Saab 9-3 TiD - Opinions, Horror Stories, Etc

[205 gti]

Having sold the only reliable car which I own I am now on the look out for a Saab 9-3 TiD. Budget is about £2k and I want the hatchback shape, not the new one - think they were made from about 98-02.

 

Have seen one in 'Ull which has done 136k but has FSH and is a one owner always garaged type of car. Anyone got any experience of them? I assume they can hack big mileages and that they are relatively well built. Obviously its not always great to assume anything so any pointers or experience would be great.

[cort16]

Mostly Vauxhall Vectra bits I believe. You could probably have a new shape one for 2k and they're quite nice to drive. No idea about reliability v the previous version though.

 

Here's one of the generation you're after for £995.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/saab-93-tid-diesel-5dhatch-2001y-reg-125000-miles950/98181294

[The Moog]

Normally it is the EGR stuff that is the pain. Valves go / need cleanign fairly regularly. Apart from that they seem ok.

[gadgetgricey]

Also the pumps can go without warning and are very expensive.

 

- Dave -

[205 gti]

Mostly Vauxhall Vectra bits I believe. You could probably have a new shape one for 2k and they're quite nice to drive. No idea about reliability v the previous version though.

 

Here's one of the generation you're after for £995.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/saab-93-tid-diesel-5dhatch-2001y-reg-125000-miles950/98181294

 

Looks decent but a bit far away for me to travel. The one in Hull is up for 1200 and is a bit newer with all the toys on it. Thanks for the advice guys.

Ian

[pompei]

I've got a newer shape 150hp one. It's comfy, quick and reasonably economical. The engine is a bit rough sounding, though I think they're all like that. The stereo is rubbish and the car belches out blue smoke when starting from cold, both from the exhaust and under the lid. Two independents have told me that this is swirl flap actuator failure + knackered inlet manifold. Pretty common on these engines I gather. Apparently it should just keep going. Other than that, it's been no bother but I've read that alternators and auxiliary belts can go, along with the usual suspects, EGR, DMF etc.

[dieselnutjob]

Also the pumps can go without warning and are very expensive.

 

- Dave -

 

what happens to the pumps? are they common rail?

[tonedepear]

I had a 51 plater in 2006. Loved it tbh. Occassionally threw up an engine light and limp home mode, which meant it was time to clear out the egr with carb cleaner, then it ran OK again. Mild pain in the arse. Feels like an older car than it is, but in a good way I reckon. I still see it round town and it's absolutely gleaming and still looks fab.

[CIH]

The bulkhead can crack around where the steering passes through on it's way to the rack. It'll feel like the trackings out or a bad ball joint ie; tramlining. You will be able to see if you look down at the bulkhead in the engine bay while someone moves the steering wheel side to side. GM issued a repair section but refused to treat it as a warranty issue.

[Timewaster]

Guy at work had one a few years ago and although he rated it (and he used to work at a Saab dealer and is a picky ....er) BUT he recons the fuel consumption was dire.

40 mpg or there abouts, which is pretty poor for a modern Tdi. As a comparison, my Octavia does 53.

[205 gti]

Nice one guys, thanks a lot for that. Am off to look at one tomorrow, I will be listening out for any knocking or lumpy idling. Am guessing that if its had regular oil changes it should be more likely to be okay for the EGR clogging up? Does anyone know if it is a mechanical or electronic EGR?

 

Will probably buy it anyway as a few people have told me positive things and I have always fancied a Saab, plus I'm getting hacked off looking at the kind of under two grand modern shite that any number of wide-boy dealers have plucked from the auction with one service history stamp in the book and tried to pass off as being "a meticulous and fastidiously maintained example of this well maintained car with service history" and probably painted in the second hand car dealer colour of choice "gleaming black" why is it that back street car dealers and only back street car dealers describe cars as "gleaming black"?

 

As an aside re the post above 40 MPG sounds like a ratings winner in our household having been getting low 20s commuting in the Merc.

[Volksy]

Would this suit.

