Anyone had one of the above at all? I have been looking at a few on Autotrader as a pretty cheap summer runaround. Looking at around 1997 - 2000 vintage so seem to be around the £2k - £3k mark which is about what i want to spend. There seems to be 3 engines - 2L, 2L turbo, 2.3L. Any issues or preferences on the engines at all. Any major issues I should look out for at all. Hoods and hood motors are the obvious but any others?

Basically any information welcome. I dont do huge mileage - 3 miles to work and the odd 50 mile run to see family so economy isnt a big consideration. They just seem like a solid reliable car (without a roof) so thought i'd tap into all the car fanatics on here as surely there must be a few people who own / owned one

Cheers
Steve

I own a tintop GM900, SAABscene is probably the forum I use most.

The biggest problem is the bulkhead cracking, the rack is mounted on the bulkhead and can cause the bulkhead to crack, which in it's later stages is an MOT fail. To fix it, you need to weld a strengthening plate in, which means engine removal.

Also the clutch cable arrangement is crap (the 9-3 changed to hydraulic), £45 for a new auto-adjusting cable, only to have the clutch biting point right at the bottom again in a few months. The auto adjusting mechanism is the problem.
Just replace the pedal and cable with one from an Astra, manual adjusment and £8 for a new cable.

They're also quite thirsty, but then they're big and heavy cars, I can get as low as 28mpg (on a 2.3 n/a) when I do short (2-4 miles) runs all week, but as much as 45mpg on a run.

Parts are cheap if you use GSF or Elkparts, none saab specific parts are even cheaper, lots of bits fit the 900 and Vectras/Astras.

The GM SAABs aren't the most reliable cars out there, but I love mine. It's the best £400 car I've bought

Likewise still runninng a P reg tin top 2 litre petrol 900s had it from new; now on 161K with no major issues, clutch is heavy but first one did 95K.
garage guy says he sees cars that have done 300k so can't be bad
atb
Mike

Excellent - thanks for the replies so far gents. Some really useful info there - i had no idea about the bulkhead issue. Is this something easy to see if looking at a car at all or is it hidden behind / under the engine??

I knew they shared the Vectra floorpan and lots of GM parts which made me think they'd be sensible to run and those fuel economy figures dont seem bad at all for what I intend to use the car for.

It pretty straightforward to see whether the bulkhead flexes.
The rack is mounted quite high, about level with the top of the block, easy to see with a torch.
You need an assistant to jiggle the steering near full lock and see whether the rack and bulkhead seem to flex too much, or any strange noises. The rack bushes are usually quite worn so its not as simple as it sounds as it moves about a fair bit, but from what I've read it's pretty obvious when its knackered.

There's a sticky thread on it in the GM900 section on saabscene with much more/better info than I can give

Brill - just found the thread on there. 297 posts on the subject!!!

At least it doesnt seem too common (edit - i take that back!!) and fairly obvious to spot judging by the first few posts but i'll have a good read and no doubt join the forum if i still fancy one after going to have a good look in my local dealerships.

Cheers
Steve

[Edited on 24/6/09 by Steve G]

As mentioned, quite thirsty. I squeeze 30 out during my careful commute, I suppose not bad for a big car, 35 on a run.
Watch for worn drivers seats, and working roof!
Gotta be a turbo, they were made for Saabs.
Oh and I'd say dont pay too much, I did, and the petrol price killed the value over tha last 2 years

The more recent Saab 9-3 and 9-5 engine problems have dented SAAB's reputation to an unjustified extent as a result dealers won't touch them hence prices for all models are rock bottom so don't pay too much.

Look for service history

Ideal candidate for LPG conversion -- if you have a cheap LPG station near you it will more than half the fuel running costs

Thanks again guys. Funny the turbo engine and LPG should be mentioned - i've been looking at this....

linky

185bhp turbo version and already has an LPG conversion. Downside is the tacky wheels (easily changed) and the not so great combination of silver with the pale leather. Shame the car isnt black or dark blue

I had a 900, clutch was heavier than the landrovers one and it drank so much fuel I thought the tank was leaking. Also getting spares was dreadful and very expensive. Was very glad to get rid of it.

I'm surprised you found parts hard to come by Mr Whippy - was that a problem getting them locally or even mail order?? I have a German Swedish and French branch only 2 miles or so from me, a Saab dealer is about 3 miles and there are dozens of autofactors in my city so would hope to be ok. Was that the classic 900 or the GM version post 93??

mine was the classic one with the curved screen. I couldn't get spares from anywhere but SAAB dealers and their prices were crazy.

I'll have a look into the availability of the usual parts then - see what its like. As mentioned, many parts on the later version which I am looking at are shared with GM cars being on the Vectra floorplan but i'll have a good hunt on the GSF website. The more uncommon parts i can live with if they take a couple of days as it will be very much a 3rd car - just nicer to drive than a VW van when i dont actually need the van.