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Newbie with a few q's

2K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  yaofeng 
#1 ·
Hi guys, just signed up got a few questions referring to a Saab 9000 2l 16v turbo

A friend of the family has asked me to sell his for him (don't worry I won't be turning this into a sale thread!) but am just after a rough guide around prices because obviously the family friend wants to sell so want to price it right
(I have no clue myself, I'm VW man!)

The car is a D reg automatic and appears to have pretty much every optional extra going (CD player, EQ, Tape Deck, leather interior, electric windows all round, central locking etc.)

Thanks in advance guys, would really prefer to sell it on here if possible and not deal with eBay, would like to see it go to an enthusiast as it doesn't look like it needs much doing to restore to full glory

Cheers :)
 
#4 ·
Hi Jon

I am sorry to say then I suspect it is worth £50-£75 tops unless you find a buyer who is specifically seeking a very early 9000 and is prepared to pay a bit more.
This may well be a Saab enthusiasts forum but the truth is that you have a 20+yr old car that needs tax/mot and probably work too. Breakers yards are piled high with such cars that the yard have actually charged to collect and remove.
Just my opinion of course and you may find others disagree.
From a £££££ point of view it will definately be worth more in bits. That is why breakers exist of course :)
Without evidence the rebuilt engine is none too valuable either I am sorry to say
 
#5 ·
Wow, I didn't realize the UK made older cars like that not worthwhile at all to own. You guys have emission taxes too?

Isn't it ironic how taxes designed to save the environment put pressure on a car buyer to buy a new car rather than to get every last bit of life out of an older vehicle that already took a tremendous amount of energy to build? :roll:
 
#6 ·
Solid

I am not sure the UK Gov make old car ownership any more or less attractive to citizens than any other country in all honesty.
However, any car that is in plentiful supply at 20yr old is going to have a very low value unless in exceptional condition.
In the UK 9000s around 95-98 vintage are readily available at around £500-£800 unless an Aero. It does not take much to see that an 85 that needs work and £££ spent before being on the road is going to carry a price tag under £100.
Simply a question of supply and demand.
A new car can be bought for under £5k (not a Saab) so the used market will be affected in proportion.

In my view , used cars offer the best £4£ value when it comes to motoring . Buy a car under £1k, use it for a couple of years and then move on. Even if you crushed it , you will get better value than having bought new !
 
#7 ·
My impression spending two weeks in the UK three years ago was the cars on the road are much more road worthy than here in the US. Here there are 50 different sets of regulations. In general they are probably not as stringent as in the UK for there are many clunkers on the road still. I did not see a single one on the motorway. My instinct tells me it has to do with vehicle inspection. Make the bar higher so clunkers are not allowed to be driven on the road. The stricter inspection regulations will drive used car prices downward too because they make getting used cars road worthy that much more expensive.
 
#14 ·
UK annual inspection is very tough and expensive to pass. Where I live part time, Minnesota and South Dakota = no inspections at all. This makes old cars costly to 'MOT' here in UK. You can not drive an old rust bucket here, or anything with ANY structural rust. Such a rule would doom half the rural Minnesota vehicles...

Then there are the huge motoring taxes. Road tax is GBP185 on an old Saab/year, South Dakota is more like 15 quid.

Petrol, motor oil, massively more expensive due to 90% taxes 'fuel duty' which the public tolerate increases of 5% in last 12 months for example, so driving a less efficient older car is more costly.

Speed 'safety partnership' $$$revenue cameras have appeared all over the UK under the current govt, easy to spend lots of money on trivial bus lane fines that cost plenty, and the traffic/parking wardens are legendary.

Used Saab parts are cheaper in UK, also insurance might be less.

In short the UK car owner faces a vast govt tax bite at every level, so driving is very costly. Lots of UK owners of older 9k's can't do a 350 mile drive because of the fuel costs.
 
#8 ·
Yaofeng-people on here have spoken about some states having 'state inspections' in the US, but others not, with the impression being that as a result cars can basically be run in whatever condition the owner decides unless pulled over by the police? Here, we have the MOT test-it's a pretty exhaustive safety/general wear and tear test that every car HAS to pass once a year. It is completely illegal to drive without an MOT.
 
#11 ·
Here, we have the MOT test-it's a pretty exhaustive safety/general wear and tear test that every car HAS to pass once a year. It is completely illegal to drive without an MOT.
A car older than 5 yrs needs Warrant of Fitness every six months here :eek: . We have two daily drivers and they are due for WOF's perfectly staggered so that I have to go through this gruelling inspection every 3 months.
 
#10 ·
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I recently paid £198 for a J reg turbo off ebay. OK, it has a few issues, but it had T&T - even if it was only a couple of months....

Sadly, with scrap cars worth about £80 a ton, expect to get the first couple of bidders to be scrap dealers..
 
#12 ·
My impression spending two weeks in the UK three years ago was the cars on the road are much more road worthy than here in the US. Here there are 50 different sets of regulations.
Depends on the state...

Pennsylvania's consists of checking that all the bulbs are good, that one front and the opposite rear brake pads are good, that tire tread is acceptable. Also, they connect and OBD reader that reports directly to the state. Unless there's a history of 50+ miles with no malfunctions, the car will not pass. Exhaust fumes aren't analyzed so as long as the OBD doesn't throw codes, you can pass with a hollowed cat or an otherwise compromised emissions system.

California's inspection is even more stringent and I believe it may include analyzing the exhaust fumes so you can't do without a cat.

Florida has no state inspection at all.

Then you have some less than reputable shops that will slap an inspection sticker on any rolling deathtrap.
 
#13 ·
Snake

Have a look here
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/Mot/DG_10016070
to get an idea of the UK test.
It is an annual test that applies to all cars over 3 yrs old.
Given the number of death traps I have seen on the road, it still isn't tough enough to be honest.
Either that or we really do need to up the pressure of drivers who drive without an MOT and get the *******s off the road once and for all.
Same goes for the scum who avoid Tax and Insurance but I guess generally speaking guilty of one is likely to be guilty of all 3.
 
#18 ·
Good naturally, as compared to drivers this side of the pond hogging the passing lane doing 50. Of course there are other reasons which make this so. The traffic volume here is such that most of the time all lanes are occupied so people became accustomed to driving on the passing lane even when traffic has eased up completely. My observation is in the UK people don't use the passing lane in general unless for passing.
 
#19 ·
Good naturally, as compared to drivers this side of the pond hogging the passing lane doing 50. Of course there are other reasons which make this so. The traffic volume here is such that most of the time all lanes are occupied so people became accustomed to driving on the passing lane even when traffic has eased up completely. My observation is in the UK people don't use the passing lane in general unless for passing.
I know for a fact that the UK has one of the very lowest road fatality rates in Europe. I have always considered driving in the UK to be superior to almost any other country I have visited.

I agree with previous observations about the cost of motoring here though-to a student like myself it is crippling. I have my MOT next month, only £50 odd for the inspection, but if it fails it could get costly. As for taking the 9000 on a 350 mile drive, as was mentioned, that would cost me something like £50, just as an example. I find it pretty hard to justify taking it anywhere far away-when I visit friends from other unis who live hundreds of miles away I always get advance fare train tickets-£32 got me a return from London to St Andrews in Scotland, over 500 miles away. The 1000 mile return trip by car would have been well over £120 in fuel.
 
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