I went to a police auction this afternoon,I saw they had an 1992 940 on the block.
quick Description
940 Turbo
212K
Exterior
Black:Paint fair( should buff out with out much work)
Pass door trim moulding missing
No badges on back replaced by white tape with turbo diesel
tires fair, 2 of 4 center discs missing

interior: (4 out of 10)
Seats (4 out of 100 fair few wear frays to tears.)
missing console cover,carpet fair no tears
aftermarket radio ,missing faceplate
speaker wires coming out of faceplate going back speakers

Engine:
Tranny fluid clean & pink no smell
Tranny switched back and forth
oil , clear
coolant, antifreeze down diluted
oil cap clean ; oil only
jump started: little valve noise, top end looked dirty in side.
Valve cover gasket leaking
exhaust manifold gasket ,small leak
throttle cable bellows rubber ripped.
Did car fax: two owners up to 186K last september went thru emissions 4 rimes until it passed.

Car went fro $475.+fees
I wasn's going more than $400

good that I passed or do I need to grow more Hair on the Cajones!

 

I dunno, I bought the thirty-five-year-old bucket of bolts I'm driving now for five hundred. But then again everything costs more over here.

 

There's ALWAYS another day and another deal if you walk away from this one. and nothing hurts worst than falling in love with a car and finding out it's a blackhole for your time and money. (Not that I've ever done that!!!)

Auctions are a tough place to buy higher mileage cars, no road test, compression check, independent appraisal, all you can do is a once over and run the VIN so $400 sounds like a reasonable threshold for a parts car.

Either way, setting your auction limit and sticking to it often takes more ***** than overbidding.

 

Soundmiami is right! You have to stick to your guns at an auction, but I am sure more deals will come thru. Just stick with your gut feeling!

 

I paid $400 for a Geo Metro and dumped double that in rebuilding the engine, replacing the trans, repairing the frame, replacing the exhaust, and tires/alignment. Sound crazy? Yes, maybe I am. But I wanted to save it because of the 50+ MPG

If you really wanted it, you would have bought it.

 

Thank you for the reassurance on this one. Sometimes you get people bidding with their hearts at these auctions. They act like blind dogs in a meat house.
Never even got a chance to check the AC on this one. I figured at least 400-500 minimum to put into it plus tags & registration to make it
a good casual DD and not some beater!


The great thing I learned surfing this web site for a week was the great detail about these cars so I could make an informed decision. I really knew where all the key elements were in the engine bay.
Thanks for the support.

Mike