Ok, following on from our Freelander getting written off, we have decided not to get another because i know we wont find another one that was as well looked after from day one & had all the problems with these 4x4's sorted before we got it.

We are looking for something ideally with 3 over the shoulder belts in the back, good size boot, big enough to tow a 2 berth caravan a couple of times a year & a little luxury would be nice too.

We both like SAAB 9-5's, not too worried about the 230bhp ones but wouldn't turn it down if it fitted the budget.

We are looking at spending about £2000, probably something between 1998 & 2001 would fit the budget, not worried about petrol or diesel, also manual or auto is fine with us, estate would be good but saloon or hatchback worth a look for the right car.
Ideally no more than 110k miles if possible, they seem to be good for about 250k if looked after.

Only negative points i can find so far is the depreciation (which doesn't matter to us because we will keep for a long time & it also makes them fit our £2000 budget) & apparently its Vectra underpinnings but i had a vectra 8 years back and it drove really nice.

Any constructive views on these cars would be welcome from the knowledge that is Locostbuilders.

i.ve got the 9-3, which again is supposedly a vectra, but i'm really happy with it.

cant say for the 9-5, but have you had a look on saabcentral, will be loads of info on there

Ray

Whats the difference between the 93 & 95 ??? just found a 93 that looks like an older shape to the 95 but then found some very new 93's that look like the newest shape ???

As you can tell, i dont know that much about them

9-3 4 me 2

I liike mine, theyre a little quirky, but dead solid and rot free in th main and they are a master of turbo smoothness
go for it i say £2k should get you a good car

UKsaabs is the place to ask any questions.

I've had a 9-5 2.3 lpt SE for 3 years now and I love it nearly more than my Alfa 159.

Things to look for mainly centre round the climate control - check it all works as it should. look out for the Engine Management warning Light. Also for the petrol models ask the owner for evidence that it has had a sump drop and clean out with a new strainer fitted. These engines are susceptible to sludge which clogs up the strainer and kills the engine. The sump drop should be done every couple of years, and they should only be run on the correct oil - Mobil1 ideally and change it every 6000 miles. The engine breather system has had a few factory upgrades over the years and it is worth checking it has the latest version.

Listen for cam chain rattles too.

Get an auto for towing the caravan - you can't beat it. the 9-5 is a great car and you should easily pick one up for your budget. Mine was £1200 with 59K miles on a 98 3 years ago -

The 9-5 is not a vectra, that's the 9-3.

Cheers

Mark

Just looking at some pics on google, the 93 looks a little more like the older 1980's SAAB's - I LIKE

So now, a 9-5 or a 9-3 would be good, i would rather get an older well looked after car than one a couple of years newer thats been abused.

the other thing to consider is how heavy your caravan is.

The fully laden weight of the 'van should really not exceed 85% of the kerbside weight of the car so check out the kerb weights on parkers - it might be that you need the 9-5 (it's heavier) to safely tow your caravan.

I think the caravan is 1100kg max - im presuming the SAAB's will tow this ok ?

there doesn't seem to be any weights on parkers for the 9-3 but they will need to be over 1300kg for towing your caravan. the 9-5 easily exceeds this at around 1600kg

edit - ah found them yes either model should be fine

[Edited on 22/4/10 by mookaloid]

Cheers for that, so as far as SAABs go, all good reports so far

Had a 9-5 2.3T for 2 years, love it Had 6 BMW's from 316i to 535i and prefere the SAAB.
Make sure that it has full service history and you can't go wrong. SAAB central and SAAB scene are good for info.

I ran a couple of 9-3's for a few years, 1xTD hatch & 1xTurbo convertible. Pre 2002 models you need to check for bulkhead seperation - check any of the saab forums for details. Also, TD was a little raw compared to modern engines, but a remap helped on the power front.

If looks aren't high on the agenda I'd be looking for a turbo petrol 9-5 (A pump failiure on a diesel would mean an uneconomical repair) which should mean years of fairly trouble free motoring.

