[mmarks]

Good evening all,

I have the chance to buy a 1995 Saab 9000CS 2 litre hatchback at a very good price, but before I make a decision I wanted to ask some questions regarding some potential faults.

I hope the outcome is positive as the car seemed to drive really well and felt fast, safe and comfortable.

1) The ABS light is constantly on - is this a serious fault or could it be a quick fix?
2) The dashboard warning system shows two lights at the back, the rear lights work so is this checking the brake lights or could there be another reason?
3) The car has climate control which works well but the fan is very noisy, sounds like a graunching - assuming the fan bearing has gone, is it an easy job to replace it?
4) Although I am told the car is a turbo model, there was no 'shove in the back' when putting my foot down. Don't get me wrong, it accelerated very quickly (well, compared to my 1.4 Opel Tigra!) but I expected a lag then a boost. How can I tell if it is a turbo model and if the turbo is working?

Other than that - it all looked and felt good. A few minor faults (cracked indicator lens and the boot struts didn't hold the boot open).

I would really appreciate your expert advice and any other items I should look for.

The car had done 140,000 mile by the way but really didn't feel like that amount.

Many thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[stew81]

1.) probably a abs wheel sensor. 90 quid for a new one or theres always plenty of used ones on ebay.

2.) these should go out when you press the brake pedal. if not then a stop light is out.

3.) its the fan motor that needs replacing, its cheaper if you just buy the bosch motor and change the fan over from your old unit. do-able yourself, personally id take it to the garage as i dont have anywhere to work on a car for a job like that (roadside parking :evil.

4.) no boost gauge on the dash? then its a low pressure turbo. your not going to get lag like you do with the more powerfull models.

140k should be nothing for a well mantained lpt. what sort of service istory has it got?

 

[mmarks]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I forgot the most important finding!!!!

The gear lever had an awful lot of side to side movement. It changed gear no problem but I could move the gear lever in neutral a long way. 1st felt like it was halfway across the passenger seat! Is this a major problem (gearbox related) or do you think it will be a spring/linkage that can be fixed?

Mike

 

[stew81]

probably the gearshift linkage, you'll probably have the rubber block type, which is the older design that breaks up quite easily. the newer design linkage can be retro-fitted.

 

[eric43]

Re the brake light out indicator: my 97 did that with two bulbs out in the center light (above the rear window). One bulb socket wouldn't work, but when I installed a bulb in the other one, the dash indicator stopped indicating. So, three working bulbs up there is enough.

 

[a1damuk]

Suppose it would depend on how cheap the car is? The ££ is mounting already??

 

[rafael]

Bear in mind that the 2.0 LPT has 150 HP, so performance is good but not brilliant (as in 2.3 FPTs)

...3.) its the fan motor that needs replacing, its cheaper if you just buy the bosch motor and change the fan over from your old unit. do-able yourself, personally id take it to the garage as i dont have anywhere to work on a car for a job like that (roadside parking :evil.

If you´re going to change the fan motor, it´s a good idea to change the heater core, too; it´s a common failure on 9000s. Look for wet carpet on the front passenger zone.
I assume the noise sounds when the fan is working...or is it the cabin temperature sensor (next to the heated seat switch)? In this case the fix is rather cheaper (cleaning and a bit of oil...)

 

[mmarks]

Good morning all and thanks for the replies.
Well,I did buy the car for 550 euro with an NCT (Irish equivalent of the English MOT) until June 2011. So far I have driven around 200 miles in it and, other than the comments at the top, it has been great. It drives fine but has a few niggling faults. I have replaced the cracked indicator and the boot struts - a few minutes and all was good!

The fan motor actually sounds more like one of those small tyre compressors you can buy and vibrates the dashboard when on full power so I assume this needs replacing!)

The rear light wrning is still on but I have 2 working brake lights in the cluster and all four working in the high level brake light -any clues as to why it is still warning me?

How do I use the rear washer, I noticed the jet in the high level cluster but cannot find out how to use it!

How does the central locking work? When I use the key, only the door that the key was used in opens or locks, but if I press the locking button on the centre console, everything locks or unlocks - any hints as to what to look for?

The car didn't come with an owners book so how do I use the lights - the 0 position still has the lights on - is this normal?

Thanks in advance, and I'm sure will have more questions to come!!!!!



Mike