Winter tyres + man-maths = Saab 9000??
Discussion
Bargain!! Cracking cars mate, I've had 3 so far. 1 Anni, 1 CDE and an Aero.
Here's my old Aero (got broke for bits in the end)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Here's my old Aero (got broke for bits in the end)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Excellent!! My man maths is taking me down a similar path.
Had a couple of T5 Volvo's in the past, and always fancied a fast comfy Saab to compare - 9000 or 9-5.
Was recently contemplating a slightly tatty 9000 2.3 Anniversary for similar money to yours, but without the luxury of winter tyres!
Where did you see yours advertised?
Had a couple of T5 Volvo's in the past, and always fancied a fast comfy Saab to compare - 9000 or 9-5.
Was recently contemplating a slightly tatty 9000 2.3 Anniversary for similar money to yours, but without the luxury of winter tyres!
Where did you see yours advertised?
I saw it in the classified ads on UK Saabs.
The missus is driving it today!! She hadn't driven an auto for 30 years, so gave her a quick refresher last night. She was fine with starting, stopping and reversing, but for some reason got in a flap with the indicators and wipers - even though they are on the same side as her daily!!! Bless
The missus is driving it today!! She hadn't driven an auto for 30 years, so gave her a quick refresher last night. She was fine with starting, stopping and reversing, but for some reason got in a flap with the indicators and wipers - even though they are on the same side as her daily!!! Bless
Gave the old girl a mini-service at the weekend as the weather was fine, oil flush and change and swapped the wheels front to rear to even out the wear rate.
I thought it was odd that the rear wheels were balanced with stick on weights inside the rim, whilst the fronts had hammer on weights on the inside lip??
Then when I drove off I understood why - tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... really loud!!
Stopped to investigate and the stick on weights, now on the front, were just barely clipping the brake calipers.
Since the contact was minimal and lead is softer than steel, I decided that I could safely leave it alone and the caliper should have clearanced the weight after a couple of miles....
2 days commute and 120 miles later and... tap, tap, tap, tap bloody tap!!!
Seems that lead is more durable than I gave it credit for!!
On the plus side, had a crawl underneath whilst swapping the wheels and it is pretty clean underneath too
I thought it was odd that the rear wheels were balanced with stick on weights inside the rim, whilst the fronts had hammer on weights on the inside lip??
Then when I drove off I understood why - tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... really loud!!
Stopped to investigate and the stick on weights, now on the front, were just barely clipping the brake calipers.
Since the contact was minimal and lead is softer than steel, I decided that I could safely leave it alone and the caliper should have clearanced the weight after a couple of miles....
2 days commute and 120 miles later and... tap, tap, tap, tap bloody tap!!!
Seems that lead is more durable than I gave it credit for!!
On the plus side, had a crawl underneath whilst swapping the wheels and it is pretty clean underneath too
Edited by 99t on Tuesday 26th November 21:41
Two months on and not too much to report really. Fluid levels are static and everything is still working. A slight water leak into the boot by one of the rear lights needs looking into, if it ever stops raining, but that's about it
I'm loving the comfy ride and laid back auto 'box and even though the handling could never even loosely be described as sporty, I think it's fair to say I've rather fallen for the old girl's relaxed charms!!
Getting about 26mpg overall which is about as good as one could hope for from one of these. With a manual box, the same 2.3 engine is meant to be capable of mid thirties mpg, so whilst it niggles slightly to know I'm losing 10mpg just for not having to change gear, so long as I keep my usage level sensible, it shouldn't become an issue.
Edit to add: of course, I should have predicted that since buying my "winter wheels" there hasn't been any hint of us having a proper winter around here - I've barely even needed to clear the windscreen in the mornings!
I'm loving the comfy ride and laid back auto 'box and even though the handling could never even loosely be described as sporty, I think it's fair to say I've rather fallen for the old girl's relaxed charms!!
Getting about 26mpg overall which is about as good as one could hope for from one of these. With a manual box, the same 2.3 engine is meant to be capable of mid thirties mpg, so whilst it niggles slightly to know I'm losing 10mpg just for not having to change gear, so long as I keep my usage level sensible, it shouldn't become an issue.
Edit to add: of course, I should have predicted that since buying my "winter wheels" there hasn't been any hint of us having a proper winter around here - I've barely even needed to clear the windscreen in the mornings!
Edited by 99t on Sunday 26th January 11:36
Finally some drama to report!!
Was nearly home from work one day last week when I became aware of the exhaust scraping on bumps which it never usually does.
Upon inspection, 5 out of 6 exhaust rubbers had failed / disappeared and the whole system was only attached to the turbo at the front and by the one remaining rubber on the tailpipe.
How that one held on I don't know because it had stretched to about twice its original length! No wonder the exhaust was sagging in the middle!!
Fortunately my spares collection yielded six new / good used rubbers and with a little assistance from a jack the exhaust is back where it should be. And miraculously not blowing anywhere
Was nearly home from work one day last week when I became aware of the exhaust scraping on bumps which it never usually does.
Upon inspection, 5 out of 6 exhaust rubbers had failed / disappeared and the whole system was only attached to the turbo at the front and by the one remaining rubber on the tailpipe.
How that one held on I don't know because it had stretched to about twice its original length! No wonder the exhaust was sagging in the middle!!
Fortunately my spares collection yielded six new / good used rubbers and with a little assistance from a jack the exhaust is back where it should be. And miraculously not blowing anywhere
With the MOT looming, I suddenly found myself without headlights the other night. Not ideal when you live out in the sticks!!
