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★★☆☆☆

“A marque best left unresurrected”

written by Alonzom351 on 18/04/2014

And I say this with sadness rather than anger as I'm a Huge fan of the marque pre-GM takeover.

Saab you have to remember was always a small specialist car maker trying to compete in world of mass-market big boys. This meant that while they had very fine engineers they just didn't have the R&D resources i.e. money, to throw at their designs. This means that major design faults were allowed onto the forecourt. The classic 900's dire auto gearbox and weak manual one, the later 900's steering/bulkhead mounting failure. This woeful tale continued under GM who starved the company of money and then tried to sell its cars at BMW and Merc prices. This is how we ended up with abominations like the 9-5 and 9-3.

My 9-5 was a dog of a car. It entered my care with a timing chain that belonged to the ghost of Hamlets father (fatal) and soon after was diagnosed with a cracked piston. End of engine. New engine from Neo Brothers (5 stars) and back on the road. Lovely. Quick but not very quiet (the B engines are some of the least inspiring sounding engines around – if you like the sound of a decent Italian twin cam you’ll be sorely disappointed). 1 year later, 2 melted pistons, diagnosis, hi speed pre-detonation. Car sold for scrap.

I should mention that this was a car heavily modded by Abbott in Essex. Charming and expensive, but it seems that their electronics are unable to detect fatal ignition faults. In fact neither they nor the other 2 specialists who had the car in that time and plugged it in to their diagnostics spotted this terminal fault.

If I ever buy another turbo charged petrol car again, it will be fitted with water injection to protect the engine from the catastrophic effects of pre-ignition. It would seem £250-£350 well spent.

Other observations on ownership. The car is nowhere near German build quality of cars this age. I have an e36 Beemer that is 3 years older and is a better quality car in almost every respect, fittings, knobs and switches, electronics, interior and much better from a corrosion point of view. Yes, Swedish cars do rust, shock, horror! In fact in my experience of both Volvo and Saab over the years they are poorer than average for corrosion (about equal with US made Mercs i.e. not quite as bad as an 80’s Lancia, Fiat, Alpha etc.

Running costs are well above average. Fuel economy is pretty dire on all models inc diesels in my limited experience with these. I had the misfortune of borrowing two 9-3 courtesy cars and less inspiring cars you could not imagine. Tinny sounding, crashing unsophisticated suspension leading to a horrid ride, nasty engines, thirsty, faulty electronics.
My other half had a 9-3 diesel new for 3 years and to watch it deteriorate in that short time was frightening – even the paint started to ‘wash off’ it was so thin.

Saabs have all the running costs of a big six pot without any of the pleasure or advantages. In fact many V8s are cheaper to run. Expect mid to upper 20s on petrols and upper 30's on diesels.

There are some well documented faults on the B engines, the worst of which is the sump, filter, breather, oil type one (loads on internet forums)

My only advice, if you are nutty enough to want one and there are those who swear by them, buy cheap and by that I mean there are no 9-5s that are worth over a couple of thou’, not even a recent one. I’ve seen 2008 ones scrapped because of early engine failure and a recent one is as likely to do it as an older one. Do not repair, take the hit and bin it if it goes wrong, they can be and are an absolute money-pit. Ask any Saab specialist how many Saabs he has round the back with no engines. They are a real problem despite what others say.

If you really must have one then it must have a full service book or the owner should be prepared to drop the sump and show you inside. It really is that essential. Expect to have to re-bush the entire suspension system at around 100k (6-800 quid), the turbo can be had fairly cheaply and they can last well but don't bank on it if its had the wrong oil in.

Good luck, you’ll need plenty of it and yes I am expecting brick-bats from the enthusiasts - I'll hide behind Mr Clarkson (who also dislikes Saabs) he is bigger and better paid than me!

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