Im buying a car with 150,000 miles on it !!???

Question

everything has been maintained with it and it's working fine. it's a 1996 saab 900 convt. how many more miles do you think i can get out of it before it compleltely dies?????? i only need it for a couple years until i save up money for a new WAY less mileage car.. but what do you think about how many more miles i can get out of it . ( without having to replace parts and stuff like that )

Answer 1

good luck

Answer 2

With that high of mileage, you had better really like the car as you will have higher maintenance costs down the road as older parts nearing the end of their life cycle will need replacing.

Answer 3

Saab is a great car and if it's been well maintained you should be fine. Just don't beat on it. As long as you keep it up you should be dandy.

Answer 4

saabs are great cars, I think with continued maintenance this car will last you for years...

Answer 5

If it has been maintained quite well, mileage means nothing.

Answer 6

These days, if the car is well maintained then the odometer reading means very little.

My 94 Civic has 187K miles and still runs like new.  But there are other cars with just 87K miles and runs really bad.  So the problem is separating the good from the bad.

Here's some rules you should consider when buying a used car

(1) don't get sold on the paint job = meaning cars having good exterior, fancy CD radio, etc.

(2) look for car with sound ENGINE + TRANNY + SUSPENSION.

(3) test every button, k**b, switch, slider, etc.. Ex: even in the summer test out the heater & even in the winter test out the AC (if you can).  Slide the AC/heater to fan1, fan2, fan3, etc.  then slid the vent to defrost, front, bottom, etc.  Test the high beam, low beam, etc.  Test (flip) the visor.  Test the alarm.  Test all 4 doors.  Test the rear defogger.

  *****   TEST EVERYTHING.

(4) BEFORE the first start, open the engine bay and see if the engine is already warmed up.  Many engines starts well when already warmed up, but may have problems when cold (or cold start).

(5) test drive with the sound system off and window down. Listen for weird sound coming from the wheels & suspension.

(6) Look inside the engine bay to see if you can see see leaks, etc.  It is normal to see some oil and grease.  But too much means that the car is leaking oil somewhere. Too clean (really clean) means they just wash the engine bay - possibly hiding some oil leaks.

(7) check the engine oil dip stick. If the oil is BRAND NEW CLEAN, the seller MIGHT be hiding something.  If the oil is jet black and /or smells like gasoline (or burnt), you might have engine problem).

(8) once you are satisfied with the above - you can NOW take it to the mechanic for the engine + tranny + suspension inspection.  He won't find everything, but he will find the obvious.  Take it to a mechanic EVEN if you are buying from a used car dealer.  They cars are NO better than cars you buy from ebay and craigslist.com.  Just more expensive.

good Luck...

Answer 7

That depends a whole lot of whether or not it has had any major maintenance in the recent past. You should check it out. Ask the seller for maintenance history. At this point, honestly, the engine should have started to cause problems for him. Check to see if the engine was rehauled or replaced or anything like that. Also, check to see when the last brake replacement was done, the fluids replacement, and if there was any strange work done on the car (like replaced alternator, for example), which could mean that it was taken care of poorly. And of course, it all depends on how much it's going to cost you. If it's gonna be more than $2000, I say you probably shouldn't buy it. Not worth it.

Answer 8

It would probably run fine for a couple of years. You could probably get another 100,000 out of it if you were lucky.

This Saab had a million miles on it:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx...

and it still ran fine : )

Answer 9

This is a really tough question to answer because you really don't know how well the car was maintained, do you?  A '96 with 150k means that it was driven an average of 12,000 miles a year, which is a nice average.  I know you probably don't have a lot of extra money, but I suggest you pull a Carfax report on this car before you buy it to see if it was in any major accidents.

Saabs aren't known for their longevity; this is a turbo, right?  Turbo engines are smaller and have to work harder, so they tend not to last as long as non-turbo engines.

I would also suggest taking the car to a mechanic you trust and getting his or her opinion as to the state of the car.

If you can't afford that, here are two really important tests:

1) Look at the car from ground level from behind; see if the front and rear wheels line up, or if the rear tires are to the right or left of the front ones - if they're out-of-line, then the car's frame was bent; you don't want it.

2) Pull out a spark plug (you'll need a special wrench to do this - someone you know may be able to lend you one); if there's oil on it, you don't want the car.

Are you paying more to get a convertible, here?  You should do some research (cars.com is good; and Consumers' Reports, too.)

Good luck!

Answer 10

you may have to replace like tyres and stuff. but it should do about another 70,000-100,000 without too much trouble

saabs are well built cars and keep running for a long time