Haynes Manual-worth the $?

614 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by JohnR, Jan 10, 2002

JohnR

Discussion Starter · Jan 9, 2002

Just wondering whether the Haynes Manuals are of much help for the 850 Turbo. I've had Bentley Manuals for other cars I've had and thought they were better than the Haynes. But I don't think there is a Bentley for the 850...or is there?

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JHEIII850Turbo

· #2 · Jan 10, 2002

Well, I recently purchased the Haynes Manual for my dad, for his Miata. It was both good and bad. The bad part was that the engine we thought was "so simple, and small" had alot of things that could go wrong with it, about 128 pgs worth. The good part, was that we now know how important it is to leave the really tough stuff to the pros, and that labor costs really are justified on certain jobs. Of course, maybe you are the type of guy who likes to take apart his engine, himself, and really gets into it.

Alright, so maybe I didn't answer your question, and went off on my own little tangent, but hey... I do think that the Haynes Manual is a good investment. Of course, I'm not sure, but I would imagine, that they would do more work on the n/a (normally aspirated) 850, as opposed to the turbo/t-5/t-5R/R *respectively*.

I have not found a Bentley service manual for the 850's.

Hopefully, someone will own the Haynes Manual and will be able to give us a personal opinion on it.

BTW, what year is your 850 Turbo?

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towerymt

· #3 · Jan 10, 2002

The Haynes manual is probably worth buying. It's a good beginning manual that will cover most aspects of the car. A good source for general specifications (torque specs, engine compression, gear ratios, stuff like that which may be beyond the scope of the owners manual). It may not be 100% accurate on everything, and it will probably lack the major details like the rebuilding of a transmission or detailed wiring diagrams, but it's good for basic things like a brakes or cooling system service. (This is comparing the Haynes to the Bentley for the 240 series)

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11110000

· #4 · Jan 10, 2002

I have the Haynes manual for the 240, the 164 and the 940. All are good quality. The trend seems to be eliminating the truly advanced procedures (the 940 manual is much thinner than the 240 manual), but it still covers just about everything you need - between that and the advice you can cull from the various other sources (this site, Brickboard, etc...) you can confidently repair almost anything that can be done realistically outside of a shop.

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JohnR

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 10, 2002

Thanks everyone. It looks like it may be worth the $15-$20 it costs.
BTW, my 850 Turbo is a '96. Pewter in colour w/ black leather, 67,000 kms.

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