Considering a Saab...

I'm looking at a 94 Saab 9000 Aero. It seems to be in good shape, 130 on the clock. Whats the worst I could expect from this thing? All black exec. type car with 225hp 5-spd. They're asking 3300.

They're fun. Weakest link is the transmission, and the TCS system sometimes goes wonky. Quick, decent-looking. 30MPG.

Easy to modify and maintain. Check out Saablink.net or Saabcentral.com for some good content if you decide to look further into it. If you don't mind using terribly outdated BB software and pompous purist attitudes, you could also check out Saabnet.com.

Those cars are really cool in a quirky Sweedish way.... I say go for it.

I had a '92 CSE (loaded) 5-speed non-turbo. Sounds a bit high on the price. The DI Cassette is a known weak link, carry a known good used spare. I hated the driving position but it would swallow unbelievable amounts of cargo. For parts www.eeuroparts.com will be your friend. If you like it and can get the price down a fair bit I'd go for it.

Scott

That price really isn't out of line for an Aero. They demand quite a premium over the other 9ks.

Try here: http://www.quasimotors.com/buying.htm

+1 on http://www.eeuroparts.com (but don't buy rebuilt calipers from them).

Regarding cargo space and Aeros: the back seats don't fold flat on the Aero model because they have different seats than run-of-the-mill 9000s (the fronts are by Recaro).

As for the forum options out there, based on a decade of ownership/wrenching experience on classic 900s, I find the most knowledgeable posters are on Saabnet. The forum's usability is not, um, modern, though...

I have owned a bunch of SAABs including 2 9000s, one of them a 94 cse. 94's suposedly don't have tcs so thats not a problem (my 94 is N/A so no tcs anyway). I know alot of people who gave up 9000s for 9-5s and regreted it. study this site first, http://www.quasimotors.com , then go check out the car. the price sounds right. good luck.

Thanks for the great info, test drive tomorrow morning!

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/saab9000/

How'd the test-drive go?

Speaking of Saabs.... Anyone have any comments on 9-5 Aeros or 9-3 Viggens? The prices are attractive, and the cars are good looking and quick. Viggen torque steer is well documented, but I don't know much about Saab reliability or maintenance.

I had a 9-5 for about 2.5 years. It was very much an appliance, IMHO, albeit a relatively nice Swedish one. It was comfortable, rode very nicely, was great fun in the snow, and was a consummate long distance highway car. However, it had none of the reliability inherent in the concept of an automotive appliance. Some have had better luck with them, running them for 200k+ miles, but mine was struggling to keep going up to the 130k miles when I retired it, having eaten both its turbo and its automatic transmission. I avoided the notorious sludge problem with religious oil changes and PCV updates, and replaced the IDM cartridge proactively to keep from having that crap out inconveniently. At least I didn't need an oil pump.

The Aero and the Viggen offer cheap speed, but from what I recall the Viggen has more tuning options. Maintenance was generally pretty straight-forward DIY in my experience.

If I could be more certain about the reliability, the last of the hatchback 9-3s (up to 2002) are quite attractive and cheap; I'd like to have one as a winter car, but I'm still a bit put off by the failures and weaknesses of my 9-5.

I have a line on an 01 9-3.

The good: Black with tan leather interior 5 speed 89K Body is strait i is in really great shape. Looks to have been very well cared for.

The bad: I was told the motor has blown up. I dont know more than that at the moment. I am going to look it over and see what really happened.

The "I dont know" Is that they are "asking" $2500 for it.

But considering that the "asking price of similar cars on eBay is around $7000 I am thinking that it may be a good project. I was hunting motors and they seem to be in the $1,500-2,000 range for a low millage long block. add in the "while you are there list and I figure that for $5500 I could have a nice buggy.

The problem is I know nothing about these things. Reading a bit and I have learned that the early 9-3 used a low pressure turbo motor versus the later 9-3's that used a "high pressure motor" Other than that I know zippo about these things. It looks to be a great 4door hatch that can hall very large volumes of stuff and people.

