Roffle 2002 Saab 9-3 Turbo floppytop - £350 or £6 a ticket

[wuvvum]

I bought this recently intending to enjoy some comfortable wind-in-the-hair motoring over the summer (assuming we get one again this year).  I had it all planned out - I was going to sell the Audi to replenish the chod fund, which I would then use to get the Rover of Doom and the Innocenti back on the road, and then the fleet would be nice and ready for the summer.  I might even have had enough left over to sort the brakes on the 164.

 

As ever, things didn't quite work out as planned, as I ended up giving the Audi and some money in exchange for the Buick, which itself needs money spending on it.  So something's got to give, and I've decided it's the Saab.

 

It's a 2-litre turbo manual on an 02 plate.  It has the 185bhp engine so goes fairly well, although it's not stupidly quick as it's a heavy bastard.  Mileage is around 116K.  It starts up fine, albeit with the common slightly lazy Saab starter, and it drives as it should, with no jumping out of gear or owt like that (although I wouldn't really expect gearbox issues at this mileage).  It's apparently had a replacement turbo - there's no bill for this but the turbo does look newer than the surrounding bits of engine.

 

Electrics all seem to work, including the cruise control.  Even the HRW works.  The radio display appears to have a line of dead pixels, but is still legible.  The floppytop flops as it should.  Lights, wipers &c are all OK except that only one headlight wiper works (so that's Wobbler out of the running then).  Electric aerial doesn't go down properly.  Airbag light is on at the moment - according to the previous owner it's because there's a broken clip on one of the wires under the driver's seat.  As soon as the weather permits I'll investigate and see if I can do something clever with cable ties.

 

Interior is beige leather and is mostly in good condition, although the driver's seat is somewhat worn on the bolster and also has a split in the leather on the base.  Bodywork is solid but has a few scratches and stone chips - no dents to speak of though.  The floppytop is a bit scruffy, and could do with a good clean as the previous owner used to park it under a tree, but it appears to be waterproof, which is good.  Tyres are all legal but the nearside front is getting towards the end of its life.

 

Other bad bits:

 

-Windscreen is cracked right in the bottom corner on the driver's side.  Not in the driver's eyeline, and with a bit of judicious fiddling with wiper arm positioning it could be made to be outside the wiped area too.

 

-There's a slight exhaust blow, not really noticeable from inside the car but audible from outside.

 

-There's a whine from one of the ancillaries under the bonnet for the first couple of minutes after starting from cold.

 

-At motorway speeds there's an annoying whistle from where the hood joins the top of the screen.  It's obvious air is getting through somehow, but I've not been able to ascertain where yet, as there's no obvious damage to the seals.  I've ordered some seal rejuvenator shiz anyway so will see if that helps.  Of course the obvious solution is to "do a Craig the Princess" and just drive it with the top down whatever the weather.

 

-It runs cool at higher speeds, especially in cold weather - might benefit from the judicious insertion of a Renault 5 thermostat.

 

-There's only one key, and it's held together with tape.  The remote locking still works though, you just have to know which bit of tape to press.

 

 

That's about it I think.  It's MOT'd until September so ready for summer fun and frolics.  In NE Norfolk, delivery may be possible.

 

Pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rainagain]

I’d be up for a roffle ticket

[Aston Martin]

I'd be in for a rofflin.

[barefoot]

I would definately be up for one too, were it an automatic estate.

As it's a convertible, I'll have to put on my sensible hat for a mo

Although it is frighteningly close...

[Broadsword]

I’d also be in for two tickets.

[wuvvum]

The squirty seal lubricant stuff I ordered arrived yesterday, I've given it a liberal coating along the length of the seal at the top of the screen, and it's definitely quietened down the whistling, but it's not got rid of it completely, so further investigation may be required there.

 

I wouldn't be averse to a roffle, but as always I'd need someone to take care of the Paypal side of things, not being a user myself.

[The Moog]

What's the squirty deal lubricant called?

[wuvvum]

It's just called Seal Lubricant.  It's made by Thetford, and its main purpose is to prevent the seals on cassette toilets from leaking, but it works on any kind of rubber seal apparently - my uncle uses it on the door and window seals on his camper and swears by it.

