Okay folks, I need some advice from those who love their Saabs.
My engine needs replacing and I just can't decide what to do.
'99 9-3se CV
The sob story:
I left town for a month and let a friend drive my car while I was gone.
There had been a slight oil leak since I got it two years ago but nothing major - just needed to top it off every couple months. At some point, that oil leak must have become more pronounced. My first day back I drove it a few miles around town and didn't notice any problems. The next day, after about 30 minutes on the highway I noticed it sounded like it was running low on oil. Ten minutes later, on my way to get oil, the engine seized and I was hosed. My friend must have been driving it around town without any oil for awhile.
The engine block itself is fine but everything else - bearings, rotors, etc - is junk. So based on discussions with my two mechanics here's the deal - I'm looking at about $3000 to replace the engine ($1500-2000 parts & fluids, $1000-1500 labor) or $4000 if I want to do "a full-on but completely unnecessary rebuild". Maybe I'll be able to recoup a couple hundred for the engine block.
Problem: The car itself is worth at best $6000. There are so many little issues with the poor thing - issues I had no problem with until now: completely dead SID, somewhat irregular neutral safety switch (I installed a push-button starter to bypass the problem), rubber seals are degrading and need replacing, suspension needs upgrading, antenna bent and stuck half-way out, minor cosmetic interior stuff like broken bezels for the hazard button and rear side lights, slight warp in the wheels, convertible top has two little knicks which are fine right now but could become problematic if left unchecked...
These are obviously not major issues really - I can also list a thousand things that are amazing and that I love about it this car.
The point is, if I spend $3000 on the engine - at least half but probably more than half the value of the car in pristine condition - it will still have all these other little annoyances. I'm trying to justify spending that kind of cash on an old car that will not be perfect when it is done. I just had to replace the head gasket eight months ago to the tune of $1600 and that was bad enough.
What to do, what to do? This all happened a month ago and the poor thing has been sitting in the driveway awaiting my verdict. I had resigned myself to having to shell out cash I don't have until I started looking at the cost/value ratio - now I can't decide. In the meantime I've been enjoying my bicycle and refamiliarizing myself with riding a motorcycle. But I do need to figure this thing out. I was even considering doing the engine swap myself - many of you reading this are old hands at such things and thus inspire - but though I am a pretty capable and handy guy, I have zero experience removing, much less repairing an engine (and I don't yet have all the tools I would need).
Okay, that's it. Anyone have advice, suggestions, stories of similar situations and what paths you took?
My engine needs replacing and I just can't decide what to do.
'99 9-3se CV
The sob story:
I left town for a month and let a friend drive my car while I was gone.
There had been a slight oil leak since I got it two years ago but nothing major - just needed to top it off every couple months. At some point, that oil leak must have become more pronounced. My first day back I drove it a few miles around town and didn't notice any problems. The next day, after about 30 minutes on the highway I noticed it sounded like it was running low on oil. Ten minutes later, on my way to get oil, the engine seized and I was hosed. My friend must have been driving it around town without any oil for awhile.
The engine block itself is fine but everything else - bearings, rotors, etc - is junk. So based on discussions with my two mechanics here's the deal - I'm looking at about $3000 to replace the engine ($1500-2000 parts & fluids, $1000-1500 labor) or $4000 if I want to do "a full-on but completely unnecessary rebuild". Maybe I'll be able to recoup a couple hundred for the engine block.
Problem: The car itself is worth at best $6000. There are so many little issues with the poor thing - issues I had no problem with until now: completely dead SID, somewhat irregular neutral safety switch (I installed a push-button starter to bypass the problem), rubber seals are degrading and need replacing, suspension needs upgrading, antenna bent and stuck half-way out, minor cosmetic interior stuff like broken bezels for the hazard button and rear side lights, slight warp in the wheels, convertible top has two little knicks which are fine right now but could become problematic if left unchecked...
These are obviously not major issues really - I can also list a thousand things that are amazing and that I love about it this car.
The point is, if I spend $3000 on the engine - at least half but probably more than half the value of the car in pristine condition - it will still have all these other little annoyances. I'm trying to justify spending that kind of cash on an old car that will not be perfect when it is done. I just had to replace the head gasket eight months ago to the tune of $1600 and that was bad enough.
What to do, what to do? This all happened a month ago and the poor thing has been sitting in the driveway awaiting my verdict. I had resigned myself to having to shell out cash I don't have until I started looking at the cost/value ratio - now I can't decide. In the meantime I've been enjoying my bicycle and refamiliarizing myself with riding a motorcycle. But I do need to figure this thing out. I was even considering doing the engine swap myself - many of you reading this are old hands at such things and thus inspire - but though I am a pretty capable and handy guy, I have zero experience removing, much less repairing an engine (and I don't yet have all the tools I would need).
Okay, that's it. Anyone have advice, suggestions, stories of similar situations and what paths you took?