Permission Granted - Saab 9000 collected - It's cool

[nigel bickle]

Not me mate- clearing my Saabs over the next coupla months. Looks a nice one -you wont go far wrong with that, certainly in the limited time you'll keep it!

[wuvvum]

That does look rather nice. Don't see many flatnose 9000s any more, and even fewer in that colour. Those things have the most comfortable seats of EVAR.

[theorganist]

Have always liked these.

 

This looks very nice, good purchase!

[scooters]

Here she is. What a stunner!

 

 

lovely mate,

 

write up a review when you get a chance

[Shep Shepherd]

I really like that. As mentioned earlier, it's rare to see a flat-front 9000 these days. As a fellow driver of a big red Swedish car, I approve of the car's colour

 

I concur with what you say about the 700 Series feeling an age apart from its contemporaries and feeling like a big Cortina. Its old-fashioned feeling and Cortinaishness is why I like The Volvo so much

[michiel]

Nice - immediately reminds me of the Saab Suite 'automotive ballet' commercial (which probably didn't contain a red one, but still).

[Shep Shepherd]

Nice - immediately reminds me of the Saab Suite 'automotive ballet' commercial (which probably didn't contain a red one, but still).

 

http://fragg.me/video/saab-symphony

 

Pure awesomeness

 

I wonder how many Saab customers bought a 9000 after seeing the video? Quite a few, I imagine

[dollywobbler]

I've just been told that in no way can I emulate any aspect of that video. Doh.

 

A full review will follow next week. Probably collecting on Sunday.

[michiel]

You're not even allowed to play the part of orchestra conductor?

[dollywobbler]

Apparently not! She wasn't impressed by the spanner wielding either...

[Cavcraft]

Looks nice that, look forward to the report. Where's the garage by the way? Looks uncannily like the one near Machynlleth I got a Cavalier Calibre from years back.

[dollywobbler]

South Wales Billy. Wish it was Mac - much closer!

[myglaren]

Apparently not! She wasn't impressed by the spanner wielding either...

 

I often wonder how many they started with and how many were left after the filming.

 

This Big BXy thing might have been a contender for your affections but never mind, congratulations on the 9000, sounds a good one.

[Gompo]

My work just scrapped their 9000! D'oh. I may have to get my own at some point - especially if for some reason I came to need a 'more door'.

[Cavcraft]

I should have guessed that from when you said 150 miles! Mac must be pretty close to you I'd imagine, the garage I'm on about is near the railway station on the sort of Dolgellau side of town.

[RoadworkUK]

I think I've mentioned how much I miss my 9000, albeit an early facelift car (K909EYO)

 

2.0 Auto CSE, not even the vaguest sign of a turbo so 13.5 secs to 60 and 28mpg. Frigging expensive to run but at least you have lots of time to enjoy the heated Parker Knoll recliners, huge expanses of dashboard forestry and suprisingly adequate 2-piece Stereo Cassette and CD player.

 

A fabulous car to spend time in.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Wow a flatface 9000!!!! Supa rare. Get some better photos up please. Is it a NA or a turdblowa?

[dollywobbler]

It's a 2.3 NA. Given what I normally drive, it's quite fast enough without the tyre-shredding blower!

 

Moar pics. There will be more (hopefully some decent ones!) after the weekend when I actually have it.

 

Higher-res

 

Arse

 

Immaculate door shut

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That looks absolutley great!!! I would love one like that.

[trigger]

That looks pretty sound, I used to have a toy one of these in black, so for that reason i like it!

[pogweasel]

Compare/contrast with your alfa 164 experience pls.

[KruJoe]

Nice work Mr_Wobbler. The first time I saw a 9000 was when the Lord Mayor of Bradford arrived at my school, chauffeur driven in the back of a new black one. I was VERY impressed.

[Skizzer]

Very tasty

 

If it does turn out to be one of the ones from that video, I'd be budgeting for some new tyres if I were you.

[tonedepear]

AWESOME. I have a toy one of these in red. Flatty 9k's have all but disappeared unless they're Carlssons, and even those are pretty rare. That is absolute black-bumpered gorgeousness.

 

I bet the glovebox doesn't sit quite flush, does it?

