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Another SAAB story Posted by DietrichOS [Email]  (#430) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from DietrichOS) on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:13:24
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So I thought my '84 non-turbo 900 had a fried clutch, because after getting stuck in stop and go traffic for two hours I needed a tow home. I did the irrational thing and went out and bought a '92 9000 Turbo the next day. The night after I got the 9000, I went back out to the old '84 in the parking lot and started it up. It drove fine, hit all five gears without a problem, and the clutch felt like it should, no problems.
The 9000 I bought had what the previous owner called a "slow leak" from the radiator. It turns out that "slow leak" costs about as much in coolant as it does in gas to keep the car going. So I took it into a mechanic. The minimum they said it would be was around $1,100. With all the work they wanted to do it would be $2,400. They basically want to replace my whole cooling system minus the water pump.
I got this news on my cell phone while driving my old '84 around. Five miles away from my apartment. And it was running perfectly. And I stopped to think. If I am going to put that sort of money into any car, it damn sure isn't that 9000 that I just paid $2,500 for and probably will need a brake job and who the hell knows what else soon. I'll put a new clutch in my older Saab because I feel in my heart that it will last longer. The motor probably forever.
My dad used to say that the only thing fancy about his Subaru WRX was the gas pedal. I say "used to" because he recently bought an '89 900 Turbo Convertible, and he is selling the Subi. I can't blame him. There is something about these old 900s that not even Saab could ever recapture, they have just the right blend of technology (fuel injection, disk brakes, good HVAC) and simplicity, along with being brilliantly designed and solidly put together. I feel like the only thing fancy about my 9000 is the gas pedal, screw the leather seats.
The 9000 never lit my fire. Ignition lock on the steering column? A rear-hinged hood? That's the stuff of average cars, not Saabs. Plus its kinda ugly, the automatic climate control resets itself every time I turn the car off, it has a multitude of power crap that is just a short and/or a costly repair waiting to happen, the radio gets horrible recpetion, and it gets crappier gas mileage than my '84 900.
So where am I going with this? Well, part of it is just venting my love for my 900. If anyone has actually read down this far, I'm wondering if they're trying to rip me off at the mechanic I took the 9000 to. The place is Swedish Mechanics, in Irvine, CA. They are a TSN sponsor, but nobody has posted any positive comments about them here. I called them yesterday, and they were looking at my car this morning. My old shop, SAABS Unlimited in Reno, NV, ALWAYS had a waiting list of at least a week because they did such good work and everyone trusted them and reccomended them to thier friends. I get the feeling these guys in Irvine are trying to screw me.
Also, what the hell happened to my clutch in the 900? Why did it stop working? After two hours of stop-and-go it got harder and harder to get it into gear, the clutch travel got closer and closer to the floor, and then I couldn't get it into any gear except reverse and it started moving backwards with the clutch pedal to the floor. I get it towed home, and a day-and-a-half later it worked fine, and its been working fine ever since. I drove it about 12 miles today with no trouble at all. Do clutches overheat? Does this car love me so much that it just decided to fix itself? Did GOD do it for me? It's a puzzlement, but at this point I know one thing for sure. If I'm going to put over a grand into either of these cars, its going to be the '84. No question about it in my mind.
posted by 69.108....
, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:13:24 <-- Viewing This Message
, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:10:31, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:44:35, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:27:05
, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:31:34
, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:26:34, Wed, 23 Aug 2006 19:16:00, Thu, 24 Aug 2006 08:51:20, Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:54:46, Thu, 24 Aug 2006 20:50:13
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