Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 09:14:47 +0000 From: Wheels of Error <insertyournospamesshere.com> Subject: Re: SAAB 9-5 driving seat
Got my car back from Two Strokes on Thursday and the seat foam transplant was a complete success! It's wonderful, it makes me want to go an all-day drive just for the sake of it. Hats off to Two Strokes for the excellent job they did - and also for giving me the opportunity to try out an old (1987 I think) 900 for a day or so (as it was the last courtesy car they had left). A mere 231,000 miles on the clock, it was a dreadful slug to drive but it was built like a tank, and everything still worked - washer jets, rear window demister and all. So this is how Saab got their reputation for everlasting durability. On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 08:09:31 +0000, Wheels of Error <insertyournospamesshere.com> wrote: >On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 09:48:42 +0100, Wheels of Error ><insertyournospamesshere.com> wrote: > >>I recently bought my first Saab, a 1998 9-5 2.3t SE auto. What a hell >>of a car (specially for the money)! Looks, performance, equipment and >>a promise of legendary durability. With 120,000 miles on the clock, >>the interior is like new, the body is almost unmarked and everything - >>apart from the ACC electronic display - works perfectly. It also has >>the best audio system I have ever owned. >> >>The other reason I bought it was Saab's reputation for unmatched long >>distance driving comfort. With leather all round, it certainly looks >>good, but although the passenger seats all win compliments from my >>family and friends, I cannot get comfortable in the driving seat, no >>matter how much I fiddle with the rake, height, lumbar support etc. >> >>In fact the seat feels like it has sunk in the middle slightly and as >>a result my bodyweight is supported more by the sides of the seat than >>the base. Likewise the back. After two hours of driving I get quite >>a back ache. >> >>Now I'm not unusually heavy (about 90 kg stretched over a 6'3" frame) >>so I would have thought the seat would have coped with me OK. Instead >>I am starting to wonder if a previous owner (it has had two, one of >>whom did 105,000 miles in it) was a gigantic lardass who over the >>course of owning it has knackered the seat springs or something. I >>know it can happen, as I had precisely that experience with my Peugeot >>406 (which, admittedly, is notorious for having uncomfortable, poor >>quality seats). >> >>How likely does this sound? Has anyone any similar experiences? >> >>If the seat is indeed shagged, any suggestions on how to cure it? >>E.g. restorers, parts suppliers (I am in the UK). >> >>Thanks > >Found a place in the UK that does Saab seat repairs and reupholstery >on a regular basis; Two Strokes to Turbo in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. > >http://www.twostroke.co.uk/1_Home.htm > >I explained my problem to them and they knew immediately what to do, >having seen the problem several times before. They told me that >unlike in the 9000s, driver seats in the early 9-5s do collapse over >time due to a change to an inferior design. They see this a lot in >ex-Police cars. > >Their full time upholstery man is going to strip the foams out of a >low mileage passenger seat (the foams are symmetric so they'll fit >fine) from an early 9-5, and rebuild my seat with the original leather >covering. Total 300 GBP or so. They're even going to lend me a >courtesy car. > >Funny thing is, despite all the searches I did on Google, trying every >combination of "saab", "parts", "breakers" and "UK" their web site >never showed up, although I gather they are well known on eBay. At >any rate, I eventually found out about them by asking in person, while >I was at PFS parts returning a duff ACC unit. > >I'll let you know how it goes.
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