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snag it (long winded) Posted by bobc [Email] ![]() ![]() ![]() In Reply to: Should i run from a $12k 2003 aero?, VolvoD, Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:00:59 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I disagree with the folks that say a saab is an expensive car to maintain. However they are all correct that it can be *very* expensive to have a dealer service it for every thing. any car will be.
if you are a DIY guy (and I assume you are since you are looking at a high mileage car) grab the car and you will not regret it.
these cars are great. beautiful, comfortable, fast, fun to drive. I just got back from a 2000 mile weekend drive and it was a pleasure.
first common sense:
- check the records. oil changes? normal maintance?
- check condition of the car: dings and scrapes indicating a careless owner?
- this car has had mostly highway miles, that is good. esp for prevention of sludge.
and for the record:
- have a good mechanic check it out. but he must be a guy that knows saabs.
- have him check the shocks, motor/tranny mounts, check for sludge, etc.
common trouble:
- turbo - Aeros rarely have turbo failure. Aeros get a bigger more robust turbo. Seems the 6cyl have higher rates of failure, and early too 60-80k. so no worry for you here.
- DI - get a used one on Ebay or a junkyard and carry it as a spare. $40? or buy a new one and cary the existing one as a spare.
- SID - I fixed mine for $0 and 20minutes. its perfect now.
- Throttle body: periodicly clean it and when it fails replace it yourself. ~$180 I think
- heater control valve: $70 and about 1 hr to replace it. carry some epoxy to fix it in situ if it fails on the road.
- exhaust ... well its a good excuse to upgrade to a sport exhaust. btw it seems the Aeros have much lower failure rate of the exhaust. dont know why. (just empriical note from reading the board)
- does the car have Xenons? they can be expensive to replace the bulbs.
- does the sunroof "click". there are 2 fixes for that: one is to remove the deflector altogether ($0).
- ACC: air distribution can break, but there are inexpensive fixes for this too.
- serp belt & pulleys: find out when last changed. if the pulleys are original, replace them now.
etc etc
My experience is that these cars are quite reasonable to take care of if you are DIY. This board is amazing and invaluable.
_______________________________________ '08 9⁵ 2.3T SportCombi, Polar White '01 9⁵ Aero Midnight Blue (benched) '00 9⁵ Aero Midnight Blue (rescued) '99 9⁵ Base model, Cosmic blue '00 9⁵ Aero Silver (RIP - transmission )
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