Saab 9-5 Aero Estate

[petrolveins]

As departure from my usual automotive preferences I would like to introduce my 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero Estate. My beloved E46 330i has sadly been sold. With a new job recently I've got a company car on order and the BMW just didn't make sense to keep. Almost every month I was spending money on it, partly my own doing or just general maintenance. The new car is due late March, so I decided to look for a cheap sub £2k winter car with lots of tax, MOT and history on it, something I won't spend a penny on and can shift again come March.

Initially I wanted to find a cheap WRX Estate, but for the money I was really scraping the barrel, I looked at a few A4 Quattros, but the fuel consumption was too poor and the performance lacking and I didn't want a diesel. Enter the Swedes.... When I was a kid my parents had a 1999 2.3t 9-5 SE Estate, I loved that car, comfy reasonably quick in 170bhp guise, so I had a look around at what I could afford and boy are these things bargains. I quickly settled on wanting an Aero, the 03-06 shape in particular as it came with xenons and heated leather as standard. Annoyingly I struggled to shift the BMW as it was fast running out of MOT and still on coilovers, during that time 3 Aeros in the local area sold that I was watching. I wanted a manual for the better performance and better fuel consumption and by the time a deal was reached on the BMW there were no Manuals anywhere that I was interested in. By total chance I had a look on Car and Classic, boom there was my Saab, for sale by a lovely chap who had recently retired and bought a Yaris. I went to see it the Sunday, sold the BMW Monday and picked the Saab up Tuesday.

Now for the info on the car....

2003 Saab 9-5 Aero Estate Manual
MOT and Tax till April
One advisory for a tyre on the MOT, and all the old MOTs provided too.
Full Saab Canterbury History from new until 2012 when they went bust, local history after that, and the last one a mere 300 miles previously.
2 Owner car, both times purchased from Saab Canterbury.
98,000 on the clock.

Now the spec...
Metallic Blue
Sand Beige Leather (very clean, not a mark, rip or tear)
Electric front seats with driver memory
Heated Front Seats
Heated Rear Seats (never seen this actually specced on a car before)
Bi-Xenon headlights
Cruise Control
Rear Parking Sensors
ESP

The last item on that list with I'm very impressed with, much less intrusive than the DSC in the BMW. It's well used too with a 2.3 Turbo putting 250bhp to the front wheels, it will smoke up an inside wheel upon request on the slightest of lock in second gear with the ESP off. Oh and Saab being Saab the ESP can only be turned off below 40mph, it stays off above that, but to actually disengage it you have to slow down first.

The price for all this comfort, speed, warmth and tyre smoke.... £1500.

I'm loving it, turbo pulls hard, whistles at the top end too (suspected crack in a pipe but sounds too good to worry about). Most importantly its so comfy compared to the hard bone jarring ride on the BMW with the coilovers, oh and the heated seats are stunningly comfortable.

It didn't find much favour with my mates though... I'm a 70 year old trapped in a 21 year olds apparently, the beige interior doesn't help there. But they soon changed their tune when they felt the turbo come on boost.

I'm 5 days into ownership and it's been wonderful so far, I've done a mere 300 miles in it and a rather worrying average 19.2mpg. I blame the turbo gauge

I will keep this thread updated for any that is interested, in the meantime enjoy the photos below. I washed it yesterday and it will be the only wash it gets in my ownership.



Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr


Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr


Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr


Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr


Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr


Saab 9-5 Aero Estate by tlynchie, on Flickr

[outnumbered]

Not a stereotypical 21 year old's car I agree... But they're decent cars, and surprisingly quick. Comfiest seats ever, even though they don't look like anything special. Don't expect you'll lose too much over the winter either, at that price.

[mak2503]

Great car for very little money. Looks like a nice example. I had one a few years ago and loved it. I was quite young when I had mine but whenever I drove it I felt that other drivers were missing out on this little treasure. It had every bit of kit you could wish for. Mine had the rear heated seats as well. I agree with outnumbered that the seats were really comfy.

Hope you enjoy.

[griffin dai]

Nice, my favourite Saab colour Cosmic Blue

For the price of a couple tanks petrol you may aswel get it remapped here and enjoy the extra slug of torque
http://www.noobtune.co.uk

Be rude not to!

Also well worth registering on UKSaabs-
www.uksaabs.co.uk

Couple more-
www.saabscene.com
www.saabcentral.com

[Court_S]

That's a hell of a lot of car for the money... I can't believe that it only cost £1,500. I know people tend not to like beige interiors but they do work well with a dark exterior.

I'm actually thinking of coming out of our company car scheme when the lease on mine is up, taking the cash instead and trying to run something a bit older and more interesting. Our scheme is really restrictive - you're only allowed a Vauxhall or a Ford. Fords are the nicer cars but the last price is sky high and the emissions are high to I get killed on tax fir a car that I don't really want.

Something like this could be ace. What I don't spend on maintenance can go into a saving ps account to fund the 330's replacement.

[Clivey]

petrolveins said:

...and it will be the only wash it gets in my ownership.

Why? It looks too nice to neglect!

