SAAB 9-3 Buying Tips

[Pillock]

Apart from "Don't, you'll look like an idiot" naturally. This is a given.

 

After finding out the 9 months of this century that happened before Stephen01's 9-3 Cabrio popped out of Mother_SAAB's mechanical womb meant that the insurance costs were more than double a 2000 model, I've started hunting down a nice, slightly older model. Basically, needs to be 15 years old due to Footman James' very inflexible rules.

 

Seen a nice blue one, 6 months test and no visible tattiness. It's at a dealer, but PX and it's been there at least a week so could offer them a cheeky low bid - it's up for £695 and most of their cars are £2k+. It's a 2.0 T SE.

 

So far I know about the dreaded sludge, of which there's handily no way of telling without dropping the sump; and the bulkhead going all flappy - anything I can check for here apart from obvious welding? Anything else I can check for in particular to save jizzing a few hundred quid down the drain? Since it's a Turbot I'll assume starting cold, getting it warm, booting it a bit, idling etc to check over the spinny bits will do. 

 

What say the combined knowledge of shiters?

[twosmoke300]

Blue smoke on start up . As you said the sludge issue and it needs the latest pcv set up on it .

With the bulkhead , start it up and turn steering while looking at pedals . Too much movement means split bulkhead

[Pillock]

What does the latest PCV look like, any way of telling if it's been sorted?

[twosmoke300]

The heater hose sized pipes near the oil filer should have white writing/ stripes on it . Google Saab pcv#6

[twosmoke300]

This applies to black di engines . Older red coil pack engines don't have the sludge issues

[Pillock]

Awesome, what year did they run out of red paint for the coil packs?

[twosmoke300]

2000 ish

[Bear]

Auto - watch for failed radiator cooling pipes allowing ATF/coolant to mix.
Roof - oh, just google it, there are several big things but some apply to specific years. Floppy tonneau cover would be my first place to prod.

Keys are expensive. Make sure there are two or haggle.

Sometimes door handles stop working. They can be fixed surprisingly easily given that it's usually the handle rod from inner door to mechanism that is sticking, disengaging the outer handle.

Exhausts are HILARIOUS to fit and get to seal properly.

[Pillock]

Thanks guys. I could potentially go up tomorrow to view but I might leave it for Saturday, give me a day to mull over.

 

Everything else on autotrader is in Wales, and everything on eBay pre-2000 looks buggered. But not as much as the Audi convertibles from the same era.

[D Spares & Tyres]

I had a 93 turbo briefly

 

Low miles, good oil and water

 

Thrashed the nuts off it and it starting knocking then seized

 

Someone in town has had the same experiennce with 2 recently purchased ones

 

Would this be due to the sludge you mention? Or a car that had dawdled its whole life and didn`t like being thrashed?

[sierraman]

Trouble is they are at that stage in life where they attract the 'I've got £900 but I'm feeling like running a luxury car' type, and unfortunately a lot aren't prepared for the costs of tyres, oil etc so end up running it ragged. You really want to be buying off someone that's got some brass on the hip and looks like they've cared, not some bum whose spent last 9 months cobbling the fucker along with any old oil and cack bits from Bullseye

[stephen01]

Only 10 hours left and no bids yet, this beauty could be yours! 

 

My insurance is £300 FC, with protected NCB, breakdown & legal cover. 

 

 

few pics to tease you!