Messages

1

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / NG9-5 stranded on M40 yesterday evening

« on: 26 April 2024, 07:41:24 PM »

Thursday 25th April approx 1915 hrs, south of J15

(not far from where my turbo packed up in Sept 2017)

Grey/silver NG 9-5 on hard shoulder with bonnet up.

Hope it gets fixed.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: What I Did To My Saab Today.

« on: 21 April 2024, 02:37:24 PM »

Carves with GoodYear Vector 4 seasons off and cleaned and stored.

Turbines with GoodYear Eagle F1, all clean, back on.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: Ex Saab MD 9-5 NG for sale

« on: 21 April 2024, 02:36:14 PM »

8-9k at most.  2.0 didn't come with Drivesense as standard.  And like mine, the lack of the top end audio is a bit of a let down....

4

New Saab 9-5 (2010 on) / Re: 9-5 NG Rescue project

« on: 10 April 2024, 11:46:08 AM »

I found this, but it doesn't give any model split.  But it does show regional distribution.

https://www.autoinsider.co.uk/cars/saab/reports/regions

It would be interesting to see the distribution over time in London from 2018 to 2024.... Since the advent of the TiD engined cars (esp the 1.9) the majority of cars sold in the UK were diesel....and given that our beloved Mayor has outlawed all Saab diesels from the capital (unless you pay the daily ransom) I see a lot fewer Saabs in the capital now.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: Ebay - 9-5 NG Aero TTiD AWD for sale

« on: 10 April 2024, 11:40:52 AM »

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186369596708

Manual gearbox with Drivesense, looks to be a very nice car. not too sure about the illumination on door opening though

Very similar spec to mine, just posting this for interest, considering how infrequently these come up

TTiD and V6 had Drivesense as standard, with HiPerstruts as standard I believe.  Only the 2,0T (Turbo4) Aeros didn't have it as standard.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: What I Did To My Saab Today.

« on: 08 March 2024, 04:13:29 PM »

Well, bit late but better than never.  Clean bill of health.  No advisories either - interesting considering Joe Pugh gave me a long list last year and I have done nothing to the car, including the exhaust, since..

Happy days. And yes, the MOT advisory hokey-cokey is always interesting. I've also had some items appear as advisories one year and then disappear the next without them being attended to, which does underline that tester discretion must be fairly wide.

Robins and Day Kingston (local 'Saab Service Centre') 2 years ago said my front sub-frame was severely corroded.  Perhaps it's because we've had some mild winters the condition hasn't deteriorated..It's the exhaust that surprised me this time.

7

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: What I Did To My Saab Today.

« on: 08 March 2024, 10:54:07 AM »

Got an invitation from Stellantis and You Wimbledon.  Guess they have taken on the Vauxhall business from Kingston (which I believe were part of different groups before Saab went bust).

Anyway completely ignored it.

I have previous with them.

In 2009 when I was returning to the UK with my red 9-3SS Aero I needed an MOT to get the V5C and UK reg plates.   Because the car was mostly being used in NL the headlamp beams were flat - I bought a RHD UK-spec car in Germany in 2004.  A 2003 9-3 with Xenons had little tabs behind the units that allowed you to deflect the beams if you drove on the continent.  This meant arguments at the Dutch Saab dealer I used for servicing as these tabs were not a well-known feature...  Anyway, I explain to the receptionist that the technicians had  to be aware that the headlights had been modified for right hand driving (Sabine was still on dutch plates at the time) and she started saying it was illegal, you won't get passed it's not compliant with VOSA which is a part of the MINISTRY OF DEFENCE... Well!  I went into full Ian Paisley/Alex Ferguson/Karen hairdryer mode telling her I won't talk to someone as clueless bring me the manager.  The car did pass but the technicians did not know how to adjust the lamps for left-hand running or change the fog lights (2 days later I had to change them back!!).

Rant over!

Well, bit late but better than never.  Clean bill of health.  No advisories either - interesting considering Joe Pugh gave me a long list last year and I have done nothing to the car, including the exhaust, since..

Car goes as well as ever, looking forward to the long drive from Bracknell to North Wales tonight.  Did see a forlorn looking NG in the car park at the back - let's hope that one can be resurrected.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: Courtesy cars

« on: 04 March 2024, 11:10:45 AM »

Ian Allan Motors gave me a 59 reg 9-3 1.9TiD Turbo Edition, the 120PS variant.

Better than a new Ssangyong.  Very agricultural engine, cramped compared to my NG but lots on fun on the road.  Really is a comfy car, if you can get over the diesel rattle.

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Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: What I Did To My Saab Today.

« on: 16 February 2024, 10:43:08 AM »

Got an invitation from Stellantis and You Wimbledon.  Guess they have taken on the Vauxhall business from Kingston (which I believe were part of different groups before Saab went bust).