 

Adequate, except in MPG. but the saving in price would buy you a couple of months.

 

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.c ... ead=125090

[205 gti]

The search continues.......

 

I went over with Hilman Imp in the great white shark (Audi 100 cc) to view the car in question. All seemed well, it pulled very well in all gears, the interior was nice, the mileage was genuine, the seller however wasn't.

 

Having agreed a price of £1000 I offered him a £100 deposit and stated that I'd write out a disclaimer stating that I would HPI the car and if it came back clear then I'd get the other £900 over to him and collect this week. The affable seller suddenly began to quivver. I did a £3 text HPI check which came back saying it was Cat D.

 

Walked away.

 

Have since borrowed the great white shark and have been loving piloting a quarter century old barge through the morning commute and revelling in the blue velour.

 

So the search continues. I understand from a chat with Volksy that he is now going to gazump me and buy the very same Saab he referred to above!

[Volksy]

Haha, nope, I'm gonna stick with 'entirley adequate motoring' for the moment, aka the Corolla. The link above was for a BMW Tourer, I need to save pennies to hopefully purchase something 'entirley excessive' in the near future.

 

Give me a shout of you want the guy with the 9-3's number.

[dieselnutjob]

Cat D might not mean anything. Most of my cars would be a Cat D write off if someone scratched a door.

[Rocket88]

I wouldn't be too worried about the Cat D, if it was recent. TBH, a supermarket trolley scrape on a car of that price would be enough.

[205 gti]

I wouldn't be too worried about the Cat D, if it was recent. TBH, a supermarket trolley scrape on a car of that price would be enough.

 

I'm not too worried about it being a Cat D, but I was more concerned about paying a grand for a car thats worth about £600 as a Cat D and more so again about the obvious lie that the guy told me. He said, "when I checked it, it came back clear" unfortunately unless it was written off subsequently without him even realising, then that couldn't possibly be true.

 

I contemplated offering him £600 for it but decided against it. If it had been honestly advertised as a Cat D I probably would have still been interested and might have gone for it.

[HillmanImp]

It did look straight to be far and we suspect the CAT D was simply from a rear O/S quarter bank at some point so not the end of the world. There had been a respray on there at some point.

 

As Mr GTi said, if they guy had got his lies right and just denied having ever done a check he would have been fine as thats the benefit of the doubt. However by saying he had done one and it had come back okay, just makes you look like a big fibber.

 

 

The chaps attitude had changed dramatically as soon as the matter of the deposit 'to be refunded if the vehicle check comes back with a write of or something similar, no longer wanting the deposit up front and happily habing it wired across.

[Lacquer Peel]

The GM DTi engine isn't common rail, it has a Bosch VP44 pump which is almost a copy of a Lucas CAV injector pump but with lots of electrics built in, they have a poor reputation.

 

I'm surprised fuel consumption is poor, my dad's old Vectra DTi managed 50MPG easily.

[tonedepear]

IIRC I managed 80mpg on a run to Hull once in my 2.2. I was doing an experiment to see how ludicrous my MPG would get (according to the car's computer) if I set the cruise to 55 and sat behind lorries ALL the way. It was either 86 or 68, but I'm pretty sure it was 86. Certainly high 40s low 50s were common place, although short journeys in winter understandably fucked it right up.

[cort16]

Here's a 2005 diesel one for 2 grand

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/real-bargin-2005-saab-93-diesel-low-miles/98902593

[Morgan84]

The 9-3 TiD 98-03 (ish) is a 2.2 engine I believe which is a chain driven engine,opposed to the newer 9-3 having the cambelt driven 1.9 CDTi engine,also of GM origin. I know the Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTi engines (can ) have problems with EGR valves,as well as inlet manifold butterfly problems = expensive pain in the backside. The series of 9-3 mentioned is the last of the Saabs to actually feel like a Saab;I don't rate the poor quality plastic interiors of the newer Saabs - almost down to Daewoo grade of shiney hard plastics.