What I Did To My Saab Today.

[jmblack]

Full service and mot on our nov 06 9-5 2.3t vector auto.

A tidy £460 for that including swapping over to winter wheels (even though its 15 degrees!)new discs and pads at the front - first time they've needed done so can't really complain (on third set at the back!).

First time ever had advisories on the mot - corrosion on rear springs and slight corrosion on rear brake pipes. Is this the start of regular little issues after needing some rear bushes a few months ago?...

Interestingly £70 of my bill goes to the government as vat. Filled up as I left the garage for £80 so is that about £40 to George? Then  due £400 odd in car tax next month which together with vat on the recent bushes all comes to about £550. Are Saab petrol drivers the saviours of the financial crisis?

More seriously had a courtesy car - s reg 9000 auto. Still very comfortable and cruised on the motorway at xx very nicely thanks. They were really nice cars although the wheels look tiny by today's standards!

[Geoff1951]

... nov 06 9-5 2.3t vector auto...
 ...Then  due £400 odd in car tax next month ...
...Are Saab petrol drivers the saviours of the financial crisis?

Yes, we are.

Your figure of £400 odd had me looking at the Gov's website  -  http://carfueldata.dft.gov.uk/new-vehicle-tax.aspx  - then click through. Mine is a Jan 05 2.3t vector saloon, I've just taxed it at £280. (Yes, it's out of sync with the reg date, it was in a dealers untaxed for a few months.)

I'm not gloating, but according to the gov.uk website, you'll be paying £475.

The crucial date is the March 2006 cut-off in band K.

Sorry !

[Audax]

Today was check tyre pressures, clean the glass and get the gummi pflege out to sort all the door weather seals out before winter. I also got a chance to check my winter tyres tread depth more carefully and they are actually 2x5mm and 2x6mm so looks like I'm in luck and will be able to wear these out over this winter and replace the whole set next year.

[MikeIOW]

Well....last weekend........time to pop the winter shoes on.   & given my summer ones were down to *cough* perhaps 3mm, and the winter ones were all new last season, they don't half feel like they grip well ;-)

Those 4 and the 4 SMax made me feel like a proper mechanic......even got the inflater thingy out to make sure they are all blown up nicely.   

Phew !

Bring on the cold !!!

[sgould]

Got mine on this afternoon.  Very cold and windy out there. 

It got me thinking that we always wait until the weather turns before changing the wheels.  So it's always cold when I pit the winter's on and always warm when the summers go back on.  Must change the winters over sooner next time.

Tomorrow is 15th November.  That's the day in Germany and Austria that winter tyres become compulsory in snow.  Our German friends say that winter tyres are not compulsory in winter, but it's illegal to drive in snow after 15th November on summer tyres.  If you haven't changed tyres and it snows, you have to stop and walk home.

[Petemate]

Got my winters on last month; the MOT had crept up on me (thought it was due this month!) so as two of the summers were a bit low, on went the winters which have good treads despite having done two seasons with me and one with my lad (but that one only low miles).
Back on topic - today I lifted the bonnet, checked the levels, (oil still correct after over 10k miles since I bought the car), topped up the washer fluid, checked/adjusted the tyre pressures.
Not a lot, but later this month I will be renewing all discs and pads and carrying out a full service. Tax due end of this month; only doing 6 months so the cost will be better spread next year and around this time no tax on top of servicing and MOT.
Pete

[MikeIOW]

nice to be capable.....last time I changed oil was on my Metro Turbo......after draining the sump, I screwed the plug back on.....and on.....and on......and eventually realised the thread had stripped :-(

Got a friend to tow me to a garage.....luckily they could re-thread a bigger hole/nut, otherwise it would have been a new engine & gearbox.   It was about then I realised I needed to 'know my limits'.......

changing the wheels, checking oil.....I filled the screenwash today.....that's about me done :-(

!!

[Geoff1951]

changing the wheels, checking oil.....I filled the screenwash today.....that's about me done :-(

!!

That's more than many drivers can do, I have witnessed drivers of both sexes asking for help to fill the screenwash. 

[TomPaine]

changing the wheels, checking oil.....I filled the screenwash today.....that's about me done :-(

!!

That's more than many drivers can do, I have witnessed drivers of both sexes asking for help to fill the screenwash. 

That's one up on a young ex-neighbour of mine who, disgruntled that his girlfriend had implied he was no good at basic car maintenance, was determined to prove her wrong, and poured oil into it to top the engine up...

[Audax]

I had a friend who nearly 20 years ago would stop with his Volvo 340 in a layby and use a bottle of water to clean his screen as topping up the screen washer bottle was too scary.

[sgould]

I had a colleague whose wife considered putting fuel in the tank was part of the service.  Fortunately she had a car that needed a service at 6000 miles or 6 months.  The six- monthly interval was about right for someone like her that only did 600 miles a year!!

And an elderly neighbour would drive out into the local countryside to her favourite village garage where the fuel pumps were not self-service.

I doubt either of them are still driving.

[Petemate]

I had a friend who nearly 20 years ago would stop with his Volvo 340 in a layby and use a bottle of water to clean his screen as topping up the screen washer bottle was too scary.

ROFLMAO

[jmblack]

2009 9-5 TiD estate manual with 98k. Winter wheels on 2 new avon ice touring on the front so need to see what they are like.

Had a go at cleaning the MAP sensor and EGR. Very sooty - especially the sensor that seemed fully clogged can't see how it could have been working at all! Schoolboy error - dropped the gasket! Anyway a new set only £5 from dealer so I'm arguing it was best to replace anyway.....

Car now pulls much better at low revs.

[mikeloadsasaabs]

Tomorrow is 15th November.  That's the day in Germany and Austria that winter tyres become compulsory in snow.

1st November here in Austria, until 15th April.

[Paper Plane]

Took the 9-5 Estate into Kwik-Fit for MOT/service and came out 650 quid poorer. (Brakes f & r, track rod end mostly)

steve