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Another opinion Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Fri, 12 Jan 2001 16:05:20
In Reply to: finding a 9000, Karel, Fri, 12 Jan 2001 15:12:39 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
It is true that the automatic transmission in the 9000 is a weak link. In general, you can expect to get 80K to 120K from the autobox before a rebuilt is required. Some die sooner, some run longer.
That is not to say that the manual transmission never needs work. A clutch job is a lot less than rebuilding an automatic, but it's $$$ nevertheless, and the clutch hydraulics have been known to break. The only 'cost free' car I've ever seen was the die-cast models they sell in the parts department.
So what does this mean? Cars break, and you have to fix them. That's a fact of life. So I wouldn't rule out an automatic 9000. The manual tranny is more fun to drive, and will give you better gas mileage. But it's a matter of economics.
Say you buy that 45K 9000 for the asking price of $5000. (Tell me where it is, I'll buy it!!!). Say the box dies at 80K - that's 25K miles from now. So you spend $2500 for a new box (that would be about the price of a good rebuild from Eriksson installed). OK, you're into the car for $7500, and the autobox will probably be good until at least 160K at least. With reasonable driving of 18K miles a year, that's the summer of 2007 before you need to worry about it again. Now if the box dies at 120K, that's 75K miles from now, or about 4+ years down the road. We'll have gone through another election cycle by then, something much more painful than transmission problems.
If you prefer a manual, then wait for one. All things being equal, take a manual tranny car over an automatic. But if auto cars are plentiful and cheap, take the money you save and put it in the bank for repairs.
Your best bet is either a low mileage car (like that 45K mile creampuff), or better yet, a car where the previous owner just dropped a new transmission in, and is now fed up and selling it. That was my last '88 9000T - it came out of the shop with a fresh Saab-installed transmission and the FOR SALE sign went right on it. I bought it cheap, drove it for 60K miles, and sold it, all with nary a thought to the transmission other than changing the fluid regularly.
Hey, cars break. The Direct Ignition cassettes fail - does that mean you shouldn't buy a 9000 after '91? The heater cores leak - never buy a 9000 at all? No. Assume you need to maintain and fix the car. With an automatic, you need to assume you'll need to do a tranny every 5-6 years. With a manual, you should assume some $$ there too. But don't rule out a large portion of the available fleet without thinking it through.
I have, or have had, three 9000, all automatic. One car I bought with a fresh rebuild, mentioned above. The second car has gone through two transmissions, one at 90K, and again at 110. I put the 20K mile failure down to the fact that instead of buying a good rebuilt box from Eriksson, I had a shop do the rebuild, and they botched it. I can't blame the tranny for that. The third car has no/nada/zero tranny problems. But not counting the short life of one box (and I think I know why), I've got 200K miles, and only one car has had autobox problems. OK, I did it by keeping the car in the 'sweet spot' between problems. But it works, and it can work for you.
, Fri, 12 Jan 2001 16:05:20 <-- Viewing This Message
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