My brother-in-law's friend just tipped me off on a 1987 740 GL wagon with 140K miles. It is coming out of a auto tech institute and they're asking $750 for it and I could probably get it down to $650 if I state my case well. They've fixed all the "easy stuff": brakes, belts, etc. AC is still cold and power windows etc. all work. The body has some scars, scrapes and dings, but no rust. Interior is nothing to get emotional about. "Rode her hard and put her away wet" is the description that comes to mind...

I'm looking at it primarily as a "dog-mobile" and "MN winter-mobile" so that we can keep the road salt off of, and the hairy beasts out of the much-beloved, creampuff '89 240 wagon. Things like cosmetics of the car are of minimal importance.

I went and took it for a test drive, but didn't have time to bring it in to my mechanic yet. I'm worried about the automatic transmission and I'm trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. It is shifting late in the lower gears, and I can feel some slippage when I change gears. The steering/handling feels great though, and that was another worry at the back of my mind.

What would be some ballpark cost estimates, assuming this wagon needs a new transmission? I'm trying to decide if I should even bother with having my mechanic check it out, or if I should just suck it up and spend $3K on a car that doesn't need major work right off the bat...

Martha