Anyway completely ignored it.

I have previous with them.

In 2009 when I was returning to the UK with my red 9-3SS Aero I needed an MOT to get the V5C and UK reg plates.   Because the car was mostly being used in NL the headlamp beams were flat - I bought a RHD UK-spec car in Germany in 2004.  A 2003 9-3 with Xenons had little tabs behind the units that allowed you to deflect the beams if you drove on the continent.  This meant arguments at the Dutch Saab dealer I used for servicing as these tabs were not a well-known feature...  Anyway, I explain to the receptionist that the technicians had  to be aware that the headlights had been modified for right hand driving (Sabine was still on dutch plates at the time) and she started saying it was illegal, you won't get passed it's not compliant with VOSA which is a part of the MINISTRY OF DEFENCE... Well!  I went into full Ian Paisley/Alex Ferguson/Karen hairdryer mode telling her I won't talk to someone as clueless bring me the manager.  The car did pass but the technicians did not know how to adjust the lamps for left-hand running or change the fog lights (2 days later I had to change them back!!).

Rant over!

10

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: What I Did To My Saab Today.

« on: 02 February 2024, 09:44:45 AM »

Booked into Ian Allan for annual service and MOT.

Although I have had good service from Joe's in Epsom, and the cafe round the corner was excellent, Epsom was a right royal pain to get to (3 trains) which Virginia Water is on my way to work (but the old 9-5s Nav did used to say it was on the M3..) and I've used IA satisfactorily for 13-14 years now.

My other go to option was Now Vauxhall in Kingston, which became Robins & Day, then Stellantis & You so became concerned that the Insignia/GM expertise was becoming diluted, even if I distrusted the 'Saab Expert' massively the equivalent VX parts were always cheaper.

Let's see what Ian Allan say, winter check gave it a clean bill of health.  Now had the car 7 years!, 2 more months and I will have had the car longer than I owned Dame Edna and already 15 months longer than I owned Sabine.  By the time I come to make the choice to sell, there will have to be a low mileage 9-3 for sale or I will have to succumbed to a Neckarsulm made car.

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New Saab 9-5 (2010 on) / Re: Another Ng 9-5 joins the forum

« on: 19 January 2024, 08:41:54 AM »

I have seen comments about the satnav, mine appears to be set to UK, though I haven't used it in anger yet, may be worth comparing software versions.

you might have the latest software, I could never persuade the garage to update mine...

In other news I have sourced a new cap for the washer bottle. Genuine Vauxhall quality 

Funnily enough mine has gone missing too.

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New Saab 9-5 (2010 on) / Re: Another Ng 9-5 joins the forum

« on: 17 January 2024, 11:29:05 AM »

I found that my NG 2.0 manual was actually thirstier than my 2.3 HOT Dame Edna.  Perhaps it's the bulk of the car (longer and heavier) and the fact that even when the 9-3SS came out the L850GM engine didn't seem quite as efficient as the Saab H-engine (B2*5, B207) there was a lot of criticism at the time that the saloon was no more powerful than the hatchback (210 versus 205, and tuning the B207R was limited)...

Body and trim panels are unobtainium, rear lights, aero bumpers, exhaust are exhausted supplies.  Exhausts have to be custom made (that's my forthcoming expense).   Look at my thread on UKS regarding the windscreen.

Mine also has the U-rail in the back - use it to stop things flying around.

Have considered doing a Hirsch to 260PS but I would rather check that the engine has a lot of life left before spending money on the upgrade (I know of one 2.0T that has gone pop recently, sadly)

Not done the Infotainment upgrade, doesn't bother me that navigation defaults to Belgium.

Insurance no more expensive than on my old car - still paying the same as I was on a 1.4 Astra in 1991, stands to reason the 1.3-1.4 Astras are the fastest cars known to man 

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New Saab 9-5 (2010 on) / Re: Another Ng 9-5 joins the forum

« on: 15 January 2024, 10:25:36 AM »

Same colour as mine, Granite Grey...mine is not XWD (do you have DriveSense?)

Welcome to the club 

14

Announcements & Events / Re: Ace Cafe Meet - This Saturday 13th Jan. 11.00 to mid-afternoon

« on: 15 January 2024, 09:59:29 AM »

Unfortunately clashed with the regular trips to North Wales to see my mother.....

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New Saab 9-5 (2010 on) / Re: Loud THUNK and rear of car is sitting very low

« on: 21 December 2023, 10:46:48 AM »

Is it a Dame or an NG?

If NG - take it to a Vauxhall dealer, underneath it is an Insignia.

If Dame - Saab specialist.... I don't think either option will break the bank