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Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 07:58:43 GMT
From: Paul Halliday <pjghnopsamyonder.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Need help purchasing used Saab


in article 3D83E1CA.72A988Fnopsamcom, Four Weis at mweinopsamcom wrote on 15/09/2002 02:26: > Each model has its "quirks", which are viewed as good or bad, depending on > the person you ask. My bias is towards the Classic 900s - 1993 and older. My bias would also be towards the classic 900 range, although I have been looking at the 9000 series and seriously thinking about buying a CSE or CD if my (recently carved up) 900 Turbo S is not repairable. The 9000 series have all the traits of a really classy marque, at a price affordable to me :) That said, you can get all the good stuff (A/C, leather, cruise, etc) on a variety of 900 models and a fairly usual on the S models. > My reasons are as follows: > 1. The Classic (hardtops) have rain gutters which makes it easy to attach > affordable roof racks The rain gutters do collect grime and can turn rusty if you don't look after them. Use a toothbrush and neat car cleaner to get right in there. > 2. The front to back engine layout with the wishbone suspension does very > well in the snow and ice -better than the 9000s, 9-3, and 9-5 I'm sh*t at driving in snow ... but I did feel very safe and have no incident in snow when driving a Saab. Other cars I have driven in snow have ranged from awful to scary. The 900 handles fantastic in snow. I am led to understand that the 9000 is even more solid - they're a lot wider. > 5. The front pillars are thinner - they don't block your vision as much as > the NG models and 9-3s If you're reasonably tall, say an around 6', it's comfortable to sit quite back - the pillars are definately not in the way and the big fishbowl windscreen gives good vision. The NG 900 just feels like any car of that era and the 9000 has quite wide A-frames. > 6. You an get a Classic 900 without a turbo - making it a slower car, > better for beginning driver I was surprised here when I got my first 900i after diving a 900 turbo. They're still very competent on the motorway and have good power for quick acceleration at speed in 5th. To compare, I've had just over 140 MPH in my 900 Turbo, and 125 MPH in my 900i. I find both cars are about the same between 70 MPH and 90 MPH. From stand-still at traffic lights at the start of a long uphill road near where I live, the order of cars was a Subaru Impreza Turbo, followed by my 900 Turbo (driven by me) and then my 900i (driven by my wife). When the lights changed, both turbos left the injection standing and put about 200 yards distance between the racers and the injection. The injection did keep up with that gap and caught up with the turbos after about half a mile at 70 MPH (legal for the road we were on). The injections are not *that* much slower. > 7. You can get a good Classic 900 for under $2,000 > 8. You can get new steel rims for the Classic at $40 each - when you get > into the newer 9-3s with 16" rims or bigger, you must use alloys at over > $120 a rim, don't even think of buying Saab 17" rims at a dealer unless > money is no object. El Cheapo, back street tyre fitters can get you a a full set of good, part-worn tyres very cheap. I got Pirelli P4000 (set of 4) for 60 UKP for my 1985 900i. > 9. Classics can be found in different configurations: convertibles, 3 door > hatchback, 5 door hatchbacks and 4 door sedans - take your choice. The three door hatch looks the coolest :) I found the 4 and 5 door models to be a bit short on the doors. The 2 and 3 door have longer doors, making it easier to get in and out of the front seats. Without side skirts, I think the style of the flat-nose (pre-1987) is better than the streamlined bumpers of the slant-nose models. The bumper and the side stripes follow in a straight line on the flat-nose, whereas the slant-nose looks a bit broken up unless you get the Aero kit. Take a look at http://www.nospam/gallery/ to compare the variety of styles and subtle shape differences before and after 1986. All in all, I would advise you find an inexpensive classic 900i. If you like it, look for a better kept turbo. Avoid the NG 900 series (1993 on). My first Saab was a classic 900 turbo and I found it a lot to take in when doing small jobs under the bonnet. The injections have a lot more space under the hood for you to actually get some work done without having to take the car to bits. Don't be put off any Saab because of the mileage. It is not unusual to see Saabs in perfect running order at more than 200,000 miles. If it runs well, who cares what mileage it has done? If you get hooked on Saabs, you'll get to know what to look out for and there's still plenty of choice for improvement. Happy hunting, Paul 1985 900i 16V 1989 900 Turbo S http://pjgh.go.dyndns.org/saab/index.html

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