[rainagain]

When my OH had a Megan coupe we had a small leak in the boot, I was looking online for hints and found a service guide for a vw folding hard top, it recommended treating all seals with a special vw treatment every two years, in the comments someone said this treatment was just silicone grease.

 

I went over the boot seal with this and the leak went away.

 

Also when’s the roffle?

[Broadsword]

Looks like four tickets sold already!

[The Moog]

It's just called Seal Lubricant. It's made by Thetford, and its main purpose is to prevent the seals on cassette toilets from leaking, but it works on any kind of rubber seal apparently - my uncle uses it on the door and window seals on his camper and swears by it.

Noted... Thanks!

[gadgetgricey]

Can't make out fully as steering wheel in the way, but is there a turbo gauge in the dials?

Looks lovely by the way, would also have a couple of tickets if you go down that route (#28 & #47)

[wuvvum]

Nope, no boost gauge sadly.  Not that they were ever particularly informative on Saabs, but it is fun to watch the needle scoot across the dial when you floor it.

[wuvvum]

Bump and price drop.

[GeordieInExile]

One random, please.

[stephen01]

I'd take a random, if no outright sales are forthcoming

[bangernomics]

Do you have screen cover with a £50 excess? May be interested in outright if it had a replacement at a sensible cost.

[chrisjvm]

Do you have screen cover with a £50 excess? May be interested in outright if it had a replacement at a sensible cost.

I do have a cherry you can have FOC ...

 

Maybe if you put that on top it would sweeten the deal?

[wuvvum]

I don't have screen cover unfortunately.

[bangernomics]

I do have a cherry you can have FOC ...

 

Maybe if you put that on top it would sweeten the deal?

Thanks for your help.

[Craig the Princess]

Have a Saab flavoured bump. 900 convertibles are perfect for February.

[rainagain]

One random for me please

[wuvvum]

Don't mind doing a roffle, but would need a trusted shiter to take care of the Paypal payments side of things as I don't have a Paypal account, and don't intend to open one.

[wuvvum]

Forgot to say - I plugged my knock-off Delphi doobery into this at the weekend and interrogated it re the airbags - it came back with driver's airbag, o/s side airbag and o/s seatbelt pretensioner all showing 0 ohms, which backs up the previous owner's comments about something being awry with the wiring under the driver's seat.  I found a yellow plug which wasn't connected to anything, but I couldn't for the life of me find where it was supposed to plug into...

[somewhatfoolish]

This is giving me an unexpected level of horn. GLWTR.

[loserone]

I'll bravely volunteer to handle the PayPal side of things if you wanted me to Wuv. Must admit that windscreen is putting me off but I'd have a single random too

[purplebargeken]

Looks sexy, but wrong gearbox for me. Can't anyway but would if I could.

[Unclefester]

A wee bump my daily driver love it gd luck with sale

[wuvvum]

Right, let's have another crack at this shall we?

Few things to update since the original post:

-It's had an oil and filter change using proper fully synthetic oil. I gave it an engine flush beforehand which appears to have done its job, given that the oil which came out was a lot blacker than what had previously been on the dipstick. It seems to run smoother and quieter now, although that could just be a placebo effect or something.

-It's actually an eco turbo, so only 150bhp - Totalcarcheck was lying to me. That would explain why it's not quite as quick as I would've expected. They're easily upgradable though should such shenanigans tickle the next owner's fancy.

-The universal joint for the soft top tonneau cover is broken. I had a look and from the surface rust on the broken off bit it looks like it's been that way for a while and was holding on by a wing and a prayer. So the floppytop still works, but the tonneau needs a bit of manual assistance sometimes. UJs are available for about 40 quid on the 'Bay and don't look like a bad job to do - pull back the boot carpet and the UJ is right there. I've dropped the price (again) to allow for this.

I took it for a cheeky top-down spin this afternoon, which was most enjoyable.

[purplebargeken]

So many Saabs on here. Floppytop Saab looks ace.