[dollywobbler]

Made it back home with my new steed. Quite a big issue is that the cooling fan isn't cutting in - thankfully, there is absolutely no traffic in Wales, so it wasn't actually an issue. Face-palm for buying yet another water cooled car with an easily-checked fault though. Quick check reveals that the relay is fine, the fuses are fine and the fan hot-wired is fine. Temp sensor? Temp gauge works fine, though I think that usually uses a different sensing point?

 

On the plus side, it's ridiculously smooth, handles tidily (though I suspect the tyres aren't a particularly good brand) and has no clonks or rattles. Timing chain is perhaps a little noisier than is ideal (in that you can hear it rather than skeleton/biscuit tin/self-love) and the on-board computer (oooh, how posh) reckons I averaged 38mpg - though that was in convoy with the 2CV for most of the way back. I didn't actually fill the tank so real world mpg will have to wait. After £60 I decided I'd had enough because the pump was slow and I'd just driven 200 miles in the 2CV! (Kent is a f*cking long way from our house).

 

Full reports of the 550 mile 2CV roadtrip (short version - loud and boring) and Saab first drive (short version - see above) to follow next week. You might even be treated to pics.

[dollywobbler]

So, the Saab has landed. And I'm very pleased with it. Once the rain stops, I'll investigate the cooling fan issue (often a broken wire apparently, so easy to test) but for now, I'll write about it instead.

 

First impressions are good, made all the better by how rare these cars have suddenly become. When did you last see a pre-facelift 9000? Apparently, Guigaro was responsible for the design and while it's not as striking as the fabulous Alfa Romeo 164, it's smooth and pretty stylish I reckon. You can see a hint of design similarity in areas such as the tops of the doors, but there's little to give away the common platform.

 

 

Inside, it's a bit dull compared to the 164, but then most car dashboards are. The 164 is amazingly stylish, with oodles of square buttons. The Saab is much more generic, much more Saab with elements recognisable to owners of the 900 and later 9-5. The column stalks in particular don't feel very nice whereas the Alfa's had a real, quality feel. Surely the wrong way around!

 

 

This isn't as small car, but there is plenty of space in the rear. A world of velour delight.

 

The engine has a contra-rotating balance shaft, though I'm doubtful whether this makes any real difference. It is pretty smooth and power delivery is not abrupt. There's a reasonable amount of torque for a multi-valve engine but you do need to rag it a bit to make real headway. The gearing is quite tall - good for economy but acceleration is not exactly breath-taking. But then you could buy a Turbo if you wanted some tyre-shredding action.

 

The engine bay is beautifully clean. The battery and radiator look brand new though there is some rust across the slam panel - this seems very common on 1980s cars.

 

The brakes are a bit soft, but effective. Not sure if it's just me being used to hydraulic Citroens or whether the brake fluid needs replacing. A service isn't far off (I thought it had had one recently, but it was 6k miles ago) so maybe I'll add a brake fluid and coolant replacement to the To Do list.

 

At speed, the car is wonderfully quiet and refined, even with the windows open. It feels much tighter than the Volvo I tested on the same day and much more modern. Will it prove so dull that I sell it before winter comes along and I can test it's heated seats and door mirrors? Probably, but I shall enjoy getting to know it before then.

 

Some more piccies.

To be honest, the Cat 1 alarm/immobiliser is already doing my head in (and the neighbours after I kept setting the alarm off!)

 

Original dealer sticker. I am only the second owner.

 

Even the headlamp wipers work! This one needs a new blade though.

 

Extra button on dash is for illuminating these babies. Paid for as extras, I bet they've never been used.

 

Ashtray findings. American spec!

[HillmanImp]

That looks lovely. Quite jealous. I need something like that in my life at the mo as I am pedal power all the way. Looks a minter.

[wuvvum]

9000 brakes tend to feel a little soft in my experience. They also tend to need a bit of a heave to stop quickly.

[scooters]

that's lovely mate, really nice.

 

the interior is very sabb - the wrap round dash and the thin backed velour seats - comfy though - a very capable all rounder

 

I've always been tempted - had I kept my old silly miles job it was on the list as a daily.

[Jon]

Compared to NZ car prices, I can't beleive I sold this less than a year ago with a full MOT and 6 month's tax for £310:

 

 

 

Have a word with M-coli to try and get the chrome trims back off the 900 he bought off you - class in a glass. Got to say that despite some woes with trying to find good used replacement bits for our 9000 rather than just chucking cash at it, I do miss it. Could be the fact that it was somewhat more refined than a 31 year old estate car modified with an equally old diesel engine in it though....