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Having both an OG900 and a 9000, I would say ...
1. The 9000 is a NICER driving car (quieter, smoother, ... more luxury!). It's better for carrying more than one passenger.
2. The 900 is a MORE FUN car to drive (steering is better, handling feels more racecar-ish)
3. Both handle well in the snow -- some will tell you the 900 is better, some will tell you the 9000 is better. I think it's a toss-up.
4. The 9000 got ABS earlier, but I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing... something to consider, anyway.
Don't confine your search to only old (relatively) cars! We just bought a 1995 9000CS LPT with 90k on it for $4000, which isn't a ton of money. For the 9000, I hear 1994 and newer gives you a better 5-speed gearbox (due to stronger internals or something) and NONE of the OG900s or 9000s had good automatic trannies.
It seems like the 9000 has some major component issues, such as the heater core, the Direct Ignition cassette, the automatic climate control, the blower motor, motor mounts, and on and on. Our car has had most of these repairs already done, and I've heard from some here on Saabnet that it is almost better to look for 9000s with 90k+ miles because they are more likely to have been through the repair cycle!
It seems, in my mind, that the 900 has fewer, common trouble spots ... and after my family's 5 OG900s, we haven't had a ton of big repairs over the several hundred thousand miles we've driven them. The repairs were more sporadic -- brake calipers here, a clutch there, and so on. We've only had to do one headgasket and that was in one of the 2.1L engines (1991-1993 for the non-turbo). That, along with transmission failure, are the things I'd watch out for. Just straight-out avoid the 2.1L engine for peace of mind. We thought we had a good one that had the original culprit fixed (Saab put the wrong type of antifreeze in them at the factory... oops) but two years and barely 25k miles later, we had to get the gasket replaced. As for the transmission, the 1989 and newer OG900 had a stronger version. Listen for a whine in 5th gear while cruising.
The 9000 is a better highway car (and is geared as such ... at least in our 1995) whereas the 900 is a better back-roads car, in my opinion. After driving the loud (road noise) 900, I enjoy the quiet commute to work in the 9000. But really, the 900 is more fun to drive.
Hope this isn't too rambly/confusing...
Tim B.
89 900S 5spd HB 173k
*plus*
97 900S 5spd 5-door 95k (sister's)
95 9000CS LPT 5spd 92k (Mom's)
92 900S 5spd HB 140k (other sister's)
87 900S 5spd HB 205k (Dad's)
posted by 66.186.18...
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