Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 15:11:39 +0100 From: "Phil Born" <anonnopsamty.com> Subject: Re: Thinking of buying my first saab - what to look for?
"Kenneth S." <nimrodnopsams.com> wrote in message news:3D91A942.7089nopsams.com... > Geoff J wrote: > > > > Hi saab lovers. > > > > I'm new to this particular news group but have lurked and contributed > > to alt.fan.landrover for quite a while now (proud owner of a 1987 110 > > 2.5l Petrol). > > > > Anyway back to the point - I'm thinking of buying a 1997 Saab 900 S > > (2.0i) in black with 5 doors with 57,000 miles on the clock. I want it > > primarily as a motorway car and was wondering what are the known > > problems/things to look for etc. with this model. > > > > Thanks in advance > > > > Geoff > > > I have a 1996 900SE, which I bought almost two years ago. (As some in > this news group will know) this car has been a major disappointment to > me. It has been far more trouble than other cars I have owned, and > getting it fixed is expensive, as well as entailing trips to a not > particularly convenient Saab dealer. > > During the time I have owned this car, I have: > (1) had to have one of the front struts rebuilt to eliminate a rattling > noise; > (2) had persistent problems with the check engine light coming on for no > apparent reason, entailing having the car in the dealers three times, > and ultimately having it cured (I hope!) by some fix to the wiring > harness; > (3) had several trips back to the dealer because of a slow leak -- > origin still not discovered -- in the air conditioning system; > (4) found that the steering pulled to the right and was far too > sensitive to road camber and grooves in the road (the first problem > cured by a realignment, and the second (I hope) going to be cured as a > result of advice in this news group); > (5) found the climate control system unsatisfactory (maybe this system > is only in SEs); > (6) found the heated seats don't work; and > (7) had the low coolant warning come on periodically, even though the > coolant level is fine. > > Prior to buying the Saab, I had a succession of large American V-8s, > which I found reliable, comfortable, and cheap to fix. In addition, > several years ago I bought a Mazda Miata (MX-5), for something more > agile. After a series of vacations in Europe, during which I rented > four-door hatchbacks, I decided that one of these was really what I > should have, to replace my Mercury Grand Marquis (an excellent car, but > too large for my daughter's tastes). The Saab is one of the very few > four-door hatchbacks on the U.S. market, and in any case I'd always been > interested in owning one. > > You appear to be based in Britain. If so, you have alternatives to the > Saab, which will give you its advantages, without some of the Saab's > shortcomings. There are many four-door hatchbacks on the European > market. During a recent trip to France I rented a Peugeot 307, which I > thought had everything the Saab has, plus being quieter and riding much > more comfortably. > > Now, you lucky man, you can sit back and watch all the spectacular > flames that will be directed my way from elsewhere in this newsgroup! You seem to have bought a wrong 'n. For the last 15 months I've had a 1997 900 SE turbo coupe with the Sensonic semi-auto gearbox (which almost everyone I speak to says is just waiting to go horrendously, expensively wrong!) with 48K miles on it. The only problem I've had is the non-return valve on the fuel pump ("they all do that, Sir!"). Apart from that, it's been great. Fantastic on the motorway, quiet (although a little gruff at high revs under full load - which I like), smooth, nice to drive, and not too heavy on fuel (26mpg overall). There's nothing in the service history to indicate any earlier problems, and I have no plans to move it on, either. I may have managed find a good one, but I think it's reasonably indicative of the breed. With every car I've ever heard of, there's always a few cases of an absolute lemon. These are often due to it being a 'Friday afternoon' car, or not being looked after correctly - and by that I don't mean it must be constantly pampered. One tale of woe isn't enough of a statistically-accurate sample. Anyway, just my opinion.
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