trigger Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Did you not watch Wheeler Dealers last night?, They bought a 2002 9-3 Cabriolet on there, They said that the front bulkhead can split (not sure if this is on the Cabrio's only or all models) and the plug leads are in a coil pack, so if one lead goes you would have to replace the lot and ignition barrels have the habit of breaking due to them being in the centre consoles and having to put the car in reverse to get the key out, people forget and yank at them damaging them. I'd really fancy one though, They seem a bit of a weapon, especially for the money.
nigel bickle Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Ok. Can be a bit boring .Check the steering/bulkhead interface. prone to craxking -which allows the rack to move around.
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 according to Honest John - the 1998-2003 9-3 is quite different from the previous vectra based 9-3... he says that the main issues are cracked bulkheads where the steering rack joins- a nasty and expensive job, an issue with the exhaust being too close to the sump which can boil the oil although this should have been sorted by Saab Dealers during the initial service schedule - if it hasn't surely some exhuast wrap would sort it? Lastly, the timing chain needs done around 60k and as this has done 55k I wil need to check that. I'm always a bit wary of Honest John - a buyers guide for the punter rather than the shitter I think
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 Ok. Can be a bit boring .Check the steering/bulkhead interface. prone to craxking -which allows the rack to move around. not too worried about being boring - this is a family tool not a toy and can be anything as long as it is safe and reliable enough to get the missus and kids around. Bulkhead wise I have asked the vendor to check for creaks and if there is any cracking - I don't want to have to fix that - the low mileage gives me some hope that this has been owned by a doddery old fart who will have rarely- if ever seriously stressed the rack/subframe... Mrs Scooters isn't a fast driver so I'm not too concerned at extreme cornering. If I was buying a toy I'd get a classic 900 rather than this.... the other option is a few hundred quid more and is a 1993 V6 Shogun LWB in good condition...we will get one of these eventually as we arebuying a place up north but obviously the fuel consumption is no better than on the 850 AWD.... mind you, with me using the Zastava we'll have some spare gas money!
tonedepear Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 according to Honest John - the 1998-2003 9-3 is quite different from the previous vectra based 9-3... 98-03 is the cavalier based 9-3. (IE a fettled GM900) Bulkhead is the main thing. Steering rack comes off and will fail MOT IF the tester can see it, but it's a bit of a shitter if your steering rack's just floating around anyway. Heavy on juice, and a bit wallowy, but a nice place to be and piss-pot cheap. I've had a couple and would have them back tomorrow if I could. Engine (apart from the ignition "DI casste" coil pack and the turbo control bits) is broadly the same as the older saabs, so the chain will happily last 200k miles without blinking. Never heard of a 60k change before. I had an old 900 that had done 250k miles and was still in perfect shape. (Well the engine was) GM900 - Cavalier based 9-3 (hatch) - Cavalier based (GM900 based) 9-3 "Sports saloon" - Vectra based The turbos LOVE fresh clean oil regularly, given that they should live forever as long as the bulkhead doesn't fall apart. It's not that easy to check though.
theorganist Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 One of the girls at work has an 06 convertable diesel which she is having a lot of hassle with at the moment. It keeps cutting out, or losing power and seems lumpy at idle. It has just been in the garage having its EGR valve rebuilt (if that is the term) and is about to go in again. She is worried about driving it atm. It is so bad she is missing her 03 Laguna diesel estate which it replaced and gave her little trouble over the six or seven years, and a car she enjoyed driving more.
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 thanks folks...I have had a long chat with the vendor....he's had it since November and has spent quite a lot on it. It was owned by an elderly couple till he bought it. It has had a new chain at 40k 2 years ago. He put new shocks and brakes on it at Christmas and in February spent 1000 sorting an engine management light issue getting the cylinders rebored with a specialist in Glasgow - the car has always been looked afer by Saab independent mechanics and he is happy for me to speak to them about it (he's not technical)....it has had a new stereo and there is a FSH...car has never been driven hard and has had oil changes every 5000 with filters. Given it is taxed and MOTd till Chritsmas and that no decent mechanic would recommend major engine surgery when there is a dodgey bulkhead I am assuming this is a sound one. Oh - the engine work is gauranteed for 3 years. I'll give his mechanic a ring and if all is ok then will buy it for the missus. thanks again for all your advice
CortinaDave Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 They are not bad ! But as has been said pretty hefty on fuel. My 2.0 convertible was averaging 27mpg, and most of that was rural driving (albiet with a bit of a heavy foot) Also the SID computer will drive you insane with its constant whinging about trivia. bong bong bong bong bong The bloody things just bong constantly, and anytime you have someone in your car they will point it out. "did you know you have low screenwash? you should top that up" AAAAAAAARGH
Pete-M Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 "did you know you have low screenwash? you should top that up" AAAAAAAARGH Range Rovers are bad for that. The screen wash resevoir is about the same size as an HGV fuel tank and in a Classic the light comes on when it gets down to half full.The p38 bongs, gives you the low screen wash message on the dash and then reduces the volume per squirt.Both cars can safely be driven around for weeks before the screen wash runs out.Even in winter. The Heep does that as well. As for Saab 9-3s, I don't like 'em. I do like the 9-5 though, which is strange.
