I keep seeing 1994-1998 Saab 900s for sale in my area for very little money (It seems that $2000 buys the cleanest 5spd/3dr out there). I like the looks of the 2dr hatch ("3dr" in the ads) and I'm very tempted...
I guess my question is, why are they so cheap? Are they bad cars? Frustratingly slow like the n/a 80's Saabs? Prone to catastrophic failure? Drive like a Chevy Lumina?
I have an early 94 SE Turbo. They are not bad cars, but try and buy the newest you can find. I think in 96 saab made the suspension and brakes better.
Transmissions are a bit weak (always a saab problem) and the GM influence is noticable in and around the car.
The biggest problem I have had with mine has been that any kind of work under the engine seems to require dropping or at least loosening the HUGE aluminum subframe so you can get at stuff.This not only holds the engine and trans in place, but mounts the suspension control arms, so it is a beefy and large beast. Thankfully it is lighter than it looks.
Problem areas are:
Weak transmissions. Headliners can and will fall down Hoses seem to burst right around 100K (not really a problem, but keep an eye on the maintance) Airconditioning is weak and probably does not work. Bad Pixels in the SID, (Saab information display) automatic heater controls, and dash (thankfully not in mine) That huge hatch seems to invite large bulky loads that tear up the interior. As Boston seems to the the home of most saabs outside of Sweden, most will have seen some pretty harsh winters at one point. Watch for rust on the early cars.
On the plus side.. the T5 engine management system on these cars is not prone to sludging issues like the later T7
I work as marketing manager for the GM protection plan (GMPP)
Run away.. far far away. This doesn't come from hearsay , it's from looking at claims data all day long.
later 9-3's are significantly more reliable
mad_machine covered most of it, but I'll add my 2 cents since I used to own a '95 Saab 900S 2.3L non-turbo/5MT.
N/As are OK point A to point B cars but nothing special to drive. The interior is GM-tastic. The engine is still a Saab unit. I liked having all that hatch space. I didn't like shifting in it: The shifter was tall and the self-adjusting clutch cable stretched out over time meaning I had to put the clutch pedal damn near though the firewall to shift. It's an easy part to replace or to replace with a hydraulic clutch from a later unit.
I ended up spinning my 900S into a guardrail on a snowy day and sheared off the front left corner of the car. I drove it around for three months with a new headlight and radiator and it didn't drive much differently than before!
The 1st. gen Saab 9-3 is a more refined version of the GM900. I'd try to get one of those since most of the kinks have been worked out.
I will admit, when I replaced the trans in mine (I bought the car with a shot trans) I put in one of the european non-adjusting clutch cables. between that and the later shift mechanism, it has made the car a LOT nicer to drive
I bought my 900S for $900 from a friend sold it for about a year and half later for the same amount but had to spend a bunch on hoses, new fuel pump (have to take out the rear seat to get to it by the way, which is no big deal just a pain, for some reason even that didn't work and my mechanic and I ended up dropping the tank).
I had to buy the entire fuel pump from saab for $500 bucks which I thought was a joke.
Still, I never had a convertible before so I actually enjoyed driving it even though it was an automatic.
I too would get a later model for a little more money, definitely would get a manual and would get a convertible.
Everything I've read about these basically comes back to "buy a 9-3". The problem I have with that is, I would prefer the 3 door to the 5 door or convertible, but I never see 9-3 3 door cars around. To the people watching this thread that know better, were they actually made? Wikipedia says yes, experience says no, or I'm just not looking hard enough...
The 97+ cars are the better choice. A number of improvements in reliability without much of a price premium. They will give very good service if kept up. [Edit: SID repair is super cheap now. Check ebay. Also, a good resource for cars for sale is saabcentral.com ]
http://www.saabnet.com <- Another good Saab resource
pres589 wrote: Everything I've read about these basically comes back to "buy a 9-3". The problem I have with that is, I would prefer the 3 door to the 5 door or convertible, but I never see 9-3 3 door cars around. To the people watching this thread that know better, were they actually made? Wikipedia says yes, experience says no, or I'm just not looking hard enough...
Yep, they exist, but they are rare. Even up here in the land of Saabs (aka New England), they are hard to find.
In reply to M030:
I fond this CL ad. It's short on detail, though. I also happen to know a Saab mechanic local to me if you need his assistance:
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/1489802656.html
I will admit that as much as I like my turbo... and as much work as I have put into it. I am considering getting a "classic" 900 SPG this coming summer to replace it
In reply to RexSeven:
I'm in Philadelphia and every time I try to search for these things on cars.com I only find convertibles or five doors. It's funny since the NG 900 seems to offer up tons of the three door variant. Can the parts that make the early 9-3 so much better than the NG be swapped over easily? Such as the hydraulic clutch and shift mechanism, etc.
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