Looking at buying a 95 SL1 - what to look out for

"BlairG" typed until their fingers bled, and came up with:

check the sunroof for leaks. look and see if you can see oil leaking from the vlave cover - it's an easy fix, but might give you some leverage with the dealer. There really isn't a good way to look at teh car and see if it burns oil, but at that mileage, I'd be surprized if it didn't, but the MMO soak does help with that.

my friend has about that mileage on hers, and it's still running strong. My '95 "SC1.5" is running great with nearly that mileage, but then it has a DOHC engine in it, and I flog the living crap out of it.

Check for oil in the plug wells, look for any leaks, oil or atf, and change the ECTS. Also, replace the TAM, and you will be fine. They really are reliable cars if you maintain them decently. I have worked on a 96 SL that has over 600k on the body. The original motor lasted over 500k miles..... just had a rebuild done about 2 years ago....

hi If it has brand new tires they should have been balanced, I would expect the tie rod ends are worn and that caused shimmy on my saturn, also check coolant reservoir for signs of oil since that year was known to have cracked heads i believe.

Thansk for the reply, 500K on the original motor! That's impressive. Can you expand on the two terms you used ECTS and TAM?

thanks

These really are decent cars if you remember to keep up with the maintenance. I have 160,000 miles on a 93 SL2, so it's a little different than yours having the dual overhead cam motor and an automatic transmission.

Mine never had any trouble until 147,000 miles, which is when the alternator went.

The ECTS is the engine coolant temp sensor. This is very cheap to replace. I didn't know mine went bad, and the car started getting poor gas mileage because the car was running rich and I didn't know. There really isn't any other indication. Eventually this damaged the catalytic converter on it. So, just replace it before this happens. It only costs about $8-$10 at an auto parts store and could save you some trouble.

I have no idea what a TAM is.

At 156,000 miles, you probably should have the radiator hoses & coolant replaced if that has never been done. Also make sure the serpentine belt is in good shape. If it has cracks or tears running parallel to the belt (as opposed to across it) you need to put a new one on there. Sometimes you replace the belt and yet you still have squealing from the belt, or the alternator can't keep the headlights fully bright. In this case it could be the belt tensioner going bad. It costs about $100 (for the part) to replace.

Make sure the spark plug wires are changed if they are still original.

One thing to listen for when test driving is if you hear a whirring sound from the wheels when you drive. You might need wheel bearings if you hear this noise. They are fairly expensive to replace ($100 for the part alone). One of mine went bad after hitting a curb.

This hasn't happened to me, but I have heard if you get misfiring in the engine, you should add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner into the gas tank. Apparently the fuel injectors get clogged sometimes & cause this.

Always check the oil and keep it above the ADD line on the dipstick. As someone else said it will probably burn some oil at this mileage. Keep the oil changed every 3000 miles, and don't let the engine overheat (it has an aluminum block and head)- and you should stay out of trouble. On automatic transmission cars you should change the fluid every 30,000 miles. You shouldn't have any problem getting to 200,000 miles on one of these.

The front end shimmy sounds like a tire out of balance or a ball joint or tie rod needing replacement.

Take this car to the best steering and suspension shop you can find and have a complete front end inspection AND 4 wheel alignment check done as part of your pre-purchase inspection. Is the steering wheel centered when rolling straight? If the wheel is not centered it may be a sign of damage or wear or poor alignment.

Pay to have the tires rebalanced yourself if you need to but the owner can probably get them redone for free where he purchased them. Ask to see his tire sales receipt. Were they balanced when mounted? You might want to ask the tire store if this shimmy has been a known problem that they are unable to find or resolve. I am always suspisious of new tires on a used car as tires are often replaced to mask uneven wear caused by bent suspension. New tires also roll smoother and can hide all sorts of worn or BENT and EXPENSIVE front end problems. I would MUCH rather buy a used car with tires worn out EVENLY. Worn tires will show uneven wear caused by poor alignment much quicker than new tires.

Front end repairs can be expensive and could cost as much as the car.

Do check for evidence of oil in the coolant tank.

IMHO 5 speed good, automatic bad. Cluches and automatic transmisions seem to last about the same life, but clutches are (often much) cheaper to fix (usually) and give better fuel economy.

AFAIK the window regulator is changed by removing the outer door skin. Buy a used one at "Pick Your Part" and you can practice by removing it yourself.

These are VERY good cars and many give very long service. This car sounds like it could be very good value.

Good luck YMMV