how relyable are Saabs?

Question

I'm looking at a 1996 900 ES with 133000 miles on it. For $2500, is this a good deal? The Owner says that the car has been really well maintained and it has new tires. The car itself is really clean, but I don't want to end up with a mechanial nightmare!!!

Answer 1

I owned a 1985 900S, drove it for 198K miles, bought a 1996 9000S, drove it for 109K miles, was hammered from behind, while stopped, by a 17 y.o. girl driving a Toyota at 45 MPH, who was talking on a cell phone, lighting a cigarette, and trying to keep a little dog from jumping into her lap....The impact from behind slammed me into a stopped Honda in front of me, which was waiting to make a left turn across traffic. The Saab's crumple zones absorbed the impact, two rear doors wouldn't open, no glass got broken, and my three sons and my wife were only slightly injured with minor bruising and "seatbelt burns", all wearing seatbelts. Car was considered totaled. For that price, I'd buy it. Ask to see the maintenance records, make sure the timing belt has been changed at the proper intervals. An honest seller will allow you a day to take the car to a mechanic of your choice to have the car checked out (as long as you give them reasonable security like a post dated check)

Answer 2

My first car was a saab, and I've gone through 3 since then (over 7 years)...but none were purchased brand new. My current saab is a 97 900 with 126k. It had 90k on it when we bought it (paid $4000).

Most saabs will last around 300k if you keep them in good shape. The only drawback to saab ownership is when they break down. Unless you know someone confident enough to work on them (as 1996 is prior to GM's overtake...making the cars very different from other vehicles) you have to take it to the dealership for repairs. This can run about $80-150+ per hour not including parts.

Otherwise, I would recommend them! They're great little cars, great gas mileage and feel like you're driving an oversized go-cart!

I'd say it's a good deal. Good luck!

Answer 3

Any car with 133,000 miles, no matter how well-built and no matter how well-maintained, will have problems.

No amount of maintenance (other than replacing every part of the car on a regular basis) will prevent individual parts from wearing out. As a car gets past 100,000 miles, more of these parts wear out, and it quickly becomes expensive.

The good news? If you have an honest and reasonably-priced mechanic, and you keep on top of maintenance and fix everything that breaks as soon as it breaks, it's less expensive than a similar new car in the long run.

The bad news? You'll spend a lot of time dropping the car off and picking it up for repairs, and it's a lot more likely to break down than a newer car with lower miles. This is aggravated by it being a european car; japanese cars aren't flawless, and they can be boring, but the parts seem to take longer to wear out when compared to european cars. American cars have long-term reliability issues, too, but fixing them is cheaper and mechanics who understand them are easier to find.

Also, remember: no matter how well maintained a car is, and how honest the seller might be, sometimes parts -- even major ones -- break without warning. The transmission that has been working fine for 133,000 miles could start slipping at 134,000, and the seller has no idea.

Get the car looked at by a competent Saab mechanic...but not the one you plan to take the car to, as if he's dishonest he'll tell you the car is fine in the hope that you'll buy it, and bring it to him for repairs. Ideally, take it to an out-of-the-way place and be up front: "I'm not going to have the car fixed here, because you're too far away, but I'll pay you to inspect the car and see if it's worth buying."

Answer 4

Let's take a look at Kelley Blue Book:

http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.ucp?kbb.CA;;CA037;&90210&;612006&;;ucp;&11;SA;AK

You'll have to modify the search results for your specific location as well as anything else applicable that you know about the car.

There are additional resources located at Edmunds and Autotrader:

http://www.edmunds.com/

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?mod_bookmark_id=null&advanced=&bkms=1151018240669&num_records=&certified=&isp=y&search=y&lang=&search_type=used&make=SAAB&model=900&start_year=1996&end_year=1996&min_price=1&max_price=5000&distance=0&address=90210&x=99&y=4

Answer 5

At that kind of mileage for a European car, you coul dbe looking at some very expensive major repairs in the next few months or years. Look at a used Accord instead. It's a better car and with 133K on it, is only getting started (if well maintained).

Answer 6

I used to work at an auto body shop. all i can say is the waterpump usually is somewhere inside the engine or somewhere underneath the engine so it take so much labor time just to change the water pump. I go for japanese car for reliable car this time.

Answer 7

Saab's are normally very reliable check out his service history and ask to see any receipts for jobs done