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Re: Do I Dare Wade into the Waters of C900 Ownership? Posted by Snowmobile [Email]  (#686)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Snowmobile) on Sun, 19 Aug 2018 03:17:40
In Reply to: Re: Do I Dare Wade into the Waters of C900 Ownership?, peter  [Profile/Gallery]
, Sat, 18 Aug 2018 08:12:28
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I would say that the c900 is no worse than any other 25+ year old car in terms of repair, except that a few parts are fairly challenging to source now (eg compared to a domestic car from the 80s). Rubber parts like hoses, vacuum lines etc will be long overdue for replacement if original etc... But really the only thing that will kill these cars at this point is rust (or a collision). Good examples are going way up in value as many were driven into the ground in the past. So where a nice car might have been junked for a bad tranny in the past, now it makes more sense to fix. After rust, the state of the tranny is the next most important thing to consider because you need to pull the engine to replace a bad trans... Some other jobs are more work on a c900 than "normal" cars (eg belts and alternator are in close to the firewall, but the clutch is easier to access than in most cars. Basically just different tradeoffs.
As a daily driver they can be great and will for sure put a smile on your face. I love driving ours, but we also have 2 95s so if there is a problem with the c900 we still have transportation (busy family with kids). I came to your message after reading Arabiflora's post looking for a 5speed tranny after having his die in the middle of a road trip. We no longer do long trips in our 900 for that reason. Up here we can drive 8hrs without seeing any other Saab on the road, even a newer one.
Basically at this point I view the c900 as an awesome hobbyist car: the ideal owner likes to do their own maintenance (time, space, tools, and interest). They are enjoyable to work on and lack the electronic complexity of modern cars (ie parts don't need to be married to the car with a tech 2). Good examples probably should be driven but not abused at this point as they are becoming increasingly rare (especially the turbo hatchback variants). Ours no longer ventures out in our salty winters as that is the#1 killer for these cars (though ours are rust proofed also, winter is harsh!)... Though our c900s are the best snow cars we've ever owned. Up to a year and a half ago I drove a rusty old c900 in winter also, but rust eventually got the better of it. At some point safety becomes an issue as metal gets eaten away. If you are good at welding, that can be less of a concern. Often verts have been garaged through winters and are in better condition. Southern cars are usually good bodies also.
Basically I would echo the excellent comments from others here.
Good luck in your search!
, Sat, 11 Aug 2018 23:03:25, Sat, 18 Aug 2018 08:12:28, Sun, 19 Aug 2018 03:17:40 <-- Viewing This Message
, Sun, 19 Aug 2018 08:36:27
, Mon, 13 Aug 2018 10:15:02
2, Sun, 12 Aug 2018 12:07:05
, Sun, 12 Aug 2018 17:51:14
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