You have to be very careful to check the service history it is the difference between a car which is a joy to own and a ticking time bomb. As mention the cleanliness of the engine internals is the key issue, only use fully synthetic oil, changed more frequently than Saab recommend.


5W/30 is the Saab recommended grade the official GM stuff sold in the UK is made by Comma but if I had Saab I would use Havoline energy 5w/30 synthetic from Morrisions it keeps the engine internals free from black gunge and as it is normally £17 so makes oil changes easy on the pocket.

^^^^^^ wot he said

A friend of a friend has a 9-5 saloon for sale, going to look at it in the morning, i explained that we are just looking to see if we like them & he said welcome to pop round for half hour.

Its £2250, 67,000 miles, one owner, full saab history, 2.3 litre low pressure turbo with all the extras & black leather interior, 12 months mot & 3/4 tank of petrol.

Anything i should look for that should have been done by 67k miles ? its had regular oil changes apparently & one done 2 months back when it was serviced.

I will ask about the sump drop when i look at it.

Sounds a good car -- the lubrication issues seem to occur after 70,00 miles so if you flushed the oil system, dropped the sump cleaned the sump and the oil pump suction strainer with gunwash thinners it should prevent any chance of the problem occurring.

quote:

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Originally posted by britishtrident
Sounds a good car -- the lubrication issues seem to occur after 70,00 miles so if you flushed the oil system, dropped the sump cleaned the sump and the oil pump suction strainer with gunwash thinners it should prevent any chance of the problem occurring.

---

As said,the oil gunk problems are caused by the breather system, several kits have been released to solve the problem, I fitted the last kit and no problems, now done 110,000 miles. Cars built after 2002 have a differant system, mine is a 1999 model and when I got it I had my local garage look inside the sump with a camera, clean as a whistle.

I have a fairly poky 2001 9-3 Coupe, good for 280bhp +

Its gets an oil change every 5000-6000 miles, has no sludge at all...

It has let me down once in 5 years, and that was the DI cassette.

Its a very comfortable motorway eater, the 9-5 is a bigger version of it.


Service history helps, if the oil has been changed like mine, the engine will manage 250,000 miles without major issues.

I boroscoped mine about 6 months ago with 85,000 on it. I could still see the Saab honing marks on the bores, clean as a whistle....

This is my second Saab, and whatever crap you hear about GM saabs both of mine have been ultra reliable.

Ive never bought the same model car one after the other, Saab broke my rules.

Parts are cheap as chips ! from non franchise dealers.

http://www.partsforsaabs.com/

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/


1) Service history

2)Disconeect the breather pipes, check for sludge.

3) timing chain due at 90,000

4) Massive boot


Safe to put a family in ! as a tow car I have no experience with them , but mine would manage ok .


If it looks right and drives right, I wouldnt have any problems with another one.



Good luck

We saw the car this morning, really nice guy, great car, only things i could pick out were 1 shopping trolley dink in rear door (Very small) & a finger nail sized bit of corrosion on each front alloy wheel !

Other than that, it looks like a 2 year old car.

Emily likes it, explained to the guy that im waiting for my payout so if its still available when i get the money, we will pop back for another look and attempt to knock him down a tadge but there really isnt much to point out....

Going to see an estate this afternoon just to see if we prefer it or whether we dont mind either way.

Chers for the advice so far guys, it has really helped.

My 9-3 boot is huge, a 9-5 would be bigger again


An estate for a family guy has got to be a big point scorer.


You could do a lot worse, and even (as mine is) with a few miles on them and getting on in life they are still different.

Mondeo estate or Saab 9-5 Estate

I know what I would choose

Well, we got a £2000 payout for our freelander, not bad considering i paid £2000 for it nearly 2 years ago

I have put a deposit down on the saab saloon, whilst waiting for my payout to clear. Its on the proviso that it all checks out ok as far as hpi etc.

Any pointers on how to go about vehicle checks/hpi stuff ?? i have no idea ! Also, what does it cost ??

Ive got until the middle of next week before i hand over the rest of the cash if it checks out ok.

Cheers Andy