So, today I took the 9-5 to Saabtech and it's not really good news, they have confirmed the oil leak from the timing cover and a radiator leak amongst a few other issues cropping up and we're look at well in excess of £1500 to get the car sorted and their opinion was similar too mine which would be to drive it until it breaks.
The slightly better news is that I said to them that I'd be looking for a replacement but that I didn't know if it would be a Saab because I was having trouble sourcing a good car, turns out they had 2 candidates in the stock, one was a 9-5 which I discounted quite quickly as it was a manual but they also had a 9-3 Anniversary Estate Aero Auto, which has pretty much all the right spec but no heated seats

this has been through their workshop and is going for some paint work imminently and comes with 6 months warranty through them so after a few phone calls I just told them I'd buy it so I'm waiting for a call back now to work out how I'm going to pay and when I can pick it up. The only other thing I'm not so keen on is that it has some after market speedline 18" alloys which I'll be looking at replacing with a set of Saab wheels when I'm not quite so stuck for cash.
BTW, does anyone know a good source for a tow bar for a 9-3 estate? I asked Saabtech how much to have one fitted and they'd be wanting over £500 to get one fitted which is way too much.