Hi folks,
My wife is thinking abut buying a SAAB 900 Turbo for her journey to work. She wants something that looks smart and executive (she has a smart and executive job!) but doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a car. HOWEVER, a big consideration is fuel economy as she commutes 300 miles a week.
So my questions are:
SAAB 900 and 900 Turbo owners ? what do you think? How about fuel economy question ? most of the miles are along country roads. How was reliability?
Does anyone have suggestions for an alternative car? It cant be too big (though that?s a moot point), cant be too common and must be look smart (Yes... I know).
Thanks for your comments people!
Tim
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I've owned several Saabs, and seem to average about 30mpg across a mixture of driving.
Don't worry about turbo models being worse on fuel than non-turbos, there will be little in it.
I've found reliability to be good, and there are loads of independent specialists around the country.
As a good value 'premium' 2nd-hand car, with decent performance, I don't think Saabs can be beaten.
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Err. I've found Saabs to be unreliable and with incompetant dealers. Given the age of the car (likely to be over five years old) the cam chains wear out - this is very expensive - happended to me.
For the age of car and the money find a Honda Accord Type V (not a Type R).
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I always found saab engines v.reliable (2.3 T16 was still going strong at 170K ) my dad runs a 1994 900 with about 100K on it.
in the 9000 2.3t I always got 28-33 mpg.
Use good oil, and change regularly.
They dont have to dismantle the engine anymore for a cam chain, they came up with some system of taking off the top cover , spliting the chain and feeding the replacement round as the old one is removed. Not that it should be needed.
Agree that some dealers are pants. I used HA Fox in northampton and they were v.good (that was about 10 yrs ago though). Plenty of good indies about.
Watch the DI units - they can fail and are quite expensive. Saab had an issue with one of the tensioners as well - cant remember which/what though.
Mark
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I've thought for a long time that the dealer experience makes a lot of difference to owning any car.
I am 3 years and 80,000 miles into my first Saab and have only dealt with one dealer. I have always had good treatment from them but I go there as a company car driver concerned with the quality of service and not with the size of the bill, I don't even know how much they charge for a service but they do a good job.
Incidentally if this is the first turbo car she's had make sure she knows to let it cool off at the end of a long run, turbo problems are not cheap.
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I have an R reg 1998 9-3 TiD that's done 126,000; bought it at 95,000 only 3 years old, so I knew tis mileage was mainly motorways. I get 45 mpg, but I do find servicing pricey, usually £300+; I fitted a new under floor plate as the old one was cracked, and new rear shocks (it did have a towbar when I bought it), and the electronic dash information has gone wrong twice, either date or external temperature.
I've had no problems running or starting it, and the seals all seem fine. Front tyres don't have a long life compared to some, and I'd advise using turbo with care, it's pretty quick without needing 3000 revs.
It wouldn't be my first choice for driving fun on country roads though. A well preserved 3 series would be best for that, and they are now a good price.
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Having owned several SAABs I would say they are fairly expensive to run, parts are expensive, fuel consumption mediocre at best 28mpg probably 23 around town. BMWs beat this hands down. Also they are pretty boring to drive being vauxhall based. Their strong points are durability and brilliant cabin design. As to being smart or executive can I suggest that judging by the numbers now appearing on our local sink estate that tag has long gone.
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