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Re: 2005 9.2x Linear

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2016 9:55 pm
by GMJohnny
About 6 weeks ago, I was pulling out of a parking lot and I felt a strange thumping
coming from the rear end of the car. I thought initially that I had a caliper hanging up,
so I removed the right rear caliper and rotor, only to find that there was nothing wrong.
I re-did this procedure after driving the car for a day or two and ( by coincidence ) the
thumping went away..... for about a month and a half, when it came back and was way
worse. So, this time I rolled under the car and started turning wheels with the car on
jack stands. The driveshaft was squeaking. I figured I needed u-joints. No big deal, except
that you can't get u joints (easily) for this car and if you could, they are crimped in and
a difficult task to install. So, you buy a new driveshaft for $400. I noticed while I was under
the car that the once "real clean" car I had was losing the war with road salt. I put the car
back on the ground and drove it very sparingly over the next few days, while I evaluated in
my mind the issues that this car potentially had coming in the future. At 143,XXX miles, it
was going to need the driveshaft, new tires in the next 8,000 miles, a potential head gasket
( as I had already put in two doses of bars leaks pellets ), plus whatever else might fail on
a 12 year old vehicle. I convinced myself that I didn't want to contend with the potentials
that were on the horizon, and took it to a Kia dealership and traded it on a used 2016 Regal Turbo.
Close the chapter on the Saab. It was a great car and I got my money's worth out of it for sure.
The guys at the dealership never even drove it, or asked me anything about it, but they only gave me
$1000 for it on trade, so I didn't feel bad. They were taking the car out back as we pulled out of
the lot with the "new" car. To make the Saab worth book value ($2200), they will have to fix the
repairs I explained and put a new windshield in it. I'm guessing it will end up in a wholesaler's
hands or at an auction somewhere.

GM