Tell me about Saab 93 2.0t...

[D-Dubya]

I'm going looking at a tidy sub £500 99/2000 yr one tomorrow, it's got 110k on the clock and a ream of history, but what's to look out for apart from warning lights that won't reset?

[RichardM1]

What engine does it have? My 1999 9-5 had the B205 and had sludge problems. More here, it says it's about the 9-5 but the 9-3 was also available with the same engine - http://www.serioussaab.co.uk/articles_pages/sludge.html

[twosmoke300]

Latest pcv kit fitted.

Oil leaks and Cam chain rattles. Smoke on cold start.

As it happens I have a really nice one for sale but it's 975 ono

[Sloth in a bowl]

Based on my brother's SAAB history:

 

Make sure it gets the right oil when it needs to.

If it has the big pixel display for radio, etc then you will probably be missing some lines of pixels, there is a Citroen XM thread here somewhere with the cheap fix details on these set-ups.

If it's leather seats then don't expect it to have aged that well.

 

otherwise, sit back in comfort and enjoy one of the best motorway cars ever invented.

[CortinaDave]

My 9-3 2.0 t was non stop woe. Regardless of the history get the sump dropped and checked when you buy it. Because they are a ticking sludge time bomb. Mine had FSH and sludged on the way home from the dealer.

 

I bought another later for parts. It was a 63k Fsh minter 02 plate auto. Despite a comprehensive history sludge had killed it too.

 

They are nice when they work - but as problematic as a vectra of similar age

[stuboy]

cabin fan notorious to seize due to placement

drain get blocked up

[Pete-M]

Check the electric window switches! The front ones are a yearly service item.

 

Some Saab alarm systems are notoriously clingy. They can end up like a lonely puppy. Walk away for 20 minutes and the bugger will start screaming for you. By the time you get back it's shut up. You wait by the car. You can be there all night and it won't make a sound. Walk to the corner shop and it'll go off. Eventually you end up going out to the fucking car at 3 am and going for a 15 minute drive just so the alarm feels loved. Go home, park up and it'll be fine. Most of the time. Occasionally it'll chirp just as you brush your teeth. Just to let you know it's still there, like a cross between Glenn Close and Kato. If you drive anywhere in another car it'll go off after 25 minutes.. and it'll keep going off until you get home. Being a SAAB disassembling and then successfully reassembling without breaking bits of the inner wheel arch liner is something only someone with 20 years experience of IKEA furniture is capable. 

If they ever remake Christine, it'll be Warren T. Claim in a killer 9-5 Estate.

Oh, I paid £405 for an X plate 9-5 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate with 120k on, six months ago. Didn't like it. Was amusingly nippy when wound up a bit, didn't handle, the trim felt a bit flimsy and the window switch was broke. Despite repeated attempts to unbreak it. The fact there were a few switch surrounds in the glove box suggests this is an ongoing thing with that one at least. It'd had a new turbo and a huge amount spent on it but in truth it just wasn't for me. Last time I'd driven one before buying this one was when they were new. They weren't so bad new.

I reckon the reason weird and antisocial roll-neck architects went mad for Saabs may well have been the clingy alarm system. I've always thought of the owners* in the 80s that they were the kind of folk who'd buy Bang & Olufsen, Apple Macs, and who're now in their 60s and insist on showing people that they just about understand an iPhone now that they can speak to it. They liked their Saab because it was Swedish and really fast because it wheelspins just pulling out of junctions. They liked the safety angle, the running lights meant everyone knew they drove the Swedish car that wasn't boring and square. The kind of folk who bought the 99 Turbo just because it had Aztec alloys, headlight wipers and an orange interior, and a turbocharger you could really feel kick in. They've got a Jag XF now, but it's a diesel.

*Ok, I don't often stereotype folk. I'm sure lots of folk who bought new Saabs were perfectly normal.

[oman5]

 check underneath for rust.  sill/floor/bulkhead. yes really, I have known several with terminal rot.

[twosmoke300]

Rock the steering and check for excessive movement for the pedals. A sign of bulkhead cracking

[Station]

I had one at the start of the year - pretty grim mpg around town (24mpg) but excellent on motorway (45mpg). Interior was a li'l bit too airy and spacious (like old Mercedes), but very well put together. Very fast once the turbo is going, I torque steered it all over the place on a slip road in 3rd just after I bought it.

Mine cost 400 quid - it had FSH, was a 205bhp SE ('rare' B204R engine). I found out the wheels were purl=http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=saab+viggen+wheels&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc] Viggen ones[/url] which was a nice surprise when I come to sell them. Also selling parts to Saab owners is horrible - they are natural penny pinching timewasters - I got loads of buyers when I broke it, and no sales.

 

[D-Dubya]

well we went to look at it, no sign of rust under the sills but the rear arches are crusty on the underside, one worse than the other but nothing a bit of sanding/rust killer/stone chip won't stop it from getting worse. everything works, engine silky smooth no rattles, revs up well, started from cold no signs of blue smoke, radio display has the missing lines in it. no major advisories on the MOTs, has a strut brace fitted. there was a slight burble on the exhaust that sound like a baffle has gone but nothing major. could only drive it in the lock up area as no insurance on it.

it was an 80-odd year olds car and it was garaged, and he's hanging up his keys, got it for £400, collect Monday but its not a car for me but for a family member who is well chuffed with it

[srad34]

We had a 93 Convertible (sorry, not by choice), mechanically it was fine, bit too much power for the wheels to cope with in the wet, boring as hell to drive and handled like a tug boat inho.....

 

I did like the looks tho and the paint quality was great......

 

I would have another as a work car......

[cort16]

I had a convertible one. Never again!