What should I offer for a mint 93' Saab 900S non-turbo

[twobone]

A guy I know who is the president of the local Saab club is selling his 93' Saab 900s with 130,000 miles.

I have no doubt that he thinks it is worth more than it is. I also have no doubt that it is in mint condition. I plan to use it as my short haul beater 2nd car to replace a rusty Pathfinder.

My grandfather had a Saab 99 and so I'm feeling nostalgic

Its not a turbo or a convertible and is in BORING silver but has a 5 speed.

I hear they can last forever with good maintenance which I'm sure this has given his pride of ownership.

Still, I expect eventual repairs to be pricey given parts shortages and "swedish" labour rates


Do I offer him $1500?

[livi]

Perhaps in your end of the globe.

In Sweden? Not even half that money.

A SAAB 99 on the other hand is a gem if in good nick. I must have grown up with at least two dozen SAAB cars. I loved the 96 and 99. The later models are just tractors in my mind.

That was not helping much, I know.. good luck!

[rouxroux]

I loved the 99EMS. BUT, take into consideration parts. I just don't think I'd pull the trigger on that one now.

[onewhippedpuppy]

In my mind any good running clean car is worth $2k. But there's nothing at all special about that Saab. I think $1500 would be fair.

[scottmandue]

I kinda like Saab's but never owned one...

Is no one making replacement parts for them? (I live in SoCal surrounded by car parts shops and car dealers but buy most of my Miata parts online from out of state)

It would seem there would be a market out there.

Are Saab's difficult to work on?

[SteamWolf]

I'd offer him a lift home.

[Don Plumley]

I had almost that same car - but the Turbo before the 16V. Loved that car. Cockpit inspired dash, key in between the seats. Amazing heater. Great for Skiing.

I used to say it had the world's most expensive oil changes. Take it in for an oil change, congratulations, you need a new distributor, and so on. One day I saw my car in the paper, lower miles, better condition, better options - the ad said something to the effect of "Perfect condition, but tranny just failed, take it away, $900"

The engine is in backwards, delivering power to the front of the engine, then through a chain to the tranny/transaxle below it - the crankcase and transmission share the same housing (different oil supply). So if you hit a curb with the tranny hanging down, congrats, you just bought a new crankcase. Even with my skid plate, the fact that the (manual) transmission could go out and turn the car into scrap value scared me. I sold it the next weekend...

They are indeed cool cars. Parts are getting limited, which means more expensive. Does not sound like a beater car to me.

[sammyg2]

What should I offer for a mint 93' Saab 900S non-turbo?

Depends on how much fuel is in the tank.

[twobone]

So I talk to the guy and it turns out it needs new brakes, a drive shaft a new interior headliner and some other work done. "Mint" my ass. Who puts their car up and says they are entertaining offers when it needs a bunch of work?

Appearantly, within his community of Saab lovers, this car is a gem. How about you get it fixed then we will see.

LOL

[rouxroux]

Cost of repairs is going to be greater than the value of that car.

[Bill Douglas]

I've heard you don't buy one Saab, you buy two. I'm sure you have room on the back lawn for a donor car up on blocks

[matt711]

Headliners almost always droop, still I really like the older Saabs. They have character...

[Robert Adams]

SAAB character always comes at a cost. Don't mean to maligned the dearly departed, but there is a reason for all the SAAB stories.
Owned a 96 with a Ford built engine with some 'plastic' internals that didn't make friends with the metal ones at about 100k miles. Ended up towing 4 hours to the 'LOCAL' dealer and that was back when they had a pretty good dealer network. Took 4 days to get the parts and rebuild the engine.
As for a 99, take a look at the location of the timing belt. 'nuff said.
Can we maybe sell you a Peugeot?

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by SteamWolf

I'd offer him a lift home.

LOL!

S-Swedish
A-Auto
A-Always
B-Broken

!!!

[2porscheguy]

AND:

Swedish
Automaker
Also
Bankrupt!

[Dana Norris]

My wife and I are on our third Saab, first was a New 1986 900S 16V 5speed manual 3 door hatch, the second was a 2000 95 turbo wagon 5 speed manual I just sold it to a friend it has 164,000 miles
just regular maint. The third is a 2008 9-3 Sport Combi with 5 speed auto, very hard loaded it is
a very nice car. Parts are not an issue, our host stocks most all you need for DIY maint.

[Zeke]

Give your money to charity instead. If you really want it, tell the guy you will give him 10% over any offer that is in writing with a deposit check stapled to it he can get within 30 days.

10% of nothing is nothing.