[Gabe Watt]

hi all,

my name is gabe, as im sure you can see, and im looking at getting a saab. im new to saabs but not to cars, forums, or the internet.

the car im looking at getting is a 1997 900s turbo, 5sp, coupe with 121K on it.

(heres the craigslist ad for it http://columbus.craigslist.org/car/439718495.html)

the good: the car drove great, lots of power, fun to drive, shifts fine, no funky nosies.

the bad: the power seats and the sunroof dont work(im told this could be a relay issue, and not a big deal), and the little coumputer readout on the dash looked like it was on is way out.

what im asking is, what are the trouble prone
areas of this model and this car? what should i be looking for and on the look out for? is this thing going to turn into a money pit? and is it a good daily driver?

thanks for reading all this and for helping a new guy out.

gabe

 

[Tweek's Turbos]

hi all,

im new to saabs but not to cars, forums, or the internet.

Uh huh, but you missed the stickies? :lol:

The 97 turbo S is a rare model. So that is pretty cool. Its still a baby at the milage, but the Alternators usually go right around then. So ask if thats been done, and expect it soon if not.

The SID on the dash (Saab info Display) are finiky. They are dirt cheap at u pull it junkyards. They have a fix it yourself instruction on here somplace too. Don't worry about that.

The seat thing I don't know, there is a hidden relay box up under the kick panel on the drivers side, but don't know if thats where those are at or if they live in the box under the hood. Any ng900 seat from 94-98 will work, so if you need to replace it all is not lost. The local pick and pull wants $40 per seat. Check your areas. The plus with these cars being un-popular and easily totalable means many end up in lower end pull the part the part youself style junkyards.

 

[earthworm]

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54893

True, but it is the alternator brushes that last for 100 to 160K miles, this holds for Volvo,Saab, VW, Honda, probably all of the manufacturers..
If a man blindly entrusts a dealer, then any car can become a "money pit"..
Diosnoche does put this well, the Saab is not a poor man's car. In fact, the unskilled poor man, in todays world, is just plain out of luck...

Do read out FAQ ..

If the problem were a inexpensive relay, the PO would have changed it......

 

[hkayssi]

Oh you'd be surprised. Actually the controles of the 2 seats are related. If both don't work it's usually a relay.


The SID is an easy job and can be either cheap like Tweek said or even free if you do it yourself.
http://www.93forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=38

And yes SAABs are costly to repair at the dealer and parts are expensive (bought from the dealer) just like any other car. SAABs have less aftermarket parts but ebay helps and Genuine SAAB and eEuroparts as well as jusnk yards narrow the gap with other car's cheaper parts.

The great thing about buying a SAAB is that the value depreciates quite a bit when used making it an attractive great value for the dollar if you can do your own work or some of it and give the rest of the work to an independant SAAB specialist rather than going to the dealership.
If you decide to buy the SAAB you must have the maintenance records. If the car was well maintained you'll love owning it but if it wasn't, you'll regret the day you bought it.

 

[Diosnoche]

the bad: the power seats and the sunroof dont work(im told this could be a relay issue, and not a big deal), and the little coumputer readout on the dash looked like it was on is way out.

what im asking is, what are the trouble prone
areas of this model and this car? what should i be looking for and on the look out for? is this thing going to turn into a money pit? and is it a good daily driver?

I'd really check to see if indeed the seats and sunroof only need relays. The sunroof may need a new motor, or the worst case, the track and guides the roof panel slides in or seized up.

The 4 cylinder engines seem to have alot of stalling issues, and/or not starting problems, there are constant, almost daily, post on this forum addressing this issue.

These cars can become a money pit if the previous owner didn't keep up with maintenance, which is usually the case. Otherwise they can be a good daily driver.

When I bought my V6, I had to put in almost what I paid for the car in terms of repairs, however, my car has been nothing but the most reliable since. But mine is a V6 as well, its not even Saab. But the rest of the car is and its holding up. I do find that the car goes through brakes like crazy, and these cars do have alot of A/C issues, and are a little quarky with electrical issues (as are most european cars). Its amazing on gas, I can get up to 800Km per tank with the a/c on, on the highway.

Don't fall in love with the first Saab you see, there are lots of used ones out there to choose from, take your time and check out a few before you commit.

 

[edsiguen]

I' m a new Saab owner myself, 1998 900se turbo 5spd 166k mi. I got the car back in April when it had 161k mi. To be perfectly honest, I love the car, but I've had to replace a list of thigs. So far I've had to replace the clutch, alternator X2, fuel pump, timing and balance chains with all the guides and sprokets, crank shaft position sensor and new struts. Of the things I've replaced, only the fuel pump and alternators actually failed. The rest were things that are known to fail and since I had not maitnenance history I decided to be safe than sorry. I've probably spent about $1500 in parts and I've done all of the work myself, but only with the help of this site and talented people who contribute to it.
I'm not much of a car mechanic, in fact, I had never done any of these jobs on any car before. So, if you can use a wrench you should have no problem doing the repairs yourself, unless you can afford and don't mind paying someone else to do it.

 

[GaryG]

Yes, check the sticky messages on this forum for lots of good advice. If you don't have the service history then you don't know what has been done and what will probably fail next. Common failures at this mileage are tensioner pulleys and belts, Direct Ignition modules, fuel pumps, alternators, starters and water pumps. So far I have just done the fuel pump and AC compressor in the three years I have owned my 1997 SE.

 

[Gabe Watt]

yeah im a tard for not checking the stickies first. but i did read them all last night, so im up to date, but it is good to hear some more info from you guys first hand.

im a pretty good mechanic, so im not to worried about doing some work on it, and i found a saab specialty shop yesterday. they are going to do a pre-purchace inspection for me and tell me what they think about it.

i was able to call up the only saab dealer here in the central ohio area and they gave me the maintence record they had for the car, and it came back sounding pretty good.


and trust me, if i get the saab, youll have a hard time getting me off this forum.

 

[hkayssi]

I' m a new Saab owner myself, 1998 900se turbo 5spd 166k mi. I got the car back in April when it had 161k mi. To be perfectly honest, I love the car, but I've had to replace a list of thigs. So far I've had to replace the clutch, alternator X2, fuel pump, timing and balance chains with all the guides and sprokets, crank shaft position sensor and new struts. Of the things I've replaced, only the fuel pump and alternators actually failed. The rest were things that are known to fail and since I had not maitnenance history I decided to be safe than sorry. I've probably spent about $1500 in parts and I've done all of the work myself, but only with the help of this site and talented people who contribute to it.
I'm not much of a car mechanic, in fact, I had never done any of these jobs on any car before. So, if you can use a wrench you should have no problem doing the repairs yourself, unless you can afford and don't mind paying someone else to do it.

I absolutely agree with what you said but keep in mind your car had 161K miles. So changing that many parts at that mhigh mileage is to be expected.

 

[CleveSaab]

im a pretty good mechanic, so im not to worried about doing some work on it, and i found a saab specialty shop yesterday. they are going to do a pre-purchace inspection for me and tell me what they think about it.

You certainly do know what you are doing. Pre-purcahse inspection is worth its weight in gold. That's a good move. If he says buy it, then do so.
If these cars are taken care of, she'll go 250K easy. If they are ignored it will punish... PUNISH... your wallet. Yes, this is true of 99% of cars, but especially so with a Saab.