Pre 04 9-5's (all models) had issues with oil sludging due to poor PVC system which was updated. The first thing many do when buying a used pre 04 is to dump the oil sump to check for sludge. A well maintained 02 is still a good buy.

 

+1 on this. I bought my '03 Aero 24 months old, and I did the update then. I've had ZERO issues from my engine. The Aero's tend to have fewer sludge problems than non-others, but I don't know if that's because maybe the Aero owners are more diligent about changing the oil and maintenance stuff or not. Who knows. If I were you, I wouldn't even consider a non-Aero. Drive both and you'll see why. Now, if you are gonna get into tuning, that may not be an issue. You can get and Arc and upgrade it to beyond the Aero spec easily, but you won't have the nicer seats and a couple other goodies. Up to you. 2003 added dimming side mirrors and rain-sensing wipers, and a few other things. Best looking Aero is the 2004/2005, but you can swap that bumper onto a 2002/2003 easily. I did it in a couple hours. Anyway there's some food for thought...

Cheers

 

Aeros ran fully synthetic oil from the factory, that and a Mitsubishi turbo make them more durable than LPTs.

Second the sump drop but also second the well maintained Aero line, my '00 Aero had 186k on it when I sold and still pulled like a schoolboy!

I've had 3 month old hire cars with more rattles!!

 

I've run into about 3 9-5s with cracked head gaskets (one I just strongly suspected it after seeing the last two that had head gasket repairs done), is this due to the sludge issue or another issue? Or am I just lucky to run into an uncommon problem?

 

I find Consumer reports to generally be highly suspect. Their rating are based off of, wait for it, consumer based reports. Given how little the average person actually knows about cars, their opinions on reliability can't really be trusted.

For instance you would think my Saab has been a total dog, reliability wise. ITs had to have the engine rebuilt and the turbo replaced and its only at 130k miles. Its not the car's fault, my family never maintained it. God knows what the oil change intervals were, or if it was even changed with synthetic.

Now a Saab WILL have more problems that a Subaru or a Honda or a Toyota. But think of it more as a fickle mistress that maybe can be a bit demanding, but will provide a much greater reward when shes happy and bring a MUCH bigger smile to your face. Not to mention my '99 9-5 STILL is my favorite highway cruising car of all time.

So to actually answer your question: If you can, buy 2004 and above as they fixed the sludge issues that plagued earlier years. If you have to buy older than that, be prepared to get your hands dirty, or to drop the pan and clean out the pickup right after you buy it. The key is how it was taken care of by the previous owners. If they changed the oil regularly at the proper intervals with full synthetic, you'll probably not have a whiff of sludge and will have a very happy engine. If not they you'll have to be dropping the pan at a minimum and might have to prepare for turbo failure down the line if its sludged up.

If you're handy with a wrench you'll be able to keep a Saab running tip-top relatively cheaply too.