1950-1966 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Reliability -- a good one is numbingly reliable. Common quote from long-time 96 owners: "Lots of little things would go wrong, but it never left me stranded."
Maintenance -- no worse than anything else of the same age. These were well-engineered mainstream cars. The two-strokes are simpler but the things they do need have to be done conscientiously. The V4s are more complex but pretty tolerant. Old-time knowledgeable mechanic said to me: "If you don't get 250,000 miles out of that engine, it's your own fault for not changing the oil often enough." (And change the transaxle lube every time you change the oil.)
Parts availability and cost: Parts are generally inexpensive; widely available in Europe (where 96es were sold until 1978 and were fairly popular) but in the US your best bet is a Saab specialist. Still, many maintenance items interchange with other cars, and the V4 engine was sold in the US for industrial applications so replaceables often are available from Ford Industrial Power dealers.
Top 10 most common troubles: (1) Rust. (2) Rust. (3) Rust. (4) Rust. (5) Noisy transaxle from not changing lube often enough. (6) Rust. (7) Fiber balance shaft gear can shear off at around 80K miles, especially if previous owner ran with fan belt too tight. (8) Electric stuff stops working. (9) Interior trim wears out. (10) Rust.
Incidentally, it's not that these cars were especially rust-prone. It was that in their day, they were one of the few small cars you could buy that was good in the winter -- great traction, good heater, etc. So, lots of people bought them as 'winter cars,' drove them through the salt and slush all winter, and then neglected them all summer. There's a chart on the Saab Club Netherlands site showing the places to look for rust, but a quick summary would include: suspension mounts and spring perches; sills; floorboards; door bottoms. Most rust areas are fixable by welding in new metal, but the less you have to do, the better.
In general, all but a few 96es by now have been through an era where they went through several owners who ran them as a cheap beater car and just sort of bodged them together when they broke. If they had been LESS tolerant of abuse they would have vanished by now (like Bianchinas) but instead they're still wheezing along. Your ways around this are: look for a basically original car even if worn (best choice if you want to do a like-new resto, but LOTS of stuff will need to be replaced) or look for a good runner even if it's been cobbled together (may need re-engineering but probably easier to get it going; these cars like to be driven and a "runner" will usually be in better shape than a "sitter.")
Good luck and have fun!
posted by 204.76.113...
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