ihunxky, dcccmbsr 2, 1973
third dimension
pc:3 3
A special Third Dimension pull-cut on fho arts of owning,
driving end maintaining fho cutcmohil;
ng,
10
i 4
t
..."
..It: OX
Photo by Steve Basrner
It's a long, sad story, says UNL student Dave Hardy. After $840 of repairs, hi figured he probably would fare better to send his 1969 Saab up in flames.
By Jim
A Saab story
Sometimes, you can do everything right when you
buy a used car, and it doesn't help. And sometimes it
doesn't matter As the heart-rendering strains of
"Love Story" swell in the background, hear the story
of UNL psychology major Dave Hardy and a malad
justed Swedish car named Bjom.
"I had VAN FEVER," recalled Hardy, "which you
pick up from a toilet seat. But I couldn't afford to
insure my van so 1 kept it up on blocks all winter."
When spring came, Hardy decided his 197 1 Ford
Supervan's immense size and thirst for gasoline were
too much bother. He sold it for $1 ,400. -
" Well, heck, 1 said to myself, I need some new
wheels'," Hardy said. "I started looking around. I
saw an ad in the Rag for the Saab and decided it "
looked like a good car for a basic radical-liberal
future college professor."
Hardy knew you can get hurt buying a used car,
and so he prepared. He checked ? old Car and Driver
magazine, which called the Saab "a moderately priced
and exceptionally tough economy sedan." He ar
ranged to get help from a friend who said he knew
something about cars. When he discovered he knew
the seller's brother, Hardy thought he couldn't lose. .
Hardy sid this friend went out to East Campus for
a look at the car. It was a 1969 Saab 96, a faded, red
little hunchback that loomed like a football whose
bladder had given out. It had factory air, a 4-speed
column shift and a 1 500-cc, V-4 engine driving the
front wheels.
The friend W.SHJC.S.A.C. did the test-driving, as
Hardy couldn't handle a stick-shift, and he said it was
good. He and Hardy tested the compression, a vital
measure of engine' health, cn the only cylinder they -could
reach in the crowded compartment. It was
good. The seller said "$750." Hardy ssld "sQld
It stn wouldn't run after the carb work-the
mechanics mentioned they'd hid to push it out cf
the gane-sai a ccrcplcte care required a $ 170 vslvs '
job. - ; - "" "
Est rjsrn ran fhe 1 the way Lcme-35 rrJlcs per
gsHsa end plenty of power. No presents but a funny
rrir5dl3 coi in fL-st and second grars. -
I took it to be retted and xztz.tlzz.zi the cobs
1 ! -it ihini it wax srrtlirit In. Later I net a ca3 .
from the rzzjz.i:Zott:Zzl That D Hardy?
Gi
X raX bsy you're paaa z Czi s red fussy!
to to r. r-a. y fr- '
csisba! Asd &i fc the best part, ecu1
ccstSTCCf - " , , ,
"I thought, 4oh hc3, I have to have jt done. Let s
see, n tallxny mother. . ."
Hardy's KHpsch stereo shakers went festead, erce
the f?u b3 was only $334.
I'jtt he i!iou!i have gotten the hr.t -n he
went to pkk cp the ccr, and it wouldn't stt. Ths,
seller rt p'sccd a Ic-cre wire, mi I lardy li?.d:zi
" rew h2r?y h bd to shift the four
ca4lie srJ fJ VW MicrcbuKi wci? outdn
htnttthel: .
"I took it in to a dealer and said , Hey , my car is
slow-fix it.' They called me back and told me my
clutch was shot. I was rich, so I thought 1 could
afford it." ;
$280 later the clutch was fine. Hardy decided it
was time for a trip in Ejorn-"I called it that because
it's a neat Swedish mane. I decided to try it in the
mountains. ! loadw.., grandmother in the car for
traction and drove to Boulder. Then it started chug
ging, going slower and slower. Cars were going by me
down the mountinas, I got an instant ulcer, and my
grandmother learned some new words."
"Now it had officially cost more in repairs than to
buy it," Hardy said. $750 in car and $840 in repairs."
The
Honda: hex
By Mark Young
Unlike the Sasb, some used cars generate no love,
only aggravation. Mark Miller probably would stew
his month-old 1972 Honda 600, but he figures it's
caused enough heartburn already.
. Miller saw the Honda, an odd creature with a tiny "
600-cc, two-cylinder engine and a gearshift growing
out of the dash, at Misle Imports' used car lot. He
drove and liked it despite a nonworking reverse gear.
There wer her minor problems, but the car had the
look of a gas gutter's Uncle iwooge for only $750.