[stealthgrow]

Can vouch for the noobtune guy on uksaab's Very knowledgeable guy, Did a stage 1 on my aero and it gives a nice chunk of extra poke well worth it with no real change in MPG either.

[CB2152]

Hope you enjoy it, they're excellent value for what you get as well

I've had the "old man car" comments as well (I'm 20), but as with your example, they do change their mind somewhat after a brisk passenger ride

Oh yeah, lovely colour!

[sjj84]

I've been on the look out for one of these for a while now. Never seem to be any locally that fit the bill. Keep us updated with any running costs/problems you encounter.

[spaceship]

Clivey said:

petrolveins said:

...and it will be the only wash it gets in my ownership.

Why? It looks too nice to neglect!

Agreed. That looks really smart, excellent colour. I really miss mine. Only got rid of it because of the fuel costs as my commute had]changed. Such a great cruiser for not a lot of money. Has it had the sump drop done and PCV changed, it's a common issue. Also watch out for xenon self-leveller sensor failures and pixels disappearing on the heater controls.

If you drive like a granny you can see 35mpg on a very gentle run, I got this just before I sold mine.

Sorry, have to post a pic:

Edited by spaceship on Sunday 17th November 09:28

Edited by spaceship on Sunday 17th November 09:30

[Max M4X WW]

Clivey said:

petrolveins said:

...and it will be the only wash it gets in my ownership.

Why? It looks too nice to neglect!

Yea, seems pointless after listing all the history and good points!

[Clivey]

So, so much car for the money. - I'd much rather have that for £2k then spend £8k running it for 5 years than buy a new stbox for £10k (for example) and hate every second with it.

[petrolveins]

spaceship said:

Sorry, have to post a pic:

Edited by spaceship on Sunday 17th November 09:28

Edited by spaceship on Sunday 17th November 09:30

Oh now that looks awesome, I did wish mine had the spoiler but oh well.

As for the non-washing of the car I didn't expect this reaction! I barely ever wash my cars, I keep the interior clean, but the exterior gets the odd wash a few times a year and they always come up spotless and clean. The car isn't amazing externally, big dent on the rear wing, big scuff on front bumper and wing. Don't forget it's a winter car, I never wash cars in the winter, they just get filthy again! Not washing it isn't the same as not caring for it.

On another note, SID is missing a fair few lines off it, most irritating is the first digit off the clock. I have noticed that when I turn on the car only the left light rises up and down.

As for the Noobtune you mention, I've already been speaking to Karl this week. Just need to find a convenient way to get me to Stage 1, and from what I've heard it's well worth the trip up to Nottingham.

Thanks for all the comments guys!

[Clivey]

petrolveins said:

As for the non-washing of the car I didn't expect this reaction! I barely ever wash my cars, I keep the interior clean, but the exterior gets the odd wash a few times a year and they always come up spotless and clean.

My luck is that if I did that the encrusted dirt, brake dust and bird crap would have seriously damaged the paint.

petrolveins said:

The car isn't amazing externally, big dent on the rear wing, big scuff on front bumper and wing]...SID is missing a fair few lines off it, most irritating is the first digit off the clock. I have noticed that when I turn on the car only the left light rises up and down.

Ah…well we can't see any of that from the photos. It looks nice!

petrolveins said:

Don't forget it's a winter car, I never wash cars in the winter, they just get filthy again! Not washing it isn't the same as not caring for it.

That depends on what's on the paint…for some reason, birds love my cars (quote as you will).

[DanielJames]

Awesome write up mate, did the slippers come with the car or are they optional extra?

[bigtomski]

Awesome cars!
(I have a saloon)
Yours is in my favourite colour combination.
I had the beige leather in my old 9-5 and it looks really nice but went for black in my new one as I sling muddy bikes in and out of it every now and again.
These cars just look timeless in my eyes, they just don't seem to date at all.
And yes the heated seats are superb, my 2 nephews love the heated rears.

I've been to visit Karl and it's worth every penny, of which he really doesn't ask much of.
Enjoy it!

[Mr E]

DanielJames said:

Awesome write up mate, did the slippers come with the car or are they optional extra?

I had the slippers before buying mine.
SID a possible cheap fix. Non adjusting xenons a possible mot fail?

[Stedman]

Welcome to the quick Swedish estate club

[petrolveins]

Mr E said:

DanielJames said:

Awesome write up mate, did the slippers come with the car or are they optional extra?

I had the slippers before buying mine.
SID a possible cheap fix. Non adjusting xenons a possible mot fail?

Oh my slippers long outdate the car, though I did accidentally wear mine out to the shops last night.

Checked again, both lights level themselves absolutely fine now.

Stedman said:

Welcome to the quick Swedish estate club

Thanks, not quite the soundtrack of yours, but for a 4pot I think it has a nice thrum to it.

[petrolveins]

Oh forgot to add, spent some money on it yesterday...

Set of Bosch Aero wipers to replace the disintgrating old ones
Went mad on the Rain X
Got a new bonnet badge, old one has peeled off
Treated myself to a nice Saab leather keyring too
Oh and a smiley for it of course