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Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2003 07:03:03 -0400
From: "Nutmegger" <nutmegger_7717nopsamo.com>
Subject: Re: thinking of getting a Saab


"Andy Hookins" wrote > > > a quick word of introduction I suppose, I'm a 24 yr old brit and am > thinking > > > of getting into the world of Saabs... my dad had two in his life, a 900 > 5dr > > > Turbo (PLW 454W, owned from 1982 to 1985) and a 9000 SE Turbo (E79 FLX, > > > owned from 1987 to 1993). Wow do I have some memories of that car, > woooeee > > > it was quick! > > > > Nice cars Jules. The classic 900 was my boyhood dream and I got my first > > when I was 27. > > > > > Anyway, my current car is a Peugeot 206 GLX 3Dr, which is cool enough > for > > > city driving but really a bit small, and pretty tiring for long motorway > > > hauls. I play in a band and really struggle to get all my gear into it! > > > Anyway, I bought it new (£10.5K) and given the amount of miles I travel > (c > > > 25k per year, mostly motorway but a bit of london driving too) it is > costing > > > too much to run in terms of depreciation etc. Considering I have had it > a > > > year and it has lost 5k off it's value... ouch! > > Depending on the sort of stuff you have to lug around for your band > you may find the 900 easier because it has no 'lip' to lift stuff over. Yeah, it is so easy to slide things right in. I miss that feature with my 9000. > The 9000 is a probably the more comfortable car though. For me, they were both comfortable, but the 9000 has more room for passengers than the 900. Plus the 9000 has all the little extras (which means more things can go wrong!) > > > > > Lose the new car. I owned a brand new Fiat Punto Sporting before my first > > Saab and while I pined for the "newness" for the first couple of Saab > weeks, > > I wouldn't go back to owning a new car as my only car. > > > > > So, realistically, how expensive would it be for me to run a 9000/CS > turbo > > > of some kind? I haven't made a claim on insurance in the 7 yrs since > getting > > > my license - all insurance quotes all seem to be in the c.£900 p.a. > region > > > which seems about right I guess. > > > > Is that fully comp? I pay around 500 UKP (0 years no claims) for TPFT on a > > 1989 900 turbo. I think you'd be surprised how little it will go up, if at > > all. > > > > 9000 2.0 lpt 150 bhp adequate - auto a bit underpowered. > 2.3 lpt 170 bhp, much better - very well suited to the auto I guess > because the 2.3 engine develops full torque at ~1800 rpm cf 2600 > rpm for the 2 litre. > 2.3 fpt 200 bhp lots of fun > 2.3 aero 225 bhp more than lots of fun Sounds like it, I would love to try driving one of those. > > I've spent £1k-1k3 for each of the last 3 years on my 9000 CDE, > but this does include a few tweaks - ECU, suspension etc. and I > am very fussy - I spent over a grand on my Honda Accord in it's > last year and was planning brake discs, calipers etc. b4 stuffing it > into the back of a Mondeo :-( I do some of the work myself, but > the big stuff (timing chains ~£900, head gasket nearly £500) I > leave to others) Saabs are expensive to repair, if you can do lots of it yourself you are better off. > > I thought that an auto would be nice - but it's also thirsty, best I've > had is 28mpg (imperial), I know from borrowing manual's that mid > 30's is acheivable on motorway runs though. Sure, mine exceeded that. > > I'm paying ~£600 protected fully comp. with all modifications listed, > accident 3 years ago, SP30 4 years ago. I live in Hampshire and am > 10+ years older than you. That's not much for comp. > > > > I have seen a few cars on ebay/exchange and mart for between £1.5k and > £3k - > > > mileages between 125 and 180k - do any of you run similar cars and if > so, > > > what is your typical running cost in terms of servicing etc.? (just a > > > ballpark figure would be really helpful) I've spent the day reading > posts to > > > this newsgroup and am not sure I would have the technical know-how to do > a > > > lot of the DIY fixing that you guys do. I live in Chertsey so am not a > > > million miles away from Leatherhead which is where I guess my nearest > saab > > > specialist would be... > > Your nearest dealer is Ian Allan in Virginia Water - I only buy parts > from them but have never had any work done by them. But, they are > very helpful and cleared a fault with the Tech-II analyser once after I > had been messing around - no charge. GSF at Feltham are good for > parts too. > > > The 9000 is a great car. The CSE model, with all the gadgets if you can > get > > a newer one would be good. My reason for suggesting a newer one (say, P > reg) > > means you'd get a low mileage car with all the gadgets still working. Most > > mechanics would be able to deal with this, but if you could get a Saab > > specialist all the better. The 9000 feels like a go-kart compared to the > > 900; wider wheelbase and all that :) > > The 9000's certainly have a lot more in the way of toys, all the bits on > mine work, alright not the heated drivers seat, but all the rest of them > do. The car handles very well too for such a big car and is surprisingly > quick on country roads. I love my heated seats! The car does handle excellent to me, not as tight as a 900 but like you say the size has lots to do with it. > > > I would think if you follow normal mechanical advice (in other words, so > > long as the car is not f*cked), you'd be looking at maybe a couple of > > hundred pounds per year. > > That would be about right, but be prepared for the occassional larger > outlay - I was unlucky with my timing chain - one of the guides for the > balancer chain broke. What you spend on tweaking the car is up to > you. > > > Most classic owners are far more finickerty about > > their machines than common drivers and spend a lot of time and money > > pre-emting problems ... And just tinkering :) > > That would be me. > > > > Any help/stories/approximate numbers would be most appreciated! > > > > Or, just bite the bullet and go for a dirt cheap 900 turbo, pay whatever > for > > the problems and have some fun with it. Get a better model once you have a > > feel for it. > > > > Paul > > > > 1989 900 Turbo S > > http://saab.go.dyndns.org/ > > > I'm looking for a 900 as a second car - beware once you catch the > SAAB bug you may never be the same again ;-) I've been looking for a 900 too, but not automatic trans. > > AndyH > '94 9000 CDE > >

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