Is it a "fun car"? I would be mothballing my 924s once I got this up and running as ti would make a much better commuter / family car

So anyone got the inside info on these cars? Reliable? Fun? Performance upgrades / options possible and at what cost?

I have a 99 9-3 se that my wife and I love. We got it with 75K miles on it about 5 yesrs ago and it now has 180K.

It has been low maint, I have only put an AC compressure and a fuel pump on it so far. Mine is on its second DI casset, the first one lasted @ 130 miles. I tend to think most of the horror stories about the DI are from people who do not keep up on the maint. It is very important to keep the plugs in good shape, i change mine every 15K miles.

All of the 99 9-3 with the 2 liter motor used the Trionic 5 ems, the Viggen and the 9-5 used Trionic 7. T5 is easire to tune and responds better to bolt on mods. In 99 the 9-3 came in 3 different trim levels and 4 different HP ratings. The base 9-3 had a 185 hp motor along with the automatic SE. The manual SE came with a 200 hp motor and the Viggen had a 230 hp 2.3 liter motor.

I think they are a great choice for a family/DD car. They will hold a lot of stuff, are very safe, will run with no problems on 87 gas and if you are having a bad day a couple of 3rd gear runs will bring a smile to your face.

I have done some BPU type stuff to my 9-3 and it is quite fun to drive. I have a drop-in K&N in a modified stock airbox, a manual boost controller and I just put on a 3" DP to go with the 2.5" catback. Aside from the exhaust everything was cheap. The chassis is not BMW like but I have driven worse. The stearing has very good feel

As far as the 9-5 goes, I do not know as much about them as i do the 9-3 but I am looking at getting an Aero in the not too distant future.

Consumer reports rated them as a good used car buy not that long ago so as long as the maint has been done it should be good and I think the only thing cooler than haveing a sedan that will out run a 911 TT from 60 to 80 would be the wagon but my wife hates wagons.

Over all I think it is hard to beat the price,utility, safety and performance of a SAAB.

If anyone is close to Columbus Ohio I would be happy to arrange a test drive.

I and a few other nut cases have gotten together and prepped a Saab 900 for the 24 hours of Lemons race this weekend in Houston. I'll let you know what I think of it after the event. Have never driven one and never under race conditions. Sure will be a bit wierd considering that I normally tool around in a 900lb. formula car. report to follow.

FWIW, I kept up the maintenance on my 9-5 religiously and it still bent me over. Granted, it had 100k miles on it when I got it, but there was no appreciable sludge (I checked) and I made sure everything was completely up to date. I'd love to think that, properly maintained, these cars would run forever, but that was not my experience.

The '01 9-3 that I had for a couple of years is still serving my aunt well. The only thing she has done to it is replace the A/C compressor, and it has just over 120k miles at this point. When I purchased the car, it was one-owner and had all service records from new. The manual transmission/2.0T combo is potent and delivers great fuel economy. I have no experience with the automatic cars, nor would I care to.

Sorry for the greatly outdated followup. Car was in need of more attention than I was willing to get involved with. For a real Saab lover it might be interesting though. did not appear to have the dreaded traction control and was decently clean inside. Rust was bubbling around the rear arches and hood. Turbo pulled good, but made a rapid sneezing sound under load. Not a blow-off sound when you lifted, but a puff-puff-puff as it spooled up. Like a steam train going faster and faster. No clue if this is normal. Anyhow the dead climate control sealed the deal as a no go. if anyone wants it, search trader online in Clinton twp MI. Lost the guys business card.

^^^ good thing...

I owned a '93 9000 CSE for a few years.

Go to www.saabnet.com and search under the 9000 for "TCE problems". You'll read for a long time.

I think there were 3 years that the TCE problem was the worst (has to do with the electronic throttle) and I think it was '93-'95. When you have a CEL the thing goes into "limp home mode" and it's the reason I'll never own another 9000 of that vintage.

When it ran good it went like stink, hauled all kinds of stuff and was fun to drive.