Going for a test drive...

[V.J.S]

Hi there!
I've booked a test drive for 1996 9000 CS (2.0 lpt,manual, 188000km's) for this coming wednesday. This is the "kick-off" of my project aiming for 9000 ownership I'm not buying THIS car mostly due to the lack of money (asking price is BTW 13900 euro's) and the fact that it is a 2.0lpt. I just want to drive one, gain some experience before I go to the markets (Sweden or Germany, most likely) for real. Now some advice would be nice. I know the hydraulic motor mounts are vulnerable, is there any other areas to especially look for? These car's have done exceptionally well on corrosion checks, so that shouldn't be a problem, or is there a "weak spot" somewhere to look for? Any known issues I should check? Thanks in advance!

-Ville

[V.J.S]

Thanks for the tips, guys :wink: Well, today I went to the car dealer as we had settled on the telephone, only to find out that the car is undergoing a "make up" and front wheel bearing change The salesman just didn't bother to notify me, that car isn't there! He also tried to say that I hadn't agreed the testdrive with him :!

Actually, the same car dealer (not a SAAB dealer) handled my friend's car swap. It took the dealer almost three weeks to change one torn leather pocket on the back of the drivers seat and one smashed vent grille, after they had signed the contract. They didn't give any information of the progress like they had promised, and eventually my friend got so pissed to the salesman not keeping his promises that he called the managing director. The salesman called about half an hour later, and was amazed claiming that he had done exactly as they had agreed...Customer service, what's that? At least I know to stay away from that dealer when I'm seriously thinking of buying a car. BTW, if any finns are reading this, it's the Metro-Auto in Espoo (Koskelontie), stay away from there.

-Ville

[BillJ]

Oops, sorry for the lack of reply. Must have missed your thread ops:
The standard reply to this question is to look on www.quasimotors.com and read the buying guide. It is aimed mainly at the US market, where it is much more common for 9000s to be poorly-maintained than in Europe, but is nevertheless useful and should cover most things.

One thing I would add, if you have no experience with turbos: get the engnine warmed up on the test drive and when you park it up, reverse it into the parking space if possible and note any "burning oil" smell (you'll be reversing into any oil smoke produced). Leave it idling while you poke around the rest of the car and take your time. If after a few minutes of idling, the exhaust is emitting a lot of smoke, the turbo oil seals are probably gone. A high-pitched whine or whistle can point to a worn turbo bearing.

Having said that, the 9000's turbo is pretty reliable and long-lasting, being water-cooled.

Thanks for the tip - I won't be visiting that particular dealer!

Good luck with your 9000-hunting.

[V.J.S]

Thanks, Bill! Good tip that smoking turbo thing...really, I appreciate it! I also moaned about the customer service (or lack thereof) of the dealer in the Finnish Saabclub mailing list, only to find out that ignoring customers seems to be a common policy around here . This was "first contact" for me, since previously I've bought all my cars privately...Will see if the salesman is going to call me like he promised when the car is ready for the test drive.

-Ville

[johncc]

I bought the Saab 9000 one of these:

http://www.parkerscarclub.com/buying/check/carchecks/

They are about four quid, and I'd say are worth it, but that it just my opinion

[kprm77]

If the car has done over 100,000 miles check that the timing chain has been replaced. Weak points on the 9000 in general are the master cylinder, alarm/immobilisers, TCS problems on early 9000's, gearbox more iffy on Auto's. Some faults can be sorted for pence rather than pounds. Lot depends on the history of the car.

Check all electrics and stuff like the Air Con works if it has it.

I bought a CS 9000 2.0 LPT at 140,000 miles - only thing that let me down over 20,000 miles was the battery.

I'd recommend driving a Full Pressure Turbo car too - the LPT's have good mid-ranges, though the 2.3FPT's have awesome mid range.

Let us know how you get on.

Kevin Mc

[V.J.S]

Well, the salesman swore that the car would be back sometime thursday afternoon, and he'd call as soon as it arrives. No calls yet(the next sunday), so he probably has forgotten about me, again. Excellent customer service. Conclusions were made, that it seems common, that dealers don't seem to be that eager until the value of the purchase is a tad on the high-side, ie 20k eur or something, and us that can't afford those kind of prices are more of a pain in the rear area of the highly devoted customer server, also known as the car dealer. F*ck them, is about all I can say their way of making business. Of course, there must be some places where is some degree of service available, but this particular dealer being my first contact to the business has been uninspiring, putting it mildly.

-Ville

[V.J.S]

Remember this thread? Well, you should Anyway, I have now arranged a trip to Germany, getting my new baby (-92 9000CS 2.3T) the week after easter...More stories of that coming shortly

-Ville

[Gordy]

Looks nice - is that a stock exhaust?

[V.J.S]

I think it is the stock, but "upgraded" with some shiny chrome-go-faster accessory The car has lowering springs, though.

-Ville