Questions About Saab 900s

[jyl]

The Porsche v Saab thread in another forum made me remember that I've always liked the 900 Saabs. Since I'm still thinking about a convertible for my wife, these questions come to mind for all you Saab-ists.
- How reliable are the late 1980s/early 1990s Saab 900s?
- How DIY-able are they? Are parts and advice easily available?
- What are the notable strong and weak points of these 900s, especially of the turbos and the convertibles?
- How much risk is there of Saabs becoming an "orphan" car - i.e. GM shutting them down or pulling them out of the US market? I'm not sure how well the company's done lately.

Thanks!

[vash]

that is the first car i almost touch 125 mph in! very cool. i was after the hot chick owner. that didnt work out. but she destroyed the car mechanically. i dont know her maintenence habit tho.

[speeder]

Weak point of all SAAB 900 and 9000 series is the transmissions, auto and manual. Engines are great w/ reasonable maintenence, but trans failure rate is close to 100% by ~100k miles and very expen$ive to rebuild. Usually about what the car is worth, older 900s are all $2000 cars in CA. Damn shame, too, if you ask me. I've owned many SAABs, one of my favorite cars to drive. Absolutely unique and quirky design, just like a certain other car that we all love.

[jyl]

Are the parts available and reasonably-priced? Or is it like owning a Citroen and having to join some secret society to get parts?

Edit: browsed through some classified ads. Gosh, an early 90's turbo convertible 900 is almost free, as cars go anyway. My beater commute car feels like it's on its last legs (78 Mercedes - flaking paint, holely carpet, trim falling off) and I'm kind of tempted by some of these 900s . . . I'd really like a Citroen SM or Peugeot 505, just to be weird, but I guess a Saab is weird enough.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

The joke I've always heard about buying SAAB parts is that they put them on the pier in Sweden and let continental drift deliver them.

But then, that's just a joke.

[beepbeep]

cons: lots of body flex, hard to work on and expensive parts, weak tranny's

pros: very durable and well-done engine, distinctive looks, good safety and fuel-efficiency

[beepbeep]

Talking about safety...this happened three days ago:



Friends friend was overtaking a truck in his 9000 Turbo at 90mph+ when truck swerved out to overtake yet another vehicle, w/o checking rear mirror.

He was instantly squeezed out of the road and trough the guard and then down in the trench. Trench ejected him upwards, rotating the car in the air and simultaniously wraping it in the net it picked up when going trough the guard (Swedish roads have protective net on the sides beacues of wild animals etc.)
Ejected car flew trough air and into the woods, finally landing in the tree where it stuck hanging on the net...

Damages to the driver: nada except minor frostbite waiting for firemen to pick him down (it's winter here).

Car was pretty damaged though...

[power]

Originally posted by jyl

- How DIY-able are they? Are parts and advice easily available?
Thanks!

I owned one of the earlier 80's 900 series cars a long time ago. I remember cursing (although I think some of it was youth) alot while undertaking DIY jobs on the engine, seem to recall with the engine tranverse mounted and slanted it was very difficult to work on. The distributor was hidden against the fire-wall, spark plug changes were a rather lengthy process, as I recall, due to having to remove things to gain access.

Parts were readily available at that time in Canada, not sure about now though.

[speeder]

Originally posted by power
I owned one of the earlier 80's 900 series cars a long time ago. I remember cursing (although I think some of it was youth) alot while undertaking DIY jobs on the engine, seem to recall with the engine tranverse mounted and slanted it was very difficult to work on. The distributor was hidden against the fire-wall, spark plug changes were a rather lengthy process, as I recall, due to having to remove things to gain access.

Parts were readily available at that time in Canada, not sure about now though.

You seem to be recalling some other car that you owned. SAAB 900s do not have transverse mounted engines and have great accessibility under the hood. (Somewhat less if a turbo, of course). The hood opens forward and is just massive, once open the 4 cylinder motor might as well be on a bench.

And Goran, you're friend is one lucky guy. SAABS crash very well, but he could have been in Yugo w/ the net to catch him there, what a stunt pilot!

[jyl]

There seems to be a remarkably active Saab owners group here in teh SF Bay Area. An online forum, get-togethers, group junkyard crawls, etc. Seems like I'd have plenty of support if I got one. Then again I could get a Honda and need no support at all . . . b-o-r-i-n-g.

[power]

Originally posted by speeder
.............The hood opens forward and is just massive, once open the 4 cylinder motor might as well be on a bench.

Speeder,

Your reminded me of another thing that hindered access, the front hood, of course! The way I looked at it, engine access is like a box with four sides. Normally one of the sides taken up by the windshield, leaving three sides of access. The SAAB with the front tilt hood allows access from the two sides only!