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Re: 1988 Saab 900 Posted by Saana88 [Email]  (#207)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Saana88) on Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:25:09
In Reply to: 1988 Saab 900, Janet, Mon, 8 Aug 2005 18:10:33 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Janet,
As my screen name implies, I own mom's old car, a 1988 900 4-door. "Saana" has been a member of the family since January 1999, when we bought the car with 100,000 miles on it. A baby, really. I took over owning the car in July 2003 around 140,000 miles. Three months later, the automatic transmission died, slowly enough to arrange for its replacement. We never wanted an automatic anyway, so the car is now a happy sex-changed 5 speed. Since the dreaded rust is finally starting to show, I decided to turn Saana into a winter car since I live in upstate New York. NY uses enough road salt that most 900s on the roads are 5-6 years younger than this car, and I'd like to think that myself and this bulletin board are the reason the car didn't go to the crusher years ago. My basic 900 is great basic transportation, not very fast, but still powerful enough to climb hills. After a few years of hard work you reach a point where a used car starts to pay for itself and is quite reliable. If the car you are looking for is in good shape and has been taken care of, I say buy it. BUT give any car that old a very thorough check-over before buying it. Look for maintenance records or at least some evidence that the previous owner is not merely transferring their problems to you. My summer car is a 1992 convertible, which is just as reliable as the '88 (but not more) even though it has 80,000 fewer miles on it. That's because I have not had the '92 long enough to take care of all the deferred maintenance.
All that aside, cars are cars, meaning they are expensive, especially if neglected. Sadly, our society tends to rely on them quite a bit, and I prefer an older Saab to the vast majority of new cars on the market today. They're not as fast, but they come from a time when engineering and pure class were still standard features on automobiles, and fixing things did not immediately require a trip to your local dealer for them to continue taking your money.
As far as safety is concerned, 1988 is right up there with all the other model years. I have experienced two moderate side impacts in 900s, one of which was a tree that hit behind the front wheel on the driver's side around 45 miles an hour. The car is so well-reinforced in this area the windshield didn't even crack, the hood stayed in place, the driver's door opened, and I walked away. Search this site for "Saabs Save Lives" for more horror stories. These cars have been t-boned, rear-ended, flipped, spun around, you name it. The seat belts and seat adjustments fit well for myself (6 foot 1, 180 pounds) and my mother (5 foot 2, short legs, clutch pedal) as they should.
'88 was a good year. Go take a test drive and get back to us. I don't like the automatics, as you can tell, but it is possible to get some miles on them. I plan to drive my '88 until the rust gets bad enough to be structurally deficient, which I estimate to be another 3 years or so, around 250k, which is the expected lifespan of a 900 to me. Safe, reliable, comfortable, a little wierd at times, but awesome in the snow.
, Tue, 9 Aug 2005 13:44:50, Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:25:09 <-- Viewing This Message
, Tue, 9 Aug 2005 09:45:03, Wed, 10 Aug 2005 21:01:49
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