1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
For any car, at 120K, a number of wear items will need replacement. Ask the seller what has been replaced, and when. So that you have some expectations on the first year cost. This list would also give you some ideas on the attention the car gets, a neglected car can be expensive to bring up.
Next, are you a DIYer? A lot of things on the Saab can be fixed very inexpensively yourself (there is a lot of support from this BB, in fact, you can get ALL the support from this BB), but repair bill could be very high by a shop ($100/hr).
Gas mileage on the highway for a 5-speed 9000 in good tune should be around 30. My 89 9000turbo gives me 29 and I push it very hard.
Safety, there is a Swedish consortium of insurance companies that does a biennial safety rating based on death and injury per accident. Saab 9000 rated the safest for 1986, 1988 and 1990. Modern cars, with multiple airbags are indeed safe. Saab's safty record shines is more fundamental, because of its inbred cultural of safety concerns. Its structural integrity is probably the best in the world. Typically one can open all the doors after a severe crash. What good is it if one survives a crash, only to be burned alive because the doors don't open?
Wear items:
Brakes - rotors and pads
Clutch - 1. Clutch line (it fails around 120K! - its flexible portion will develop a leak. The line can be rebuilt by a hydraulic shop foe 1/2 the OEM cost. The removal and installation can be done easily by a DIYer). 2. clutch master and slave cylinders, they don't fail by the clock as the line, but find out if they had been replaced.
Thermostat - should be done biennially, inexpensive and easy.
Hoses - check the conditions
Belt - there is only one, inexpensive and easy
Engine mounts
Water pump
Fuel pump (easy to do)
Fuel filter
Air filter, cabin air filter
A lot of the above could be too minor to bring up. Asking to see the service and repair records would be a better approach.
Check the axle boots, the axle needs to be replaced if the boot is split. Ask the seller/mechanic how much would it cost, labor & parts, for him to do the replacement. This is a tough work.
That is all I can think of now.
There is one item that is not a "typical" wear item, but always fails before 120K, the heater core. It is very tough to replace. See if it has been replaced.
I bought all my Saab's second hand and none of them cost me very much to bring up. One of them, a 88 900S, had only one issue in 4 years of ownership - a $40 fuel pre-pump, which I installed my self. I avoid multiple previous-owner cars (all of them from the original owner, except one. The last one cost me the most too). I do all the work myself.
Good luck.
posted by 98.164.222...
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