To buy or not to buy??

Topic: To buy or not to buy?? (Read 1934 times) previous topic - next topic

To buy or not to buy??

January 28, 2005, 08:04:14 AM

I'm new here, so bear with me. I have found an '85 Cougar LS with the 5.0 motor and auto on the column. It's straight body, no rust, decent running car. No heater core, a/c doesn't work.

The guy is asking $500 obo. I'm thinking $350-$400 could snag it.

My question...is there anything in particular that I should be looking for, trouble pr0ne spots, red flags, ect. I'll probably just drive the car for the time being, but it will see some bracket racing duty as well.

And suggestions are alreadys appreciated.

Thanks!

Re: To buy or not to buy??

Reply #1 – January 28, 2005, 08:25:29 AM

$500 for an 85 5.0 with no rust. That is an offer you can't turn down. Although I guess it would depend on how many miles the car has and if there is anything wrong with engine/drivetrain. The only trouble spots that I can think of right now are the oil pan gasket sometimes goes bad, and head gaskets (I think that is just for the 3.8's but I can't remember). My 3.8 has 171,xxx miles and the head gaskets are still fine, but my oil pan gasket needs to be replaced real bad.

Re: To buy or not to buy??

Reply #2 – January 28, 2005, 12:34:53 PM

I would check very carefully around the bottoms of the doors and rear fender for rust. I find it hard to beleive it has no rust, but maybe I'm just paranoid. Also, make sure the tranny is shifting ok, they aren't the strongest in these cars. I'd c00ch it in a hartbeat, even if there was a tiny bit of rust. Great price.

Re: To buy or not to buy??

Reply #3 – January 28, 2005, 01:30:20 PM

If you start out at $500 you aint got much to loose. The heater core is like a $400 repair if you paid someone to do it. You can do it yourself with a lot of dash disassembly. Some have done it in like 6hrs others, like me, more like a weekend.

Re: To buy or not to buy??

Reply #4 – January 28, 2005, 10:08:29 PM

$500 is a great price for no rust

Re: To buy or not to buy??

Reply #5 – January 29, 2005, 12:52:24 AM

Did a heater core in my old 88 in 5 hours first time.
In my TC 3 and a half running,i quickened up a bit the second time.