May purchase '97 Sable after sitting

[900Trophy]

Unfortunately, I may have to finally send my beloved '92 Buick Roadmaster on its way, after clocking over 300K miles. Fortunately, I have a line on a '97 Sable owned by a friend. It has a bit under 100K and was very well taken care of. Six months ago or so it developed a transmission problem - a failure to shift into overdrive - and was parked. Other than rotors and pads, a rebuilt transmission, and an oil change, what else is this likley to need? Avoid like the plague or good buy? You don't get 300K on anything without understanding preventative maint, so I'm not averse to doing some basic repairs, but I don't want a money hole either. Again, until six months ago I wouldn't have hesitated to taken the car across the country and back, but I'm worried that sitting may have caused some premature aging.

[900Trophy]

Well, I've gone and done it. it's in the shop now getting some work done: - new transmission (Jasper reman.) - new brakes all around - new fuel filter - new oil pan gasket (slight leak) Also, the "cam sensor" or something has caused the service light to light up. I'm told this is a very common issue. What might be going on there? Is that something to fix right away? The shop says it might run $50 to $100 for parts and about 2 hours of labor. Also, which plugs work best in these? In some vehicles I've had, the factory plugs were OK but better plugs (like Denso Iridium) worked better (better mileage and better starts, primarily). I hope to be driving my "new" car soon.

[riproaringca]

Please share whatever happened to the Cam Sensor and the related Service Engine light. The light on my '97 Sable had been on for many years, but without any indication from the engine that anything was out of sorts or about to fail. My mechanic told me the same thing about the code reading he got from the engine: Cam Position.

It's 8 years later now and still no problems.

Many thanks for any information you can share!

[900Trophy]

Short version? A new cam sensor and synchronizer (the same part as a rotor for a small block chevy) - completely toasted. New parts were around $80 I think, plus labor of course, and it runs better now. Starts easier, has more pep, and I'm told mileage will improve considerably. The only remaining issue is a slight wobble to the steering at certain speeds - like a tire is out of balance (I'm familiar with that issue). No noises to indicate a wheel bearing issue, but it could probably use an alignment. If I were you, I'd get a quote on a new sensor (and synchro) + labor.