2003-2011 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Thank you for taking the time to respond! I've been driving this for a week now after spending about 3-4 hours a day for the entire month of July bringing it back from the previous owner's neglect. He was great at keeping it clean and oil changes. Beyond that, it had a laundry list of things needed to "bring it back". It's now a beautiful ARC convertible again. It's silver, dark grey interior. It now has: new brakes and rotors all the way around. New front wheel bearings. New lower control arms. new tires. Wheels balanced. New radiator and thermostat. New shifter surround, as the indicators were all out. A/C recharged and working properly. All emblems including wheel center caps taken off and sanded with 1000 grit sandpaper and urethane cleared. New factory SAAB leather seat cover on driver's seat bottom. De-greased and detailed engine. Added factory trunk mat and SAAB convertible air diffuser. Added used, close to new factory SAAB front carpeted mats. New battery cover. New spark plugs. New wiper blades. Added a factory Aero spoiler to the trunk. Had a paintless dent repair guy knock about 18 parking lot dings out of it. You can't tell they were ever there. Compounded and waxed and touched up the entire car. Waterproofed the convertible top. Refinished the headlights, (remove,sand with 1000 grit paper,2 coats urethane clear). The car looks like new again. It should, I just put 90 hours into it. I've driven it for a week now. Here's what I think after being a c900 guy for 22 years: This car doesn't feel like a SAAB....at all. It feels like a Cavalier with a fancier dash. The electronics are overly controlling and quite frankly are a nuisance. I don't need an electronic update that there's a cookie crumb on my passenger floormat. It's a nice quiet ride. It goes down the road nicely. It's not a bad looking car, but it doesn't look European at all. Today, I really took it to the test. I wanted to see just how quickly this car gets going. I got out on the highway and while cruising at about 60mph, I mashed the gas pedal. 1/2 to 3/4s of a mile later the car got up to 110-112ish. I had that pedal mashed against the floor. Car runs great. No hesitation. No codes. No problems when I scan it with a diag laptop. Top speed after almost a mile is 115??? If that's what this car offers, it's a girl's car. My '90 SPG will eat this car up, looks better, and doesn't have all the irritating electronic fragile crap. Mine will be going up for sale this weekend. I tried to like it, but it's just not for me. Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I respect that these cars are indeed likeable, they're just not my "cup O' tea". Cheers, Bob
posted by 67.189.140...
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