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Hello,
This is my first time posting to this board, and I have a few questions.
A friend of mine is looking at a '97 Saab 900SE 5 spd with the 2.0L I4 Turbo. I believe it's got about 100,000 KM on it, but I'm not sure, I'll be looking at it tomorrow.
I know a fair bit about cars, and do a fair bit of work on my own vehicles, but I've never touched a Saab.
What, in particular should we look for on this vehicle? Any major maintenance items to look for? Any common mechanical failures to look out for? Major recalls or TSBs?
So far there are a few worrying issues with the car... I haven't looked at the car yet, but my friend has (he doesn't know all that much about cars)
1. The clutch is VERY hard.... Not just stiff, VERY hard, he said it needed almost all his strength to hold it down, and it doesn't go all the way to the floor.
-ideas? perhaps the clutch was improperly replaced at some point?
-is this a hydraulic clutch, or not?
-anyone seen this before?
-the other thing is, the shift knob isn't properly on, perhaps the trans was pulled at some point, maybe to replace the clutch and not properly reinstalled
2. During my friend's test drive, the "Low Coolant" message came up... Upon examination of the overflow bottle, it was found to be very low. The dealer says they'll just top this up and it'll be fine, but I'm not sure I trust that...
-any known issues with coolant loss, blown head gaskets, etc?
3. How good are the brakes on these cars? When my friend drove it, he was not impressed at all, said the brakes weren't as responsive as those on the new Beetle that he drives now. The dealer (little guy with no Saab experience), said that he'd "redone" the brakes... When my friend looked at the rotors, he said they looked old and rusty around the edges, so I'd assume just the pads were replaced, and MAYBE the rotors were turned.
-how are the brakes on these cars normally?
-I'm wondering if perhaps there's a seized caliper, which is why the pads were replaced, and also why my friend wasn't impressed with the brakes...
Anything else AT ALL to look for?
Thanks.
posted by 161.114.8...
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