floorboard rust through on a Fiesta.

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Reply to
LauraK
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FWIW, I've never seen a 9k with significant amounts of rust on it (UK). They are very well galvanised, so generally only crash-repaired ones tend to rust.

Good luck with your quest.

Reply to
Grunff

I think I know the Saab shop in Manassas. I considered a 900 from them, but they were honest and said it had a big ugly rust spot on a door. As with any car, they are an unknown entity until they are checked out. They could have been in an accident and could have rust issues.

As for the Fiesta - what a piece of junk. I had one and I am lucky to be alive after that experience. You name it and it failed on my Fiesta. Among the worst were the two total brake failures and the car that ran a stop sign. It punched the passenger door in, taking out the dash and passenger seat - literally ripped off the hinges and the lock mechanism.

Reply to
ma_twain

Nowhere near, but good luck from Australia!

Reply to
hippo

Laura,

I would not be all that concerned about rust on cars from that area. Your Fiesta is an anomaly in that it was made so poorly that it was already rusting when it was sitting on the new car lot. The weather in Washington / No.VA is actually pretty mild relative to many areas and the cars would not have been subjected to the serious, continuous salt exposure that occurs up this way.

I bought a '94 BMW 540i down in VA which had been owned and registered by someone in DC (proper). The car, like any SAAB from the same era would be, is entirely rust free, even on the undercarriage, with no signs whatsoever of corrosion.

Go have a look at them. I'd bet any problem spots would be in something other than the body corrosion.

Good Luck,

-Fred W

Reply to
Fred W.

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