Review your Saab 9000 (M85-97)

[Tech II]

Thanks to Chris (Zaphod) for the suggestion.  This topic is for owners to review their Saab in their own words for the benefit of other contributors to STT who may be interested in buying or just reading your views.

We look forward to reading your reviews!

[tfkm]

The topic has been here a while, but I might as well be first.

Bought my MY96 CSE in August 2006, and honestly still consider it the best car I Have ever owned. It has had a few little quirks over the 5 years, as you would expect of a now 15 year old car, but for the most part it has been incredibly reliable and since I only do 8-10,000 miles per year it has still only done around 140k so there is life left in the old girl yet.

Small electrical faults are the biggest frustration, but generally easily, and relatively cheaply, solved by the local indie.

Parts are expensive (£300 for half an exhaust was a bit of a shock) and it is surprisingly hard on tyres for doing relatively little mileage as I am not a particularly aggressive driver, but for the most part I consider the servicing and maintenance costs worth it when I got so much car for so little money.

The best summary/review I can offer on my 9000 is that I would gladly replace it with another (probably a full turbo rather than LPT), and am sad that  even the newest of them are now teenagers.

[rdwebster]

 My 9000 carlsson 2.3 cs is 20 in January though not quite standard big brakes no di or tcs and a bit more than the original 225 bhp, it has 190000 on the clock and goes like a train, the only issues I've had after dumping the DI are rusty rear arches and the lights which burn out probably due to the high intensity bulb system but the original lights were rubbish, I 'm not sure where I'll get another set of lights from though. I always enjoy driving it and it still does 30 to the gallon .    

[danilo]

My 97 is my 4th one First was an 87. Earlier cars were quicker more agile. Lots of ongoing trans issues though, plus the infamous Electrical oddities, that Never fully go away.
 Current 2.3 gets atrocious Mileages .  After 20 years of Owning Saabs , I have NEVER seen 30 mpg .. period.
And treat all such claims with total amazement.
 Current CSE gets 20 (ish) Urban  (80% of my driving ) and possibly? 26/7 on the hiway.
 Nice Comfy car.. But in fairness not even close to what a current Similar $40/50 K! car delivers.
 But then there is reason why we got ours for, at most , 10 cents on the original purchase price $.
 Unlikely that we will be able to buy another such car in the future, for peanuts pricings.
End of an era me thinks. Enjoy it while we can :-)

[phoenix]

The 30 we talk about is imperial mpg which is approx 25mpg US so your figures sound about right

[millster]

My '95 CSE 2.3T has done 218,600 miles and definitely shows the wear of its marathon lifestyle.  The patina of age just adds to the character of the car.  I purchased it for next to nothing and did not expect a perfect vehicle when I bought it.  I kind of knew what I was getting into but I've long dreamed of having a 9K and was willing to take on the fearsome beast.  As it turns out, my fears were largely unfounded. 

In the two years I've owned the car, I've had to replace perished vacuum lines, a fuel pump, a headlamp socket and spark plugs.  All of this after having run well into the 200,000's of miles.  The clutch is badly worn and will need to be replaced in 2012 but it's the original clutch so it's lasted very well.  Otherwise, I've had to patch up a leaking exhaust system and do a few little troubleshooting jobs with the wiring, none of which have been more than a minor inconvenience.

These cars are great to own if you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty occasionally.  They require an owner with a solid knowledge of automobiles (or deep pockets for a mechanic) but when treated with love, they are one of the best cars out there.  I've owned a Maserati Biturbo, a Leyland era Jaguar XJ-S with the venerable V12 and an Alfa 164. All enthusiast cars, but much more work than the 9000 could dream of being. 

I do not regret purchasing my 9K, would do it again given the chance and have no plans to abandon it at any point.

[paddysaab]

They require an owner with a solid knowledge of automobiles

...............And a shed
There's only so much you can do between showers

[wallsm]

Hi, had 4 9k's, currently on a 01 plate 95, not half the car, going back to 9k if I can find a good one.
Was there such a thing as a 2.0l Aero 9k?

Thanks

Mark

[Skiddins]

I've had my '97 9k Aero since Oct 2001, had 74,000miles when I bought it and it now has 166,000.

It was regularly serviced by Haymill in Farnham common up until a couple of years ago, but as the dealer has now changed hands (Hughes) they are crap.

The only show stopper in 11 years was the hydraulic clutch line bursting.. in the middle of the Hanger Lane roundabout.

I've replaced 3 of the central locking actuators, DI cassette, water pump, fuel pump, head gasket (had already had one at 55,000miles) and a few vacuum hoses etc.

I tend to driver fairly quickly and was regularly getting around 27-28mpg, but recently I was on a 2day week so became Driving Miss Daisy, 38mpg!

Despite the age it still makes me smile when the go pedal is pushed hard. Although as everyone I know is now on much newer diesel cars it's getting very hard to justify my crap mpg. The only thing that has stopped me replacing it (only for economic reasons) is the cost of another car.

I play in a band and the Aero is regularly full to capacity with gear but it takes it in it's stride.

It's fast, comfortable, pretty well equipped for it's age and doesn't cost too much to run considering.
All my previous cars had lower mileage and were newer, and they were all less reliable.