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Re: 'Granpa car' is what son's Girlfriend called it :-)
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Posted by Erik919kt (more from Erik919kt) on Mon, 4 Apr 2011 10:56:55 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: 'Granpa car' is what son's Girlfriend called it :-), derf, Sun, 3 Apr 2011 12:43:18
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Well, sounds like she's a car expert, and her words should be repeated to anyone considering buying a 9000. Or perhaps not.

To answer the OP's question, I have had an '87 900S, '88 9000T, '91 9000T, and '95 9000CSE. Back when I was driving the '87 and my wife the '88, both of which had exactly the same tires on them, we were driving one rainy day; she was following me. I made a left turn on a downhill stretch and had lots of understeer. I watched her in the rear view mirror to see how she did. She took the turn at the same speed I did and had no problems. Despite the 9000 looking like a larger car, it handles much more nimbly than the 900. The 900 feels nimble when you're sitting behind the wheel, but it really doesn't do so hot in the curves. I drove that car for about 12 years. It looks great in the driveway, but given the choice, I'd take the 9000 any day.

The '91 is a step up from the '88 for the 9000 series. More power and better handling. My '91 has been a grin factory for me. I have 209K miles on it. My transmission has been replaced 3 times (!), but it was due to the fact that 1. The transmission had been cracked when I bought the car used, so that was the first replacement. 2. The dealership (aka stupid dealership) was all excited to use Saab's new synthetic manual transmission lubricant, so that toasted that tranny (I was one of the first test cases that ended up demonstrating how inappropriate that choice is), and 3. I lost my slave cylinder on the east coast and drove it back without a clutch, which I wasn't very good at for the first few hundred miles. So my car is not a good example of 9000 tranny longevity, but most 9000's need a new tranny at about 150K miles. But then again, most cars do anyway. So I would grade the tranny at average for the 9000. Slave cylinders last about 100K miles and are a $600 repair at the indy.

The engine has been great. Head gasket at about 150K miles with head rebuild. The turbo finally gave up the ghost after >200K miles, and I have to replace that, but that's hardly a reliability issue.

Suspension: SAS sway bars, like Noel said, and polyurethane bushings. Even before those mods, however, it out-performed both my 900S and my '88 9000T.

The '95 9000CSE has a bit softer suspension than the '91 does, but it's still a performer. Very solid power, very fast.

9000's are chameleons, in that their appearance varies greatly by color and wheel choice. Certain colors - I won't say which ones I think - give the car a more tepid look, and others (my color - white, with black trim and Aero wheels!) make it look sharp. I'm not biased at all. Nope.

Overall, I would say that anyone who considers a Saab to be unreliable either got a lemon that was abused, had a mechanic who was all thumbs, or drove it far more miles than most people expect out of their cars, all the while expecting no problems at all. Saabs will take you the distance, but they need care just like any other mechanical device.

posted by 69.131.206...
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