The car ran well enough at first, waiting almost
eight days to turn nasty. While it was a teetotaler at
the gas pump ihe little freak had more ailments than
a 40-year-old quarterback.
One bright morning it wouldn't start, so MHler
led his prize back to Misle. After two weeks, it
returned with a rebuilt starter. It still refused to run.
Miller was unhappy and became mere so when he
got the b!3-S24 for a starter and $5 1 for kbcr. .
Miller's roommate and co-owner went after
Abxsham ?ie in person. As a result, no kbor bO
was paid and the Honda, new starter etti3 cm the- -fbor.wss
towed to tsotlCTslp.. - - '
. They fessd lilt's ener Lsd tssn the wrcr.j --
size. , " .
- Aftsr tl".e rrlU ftsrter.a Hy'hsd asd ths iccrLlce .'
cf tzotezZi, 3 1
CLT WlC lC lC-T i mm m -
tlHa-'s tCly rzn &Zz.ly to ll::cta zrA izzk
Jr ir- Umko, mnr m&V lMU)klWiuJ
ttsrt osly by isrrs&teent with j jjus s: ablea, -
fir !Her fcssi't beta sb!e to Had iitsile -
meat braids, lie keeps tle csr Looked to a bsttcry
. chcrT he's rot drivlw3 , - . . , '
Loc'xr:! back crcrancr.ih cf ouxrnli'p, HHcr
(perhaps tl"ikir2 cf his $200) accepts his fits. I Is '
S2'S,csLT,Iy,I Liv lc?n rcy;"y semved."
Lm's SwwS iinzir liefer 4citti.y djrrxed.
, "f eerie think they save cn a used car, but there's
always sce girrib. fscpb wsnt scnie&irg fcr
nothmg-I do, it's Cie Arnericsi wiy of life: They
tend to ft C-.zl a S7C3 csi Izizy h the S2C0
usd circf a y:;.-j r3.
m 0 m Off cf
Miller, but he gave no details of the dispute. He said
the price of the incorrect starter installed by Misle
had been refunded for consumer relations.
."We didn't have to. You can't guarantee a used
car. Hell, I wouldn't even do that with a car I'd
.'.owned." - . - ,-,-- . - -. - -- .-. . -.
Mattingly sccmsd upset about the used car de!ers
traditional reputation.
"People always talk about the dealer getting to the
customer, i nere s anotner side to all tnat. We ve had
people come in to trade a car and aicer I'd appraised
it, switch the tires, take out tape players.
Even the best dealers can do only so much for a
car that's been abused. A few will do as little as they
can. If you can't tolerate uncertainty and can pay for
peace of mind, there's an alternative. It's called a
newar showroom.
tWiai ihsy shoulQ
have known
Drivers might not have as much trouble as Mark
Miller did if they knew how a car dealer's service de- -partment
typically works. Here is an outline.
When you bring in a sick car you meet the service
writer. He writes your car's problems on a work
order. If you give him a specific order, such as "state
inspection" or "rotate tires" or "replace engine,"
he probably can tell you about what will be needed
and what it will cost.
If you don't know the exact trouble-like "find
the funny squeak" or "it doesn't run right" it's
like giving the dealer a blank check. It pays to be as
specific as you can when describing problems. Tell
the service writer what the car does and under what
circamstsnces. .
Ifhefcatsars
what work is needed, aik to leave
your pnone numser tor tLn to ci yoa wiih an "
--. Dsns specific psys cfT rri whea the mechanic .,
. starts work. The cr2y pi2e tz hss is yoa wcric ,
.- ' Utricsp yrii ssccrdirj to wtie -
mnaaLj" a tcx.lrcl.lhtlj how 1st ch rrptirjcb
siajli tike, rJl-T Ci fa-thdr zctzzl wcf -3 -:i v
- time, lis protects yc M If 4hs rrdLTc is a --wcrksr.
The rrrdrJ: il:o crs a ctrL.l"J,"i ca
. - You as t:e tl-zt mechanic isa't fild fcflLe
. trne he rpssds -hst 's v;Tcr.3 mii ycir err,
. cdy far Cling it. provide electrcsic dlz'TUB-
.ticecrut
tL cinic CfaTi 0 is cvjn Ills ir Ln roix
mossy replscisg oxa part ifltt sssthir ur.tH he finds
V&a fcs'i Osljhcd, the mechanic ussly csat
fosd-tcst L;i5 cj because tliS dealer's Lisursnce wont
.cr-v it. w d 4-S r3 p v. .a 1
Tl'je orJy rune tlie cashlsr knows is "no nusey, no
cr-ee." I :'s net the p:r.cn to cr-;: wi if ihe r
t fceen iluiiC rt"-t. Ilrpir work Cutwii i
