Car buying diary

[Kev_Mc]

Right, the 9-3 has been gone for 6 weeks or so. Can't wait any longer so I'm after another car.

Saw my first car this afternoon at a trader. I won't give too many details but it was a Saab. The only good thing about the experience was to learn not to travel too far unless I'm fairly certain it's a good one.

It looked very nice in the pictures, and my first impression from the side about 20 feet away wasn't too bad. Only took about two minutes and a quick look round the car to decide it wasn't for me. Misted over headlights (have seen this a few times on Saabs of a certain age) / cosmetic issues in the cabin / 9,379 dog hairs in the back / weird corrosion problem around a wing mirror / drivers door doesn't feel right at all - that together with the fact the car is a different colour in the spare tyre well and in the engine bay suggest damage of some sort / respray.

Wasn't worth a close look so suspect there would have been many more issues with the car.  I probably wouldn't have even given him 25% of what he was asking for the car. I know he has to make a living, but I wasn't about to buy that. Told him I wasn't interested so didn't waste any more of his or my time and walked.

It has set a low bar though - or I hope it has. Makes me realise how much I undersell my cars.

May be going to see a 9-3ss 2.0t and a Honda Accord tomorrow. The Saab will be swifter, but the Accord looks immaculate.

[Kev_Mc]

The Honda sold before I could see it - must have been as nice as it looked in the photos. Was going to put them up but it's gone from Autotrader already.

Went to see the 9-3ss as well (trader)- body was actually in very good shape for the age. There was an oil leak, and cheapo tryes and an uncared for interior contributed to my walking. They reckoned it had only come in yesterday, so wasn't time for a valet - I knew they'd had it for a few weeks at least as I'd been keeping my eyes on it for some time on the internet.

Not having a lot of luck so far in my quest for a car

Anyone else looking for a car at the moment and having more luck than me?

[Audax]

Anyone else looking for a car at the moment and having more luck than me?

To be honest the Saab market seems screwy to me, I was considering upgrading now to a late model 9-3 or 9-5 estate and there's nothing much out there unless it's either cheap and a dog or really expensive and even then many of them are still not right! I paid £1750 for my 03 reg 9-5 2.0 auto lpt nearly 5 years ago, it appears to replace it with exactly the same again today I'd be paying not far off £1750! Anyway, it has just made me figure I will have this repaired again and again....

[collywobble]

The Honda sold before I could see it - must have been as nice as it looked in the photos. Was going to put them up but it's gone from Autotrader already.

Honda have dropped the Accord in Europe and Australia this year - pity,  it was a well regarded and ultra reliable car which was on my list of possible 9-5 replacements.

[Kev_Mc]

I'm amazed at the amount of cars for sale with heavily stained seats. I know accidents happen, but doesn't anyone bother getting their seats cleaned any more? To me it's a reflection of how much they care for the car.

Also the tyres - where do people get these brands from? Never heard of most of them - again, cheap ditchfinders to me suggest if they're skimping on such an important safety item, they probably will skimp elsewhere too.

Nothing jumping out at me on Ebay /AT etc. Volvo S60 2.5T's look interesting - may have a look if there's one close enough in budget.

[Kev_Mc]

This one looks nice, but seems a bit optimistic on price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/saab/9-5/saab-09-may-aero-hot-----------------2001/4278595

Hopefully the price reflects the condition - does sound good - the tyres must have been £400 at the very least.

[Audax]

This one looks nice, but seems a bit optimistic on price.

To be honest, it's fairly low mileage and although an older car if it's a good one it's worth it as buying a 9-5 now is something you should do on spec and condition rather than age/mileage. I would however check out the breather version it has fitted and that it has had a sump drop at some point. If not budget for that when purchasing, also get the gearbox fluid changed, the earlier 4 speed box is more reliable than the later 5 speed and uses Dexron but if you change it then it will stay smooth. I'd also budget for getting some wood trim to replace the grey plastic on the dash! Also, check the history/mileage carefully, 7 previous owners!

[Kev_Mc]

I didn't spot that about the 7 owners! Doesn't sound quite so good now.

I've sent a number of questions through to the owner - still waiting to hear back.

[Kev_Mc]

Had someone contact me via one of my wanted posts - car sounds absolutely perfect, only 4 miles away, though it's a convertible 9-3. The convertible attracts a premium, but I don't really want one so doesn't make sense to pay the premium for something I don't want. I was tempted as the car seems so mint, but it means going £500 over budget for something I don't need.

That's two convertibles I've been contacted about now - doesn't seem to be any decent 9-3 turbo hatches about.

I'd love another Saab as they are so familiar, but part of me wants to try a brand I've never owned (Mazda / Honda / Volvo / Alfa / Subaru). Possibly go back and try a Ford - used to have one Ford after another, but not had one for around 16 years - that was a Sierra Estate which was way past its best!

[Kev_Mc]

This has bugged me for years - people stating FSH when it blatantly is not - at least this trader showed the stamps so I could make my own mind up if it was a FSH or not.

This is a 2007 car:



It has a service history, but nothing for coming up to 6 years. FSH to me is a service on time for every interval. If it had a proper FSH and had nothing for the last 18 months or so, I'd let them off, but not this!

[jmblack]

Full history of all its services!!

[jmblack]

Guy I know bought a tiny Hyundai (can't remember exactly what it was) at 6 months old. Ran it for 6 years and 120k. Never serviced it. Just motd and did minimum to get it through. Then scrapped when it failed emissions. Never washed or hoovered it either. It was gross!

His argument was it was by far the most cost efficient way to run a car! He may be right!

[Kev_Mc]

Guy I know bought a tiny Hyundai (can't remember exactly what it was) at 6 months old. Ran it for 6 years and 120k. Never serviced it. Just motd and did minimum to get it through. Then scrapped when it failed emissions. Never washed or hoovered it either. It was gross!

His argument was it was by far the most cost efficient way to run a car! He may be right!

Somebody I used to work with did a similar thing with a brand new Nova. Never serviced it or put oil in it. Didn't end so well for him though - got away with it for about 5 years until the engine died with no oil to lubricate it.

A lot of the cars I'm looking at in this price range seem to be lacking services (many 2000 cars with "9 stamps" - better than nothing, but most likely not seen a service centre for many years). My old 9-3 hadn't had a service for 4 years when I bought it (only cost £362 so can't be too fussy) - first thing I did was get an oil and filter change. Probably what I'll have to do with my next car.

[sgould]

Be careful rejecting some cars.  The early 9-3 require a service every two years or 18000 miles.

[Kev_Mc]

Be careful rejecting some cars.  The early 9-3 require a service every two years or 18000 miles.

Is that the hatch 9-3 or the early 9-3ss?