I purchased a 1997 850GLT this summer with about 60,000 miles on it. It came with a remote starter which I believe was installed after the first owner purchased it (I am the third owner). I had the dealer inspect it before making the committment. The only major fault detected was that the brakes needed replacing which I did (all 4). I also knew that the clock/thermometer on the dash wasn't functioning correctly. The thermometer would always start up in Celsius, could be switched over to Fahrenheit, and seemed to be accurate. The clock was a different story. When starting up it usually began at zero although that was no guarantee that it wouldn't start at some other numbers. But it would keep accurate time. For instance if it started up at zero, the clock would should :23 after 23 minutes went by. If I set the clock to the correct time it would maintain the correct time until the ignition was turned off and then turned on again. I didn't do anything with it because I felt that it really wasn't a necessary item. I mention this behaviour because it may have some bearing on the following.

When the weather turned cold I noticed that adjusting the HVAC mode selector did not change the flow patterns (floor vs. floor/defrost). The pattern did change when turned to any of the vent settings (note: this is an auto temp control unit). I took the car in to the dealer whose diagnosis went as follows:
fault traced electrical system, disconnected aftermarket remote starter system. found faulty ECC panel end instrument cluster circuit board. The charge for the diagnosis was $468. (about 6 hrs.) plus sales tax. I haven't picked up the car yet-I'm still in a state of shock! Any advice that can be passed down will be appreciated.