have a chance to buy a 86 740 turbo diesal, trans slips, in good cond. runs good. do not know anything about 740s. has 166k miles. could there be a sensor or something making to trans act up/ the price is 550. deal or no deal

 

If transmission is the only thing bad then you could probably pick up another fairly cheaply. My concern would be that with the age of the car there may be more than one thing wrong with it. No deal.

 

I'm guessing you've already taken into account the hassles of having a diesel? I just had to scrap an '86 740 because at that age, you have to question if any major repair is worth your while. That said, they are tenacious little buggers.