I started a build thread via another account but managed to lose access. Some of these photos are pulled from that thread
Around November of last year I was on the hunt for a more economical car - at the time I was driving a 1986 Mercedes 560sel; a 12mpg V8 luxury sedan and, while it was a blast to drive, it was not feasible in any sense of the word. This led me to browse a couple different makes and models until I caught wind of a small euro dealer 45 minutes away from me that had this Saab 9000 Turbo for sale.
I had never heard of this model but I had a couple check boxes that I had to tick off with any next car I was going to purchase:
1- had to be a hatchback or wagon. I enjoy taking automotive photos and am wanting to expand into more rollers and filming short films so I had to have something that I could pop a hatch or wagon door at slow speeds to shoot out the back of.
2- I had to be able to get reasonable gas mileage (20mpg+)
3- the paint had to be restorable, aka no major missing clear coat or excessive body damage. I’m lucky enough to have a professional detailing buddy [read: best man] that will give my daily drivers the full paint correction treatment in exchange for next to nothing. He can’t fix what isn’t there though.
4- I’m naturally attracted to 80s/90s European cars, it wasn’t a must but it was absolutely preferred.
with a little bit of research the Saab seemed to check all the boxes so off we went to take a look.
the dealership itself was not in the greatest part of town and looked to be pretty run down. The cars within however were in various shapes, sizes and conditions. There was a couple of Saab 900s, a Porsche 944 and a well maintained Corrado that was the owners daily driver. Of these and others the Saab was tucked away with more dust than any of it’s neighboring cars and tires that seemed to be on their way to being completely flat.
I could see it on my fiancé’s face that she was not thrilled we drove an hour + for this first impression. Since we were already there we decided to try and turn It over and listen to it + potentially take it for a test drive.
initial startup proved to be demoralizing, as it would start up and quickly die without 2000+ rpms being held on the tach. The owner admitted he was selling this car because he just doesn’t have time to put into it and is running out of room on the lot. After a dozen or so shut offs we were able to get the car to idle under its own power and were off for a short drive.
an anti lock light appeared as we were driving and the block we drove seemed to take an eternity at the rate the car was accelerating. All in all though it felt right and the paint and interior were in fair condition. We let the dealer know we would sleep on it and if nothing else checked out we may be back.
later that week we went back and negotiated to under $1k (hence the title) and were off to drive the hour back with a car we weren’t sure was going to make it.
Ultimately once warmed up it did drive fantastic for its age and condition on the freeway back home. The next couple days I resisted the urge to touch anything in the car for I wanted photos exactly how I picked the 9000 up.
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Around November of last year I was on the hunt for a more economical car - at the time I was driving a 1986 Mercedes 560sel; a 12mpg V8 luxury sedan and, while it was a blast to drive, it was not feasible in any sense of the word. This led me to browse a couple different makes and models until I caught wind of a small euro dealer 45 minutes away from me that had this Saab 9000 Turbo for sale.
I had never heard of this model but I had a couple check boxes that I had to tick off with any next car I was going to purchase:
1- had to be a hatchback or wagon. I enjoy taking automotive photos and am wanting to expand into more rollers and filming short films so I had to have something that I could pop a hatch or wagon door at slow speeds to shoot out the back of.
2- I had to be able to get reasonable gas mileage (20mpg+)
3- the paint had to be restorable, aka no major missing clear coat or excessive body damage. I’m lucky enough to have a professional detailing buddy [read: best man] that will give my daily drivers the full paint correction treatment in exchange for next to nothing. He can’t fix what isn’t there though.
4- I’m naturally attracted to 80s/90s European cars, it wasn’t a must but it was absolutely preferred.
with a little bit of research the Saab seemed to check all the boxes so off we went to take a look.
the dealership itself was not in the greatest part of town and looked to be pretty run down. The cars within however were in various shapes, sizes and conditions. There was a couple of Saab 900s, a Porsche 944 and a well maintained Corrado that was the owners daily driver. Of these and others the Saab was tucked away with more dust than any of it’s neighboring cars and tires that seemed to be on their way to being completely flat.
I could see it on my fiancé’s face that she was not thrilled we drove an hour + for this first impression. Since we were already there we decided to try and turn It over and listen to it + potentially take it for a test drive.
initial startup proved to be demoralizing, as it would start up and quickly die without 2000+ rpms being held on the tach. The owner admitted he was selling this car because he just doesn’t have time to put into it and is running out of room on the lot. After a dozen or so shut offs we were able to get the car to idle under its own power and were off for a short drive.
an anti lock light appeared as we were driving and the block we drove seemed to take an eternity at the rate the car was accelerating. All in all though it felt right and the paint and interior were in fair condition. We let the dealer know we would sleep on it and if nothing else checked out we may be back.
later that week we went back and negotiated to under $1k (hence the title) and were off to drive the hour back with a car we weren’t sure was going to make it.
Ultimately once warmed up it did drive fantastic for its age and condition on the freeway back home. The next couple days I resisted the urge to touch anything in the car for I wanted photos exactly how I picked the 9000 up.
