[Shotimes] Car Buying ?s - Long

[Zach Leahy]

Generally speaking the words SHO and RELIABLE shoud have the words ARE
NOT in between them.  There are exceptions I know....

Sure, SHO's were relaible when they were bbilt, minimum of 5 years
ago.  I am not a V8 sho expert, but I believe that they suffer similar
fates to ATX V6's, they eat transmissions about every 60-80k.  Just
keep that in mind.

Maintnance can vary anywhere from simple maintnance to working on the
thing every weekend.  In general though if you have one and play nice
they will not kill you in maintnance and fixes.  If you like to play
rough with the car, you may end up with some extra expenses.

So, on your question would I buy the $3K 170,000 mile SHO that's been
maintained well or the $6k 88,000 mile SHO that has not.

No contest, save $3,000 bucks.  That gives to $3k in repair costs til
they even are the same initial cost, and that will probably go a long
way.  The $6k one sounds liek it will have another 1-2K in repairs to
be done, so that makes it more expensive.  I ain't a mathmatician (but
i play an engineer at work) but I know that I would not hesitate to
get choice A.

Z


On 7/6/05, Scot Hewitt <shewitt@hypercon.net> wrote:
> Here's my scenario, I am currently selling my daily driver 94 Sable w/ 3.8L, 107k, reliable car, functional A/C, good motor & tranny, and no rust.  Good car, served use well for 6 years, but I think it is time to upgrade.  I bought an Expedition a couple of years ago for my use, but my wife confiscated it immediately...  If I was a real man, I would put her back in the kitchen and take the truck, but I guess I'm just a sucker. :)
> 
> One option that I have been kicking around is a Gen III SHO for my daily driver.  I can go two directions, high mileage w/ welded cams, or a lower mileage SHO - but the cams generally have not been welded.  The one I've been looking at is approx. $3k, but it has 170k.  Welded cams, new tranny, functional A/C, and all of the typical maintenance items have been kept up.  Enthusiast owners, but maintenance history only goes back to 100k.  The lower mileage SHO's I've seen (98 @ 80k, 99 @ 65k) have actually been in worse condition, the interior's worn, door dings, A/C marginal, tranny due, etc.  Basically treated like a regular SLO.  Cost for the lower mileage typically doubles to $6k.
> 
> So I ask you, would a well maintained 170k SHO last for another 100k?  Would the motor last another 100k?  Or should I look at something more reliable?  I do my own maintenance, so little things won't bug me too bad.  But I do rely on my daily driver to get me to the airport for work once a month or so.
> 
> I want a Gen III SHO, but it seems they may have left the realm of "reliable".
> 
> I'm looking for opinions, so don't hold back!
> 
> Thanks,
> Scot H
> 95 Red MTX - 72k
> 98 EB Expy
> 94 Sable SLO
> 
> 
> 
> 
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