Hello! I am looking for a first car, and have always been a lover of Saabs. Thier beauty is amazing, and I would love to be the owner of one! Since I am on a tight budget, I am looking for an older but in good condition Saab, and would hate to make an uneducated purchase. When I look at Saabs, what should I look for? Are there any engine problems I should know about? What kind of a reputation does Saab have? I am really interested in a 9000s turbo sedan, or a 900s. Is there anything particularly unappealing about these models? What should I expect farther down the road...and how long ( in miles) do Saab's last? Thanks Abbie

-- Abbie Larsen (Abijigail@hotmail.com), June 02, 2001

Answers

Hi Abijigail...I bought a 1987 Turbo 9000 with a 187,000 miles on it. Now it's got about 193k. I'm experiencing some wierd noises with my heating and cooling system, only two of my electric windows work, and I don't have brights on my headlights, but I love this car. It's a 4dr, lots of cargo space, and some beautiful, somewhat weathered and worn leather seats. I live in Oregon so rain is a problem in the winter, i.e. the electric window problem might just be bad connections, but I haven't got the guts to tear apart the doors to take a look. I paid $l,200.00 for this car and have owned it for two great years and hopefully longer. It could just decide to die but I hope my car 'karma' is OK and maybe it could live longer than me. Oh, I had to replace the right front axle (which includes the constant velocity joint) and that only cost $186 bucks. Hope this info helps you in your decisions whether to buy or not to buy. Please write back. Charles.

-- Charles E. Negus (ilskin@earthlink.net), August 16, 2001.