Charlie Croker Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 I think your onto a bargain there. The bulkhead probs are mainly on the convertibles due to more stress after the roof chop. I would buy it for sure. Have you a buyer lined up for the Volvo? Always fancied one of those and I'm in Edinburgh too.
Mr_Bo11ox Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 I once read about an 'upgrade' for these things from Abbott racing or someone, basically it was a fuggin big bracket that triangulated the steering rack mounts to some other chassis feature to stiffen them up. The magazine reckoned it totally transformed the car into a really neat handler. I remember being astonished that a little garage outfit can find and fix such a fundamental problem with the bodyshell, that had got right past the entire engineering depts of SAAB and GM. Sounds like, if a few years down the line, they are known for busting their rack mounts, that mod was a really good idea.
trigger Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 They fitted one of those brackets on the Wheeler Dealers one last night, They recoken it even fixed the torque steer as well, For £200 it sounded like a pretty decent mod.
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 In a word, 9-3s are WANK! but they are fucking cheap....thing is for a car for the doris to drive it is spot on - I buy cars on their runing costs, whether I can fix em, their shite appeal and their engines...the missus likes cars that are a/silverb/ relatively newc/ anonymous it will do her for 6 months
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 well - that's it - my auction sniper did the job with 3 seconds to go - there was a last minute flurry but my evil tactics worked. the missus is very pleased with her new car - vendor is away then we are away so collect in about 3 weeks or so http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0777964645
theorganist Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 It is certainly a nice looking car. Better looking the the Saab the girl at work has! Apologies for my ignorance but what is "auction sniper"?!!
The Moog Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 A tool to put a last minute bid in on an auction on bay. I use www.justsnipe.com its free to use and saved me a packet It is why the prices rocket in the last 1 minute or so. Everyone sets up their sniper and then they kick in at the last minute. It can help to get some real bargains.
scooters Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 It is certainly a nice looking car. Better looking the the Saab the girl at work has! Apologies for my ignorance but what is "auction sniper"?!! mwahhhhhahahahah....mwahahahahahahahah.....points little finger at corner of mouth and strokes pussy (fnarr fnarr) an auction sniper is an invaluable tool for the shitter on an ebay auction. what usually happens is a mad scramble at the last minute to get your final bid in. With the amount of shill bidding on ebay it is risky to put your maximum bid in early as it could be shill bid to by the seller or mates of the seller. Auction snipers are independent services which allow you to enter the amount of the bid, the item id and the number of seconds before the end of the auction - you get a few free trials but if you want a last second sniper you pay a fee. What then happens is that the sniper waits until the last second you stipulated before the end of the auction and fires in your max bid...ero this is what happened tonight: I didn't want to spend more than £700 on this car but I new that if I put in a max bid of £700 then another buyer mght fish up to the amount and the vendor, who on this occassion was professional and honest, could get a mate to push up the amount to the £700..anyway, 2 hours before the end there are no bids and the amount is £500...I put in a max bif of £520...it stays like that till 1 hour left when another chap bids and pushes it to £530...I'm no longer th4 highest bidder but I have set up the auction sniper programme to bid up to £720 on the 3rd last second of the auction. In the last minute of the auction the amount suddenly goes to £566 as a third party bids - the second bidder waits until he is 10 seconds out and fires in a bid of £610 - the clock ticks down, the chap thinks he has won but suddenly 2 seconds out my sniper fires in my bid and I win the auction at £620 with o time for him to respond. Snipers are a very good way to ensure your bid is as effective as possible and if you really really want the item you are bidding on, are an effectoive way of protecting your bid budget and securing the win.
peter9000uk Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Do these suffer with sludge issues like the 9-5 I had?
theorganist Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Ahh thanks for that. Looks like a useful tool, will sign up now. There is something on e-bay I have an eye on at present!
skattrd Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Slightly OT, but for sniping I use myibay, a free firefox plugin/addon link
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