Would someone care to inform me of the pros and cons of the Saab 9-5 Areo?

An interesting possibility has come up. 2005 9-5 from a friend of my brother. What can you tell me about this fine beast? It's an orphan, but still well supported for parts in the GM stable I presume? The siren song of 250bhp rowed through a 5 speed manual gearbox (unless the transmissions are made of glass like the old 900's) sounds intoxicating. Daily driver, highway cruiser, maybe a track day or two until a suitable FF or rally car (yes, I'm waffling on the rally car) can be procured.

What says GRM

Thx

Jeff

Jeff wrote: It's an orphan, but still well supported for parts in the GM stable I presume?

That, I believe, is a very, very bad presumption. The last 4 Saabs I have had in my shop have all waited over a month for parts that were only slightly out of the ordinary.

parts are starting to trickle in.. the problem is, the importers want money up front, so not many places have them

I have nothing to add except this. I worked for a large dealer group in Toronto and had an STi as a demo (2004) at the time the owner also had a saab franchise (among others) We traded for a weekend, my STi for his 9-5 Aero 6spd(?) manual wagon.

Mother of god.. That Aero was as fast or fast then the STi from 50 to 120mph.. it was a beast.

AC Seats , classy looking - I loved it.

If I could find a low mile clean one I would be all over it.

Streetwiseguy wrote:

Jeff wrote: It's an orphan, but still well supported for parts in the GM stable I presume?

That, I believe, is a very, very bad presumption. The last 4 Saabs I have had in my shop have all waited over a month for parts that were only slightly out of the ordinary.

Such as?

I've never had any (factory/maintenance) parts availability issues with and of my seven Saabs. Aftermarket stuff is a little harder to come by unfortunately.

Do it. Reallllly want an 04-05 9-5 Aero. Just bought a 2000 9-5 lpt with 275k... close enough?

Nice car, too bad they are worth nothing this week and you can't get hardly any parts unless they are on someone's shelf. Expecting things to get better is a dream held by many who owned Sterlings, Daewoos and Daihatsus.

AutoXR wrote: I have nothing to add except this. I worked for a large dealer group in Toronto and had an STi as a demo (2004) at the time the owner also had a saab franchise (among others) We traded for a weekend, my STi for his 9-5 Aero 6spd(?) manual wagon. Mother of god.. That Aero was as fast or fast then the STi from 50 to 120mph.. it was a beast. AC Seats , classy looking - I loved it. If I could find a low mile clean one I would be all over it.

Yeah, they certainly share the normal characteristics of a turbo Saab at highway speeds. RIDICULOUSLY fast.

I daily drove a 9-5 Linear off and on for 4 years. It was a very fun daily--relatively nimble (especially for the size), great fuel economy, awesome interior space, enormous trunk, nice interior... I'll probably have another at some point in my life.

Saab is currently on my must own list. Although I have the urge for a 9000, any turbo car with a manual gets my attention.

for whatever reason I'm more interested now than before saab went titsup.

I also find myself strangely attracted to these. Although unlike most grm'ers, only these.

ddavidv wrote: . Expecting things to get better is a dream held by many who owned Sterlings, Daewoos and Daihatsus.

As a former Peugeot owner, this is definitely magazine worthy!

I was watching Wheeler Dealers. Do the 9-5's have the same issue with cracks in fire wall that they were talking about on the show. I think they were doing a 9-3 turbo? Not the 9-5.

FWIW, I found my 9-5 (a 2.3lpt; a lesser beast to be sure) fairly comfortable with good interior room, good economy, and nice to look at. Dynamically it was adequate; it would cruise all day on the highway in speed and comfort, but once off the highway it was less impressive. Overall, I found the whole experience rather underwhelming. It was not a car that encouraged you to get involved in the process of driving, but rather reminded you constantly that it was competent and that you should stop worrying about trying to do things for yourself. It was, in short, the Eurocrat of cars.

Well before their final demise, I have been considering a 9-5 wagon w/ 5 speed as the possible replacement for my previously owned Volvo 850 wagon 5 speed.

It does seem that they can be had cheap.

You can get a hell of a lot of car for little money with SAAB. Of course you might have to buy two or three to have enough parts to keep one of them running. Still mulling it over. Thanks.

ebay is your friend at this point