A few flicks of the headlight relay revealed the culprit pretty quickly, and a quick Google revealed that dry joints are common on this particular relay. A short session with the soldering iron and all seems well again
A few flicks of the headlight relay revealed the culprit pretty quickly, and a quick Google revealed that dry joints are common on this particular relay. A short session with the soldering iron and all seems well again
Looking a bit like it should have a "Police Aware" sticker on it at the moment!!
Just waiting for new brakes all round to arrive. Then it'll be MOT time.
Not quite sure what to do with the Griffin. It's a lovely old thing to waft around in and has a real feel of quality to it, but there are a few jobs starting to stack up..
Lacquer peel on rear wing getting worse very quickly
Screen pillar rust is slowly creeping, nearside not too bad
Offside looks ominous though, especially as windscreen is starting to delaminate
Options as I see them are:-
Just waiting for new brakes all round to arrive. Then it'll be MOT time.
Not quite sure what to do with the Griffin. It's a lovely old thing to waft around in and has a real feel of quality to it, but there are a few jobs starting to stack up..
Lacquer peel on rear wing getting worse very quickly
Screen pillar rust is slowly creeping, nearside not too bad
Offside looks ominous though, especially as windscreen is starting to delaminate
Options as I see them are:-
- MOT and then sell as is, I'd probably get most of my money back. Not really ready to part with it though.
- Run as bangernomics winter wheels, do just enough work to keep reliable but no more. Probably the sensible option.
- Pull the screen, see just how bad things are and if not terminal, fix properly and paint, also paint rear wing. Even doing all work bar the paint myself, this would cost more than I paid for the car, and I doubt I would ever see the money back. Would be very satisfying to make the car near mint however.
- If screen rust is terminal break for excellent B234, leather, winter tyres and other good bits. Weigh rest in and probably get money back in full. Or bodge screen back in and do option two for a couple of years, then break.
Good post!
Bought my 97 2.3T Aniversary nearly 3 years ago for £750 with 10 months tax and tax, as I had some old c900 wheels with winter tyres on. It was supposed to last me one winter, I still have it now and it has been fantastic.
Only issues other than standard servicing:
- oil pressure sensor
- ABS sensor
- A/C relay dry joints (like yours!)
- headlamp relay dry joints (like yours!)
It has always had no synchro on 2nd but took me about 15 minutes to forget about it and has never troubled me. Sadly the offside front wing is now very rusty. Passed its MOT less than a month ago but took it to my normal specialist this week who told me it needs 3 patches welding underneath and they would have failed it if they were MOTing it!!
Clutch biting very high although not slipping, stud missing from exhaust manifold, and they reckon the gearbox may be on the way out (occasional 5th selection problems but I think it's more likely to be the linkage).
So drove home with a heavy heart. Fabulous engine, great interior, but does need some money spending. Will probably get the welding done, but the clutch would be pricey... Could sell it on, could break it (could use the Trionic stuff and the interior in my 900), could just run it into the ground...
Bought my 97 2.3T Aniversary nearly 3 years ago for £750 with 10 months tax and tax, as I had some old c900 wheels with winter tyres on. It was supposed to last me one winter, I still have it now and it has been fantastic.
Only issues other than standard servicing:
- oil pressure sensor
- ABS sensor
- A/C relay dry joints (like yours!)
- headlamp relay dry joints (like yours!)
It has always had no synchro on 2nd but took me about 15 minutes to forget about it and has never troubled me. Sadly the offside front wing is now very rusty. Passed its MOT less than a month ago but took it to my normal specialist this week who told me it needs 3 patches welding underneath and they would have failed it if they were MOTing it!!
Clutch biting very high although not slipping, stud missing from exhaust manifold, and they reckon the gearbox may be on the way out (occasional 5th selection problems but I think it's more likely to be the linkage).
So drove home with a heavy heart. Fabulous engine, great interior, but does need some money spending. Will probably get the welding done, but the clutch would be pricey... Could sell it on, could break it (could use the Trionic stuff and the interior in my 900), could just run it into the ground...
V8 FOU said:
..change the trans oil. These autos are very weak..
Yes so I understand. The previous owner changed the gearbox oil and filter a couple of years ago, it really hasn't done many miles since, so should be ok for a while yet, hopefully. If the autobox fails at some point in the future and the car is otherwise sound, I would be tempted to convert it to manual and go seeking some serious power as it would make quite a sleeper...NiceCupOfTea said:
It was supposed to last me one winter, I still have it now and it has been fantastic.
Hmm sounds familiar!! The problem with cheap cars is that you start with low expectations, so if a banger then gives good service it's easy to feel like it is owed something in return. It becomes like an aging family pet, a bit scabby, starting to go a bit deaf and blind and with a dodgy hip, but still full of life and character. Makes putting it out of (our) misery difficult...
Notadoctor said:
50p says you'll have a mint Aero (car not choc) by summer that'll increase in value and classic status.
Actually I'd take that bet. Unless the MOT is an utter disaster (and I can't see it) I think I'll be sticking with the Griffin.Unless of course a really nice Aero turns up locally at a price that "would be rude not to"
There are two reasons I would keep the Griffin over an Aero (which would HAVE to be a manual)
One is the "magic carpet" non-sports suspension fitted as standard, that really does do amazing things to the road surfaces around here. And which an Aero would lack.
Two bizarrely enough is the autobox, the potential Achilles heel, which makes it the only auto I own.
These two things together make it a supremely relaxing way to travel when I'm really not in the mood for driving!! Plus, of course, we might actually get some snow this winter!!
Edited by 99t on Friday 15th December 08:03
99t said:
The problem with cheap cars is that you start with low expectations, so if a banger then gives good service it's easy to feel like it is owed something in return. It becomes like an aging family pet, a bit scabby, starting to go a bit deaf and blind and with a dodgy hip, but still full of life and character. Makes putting it out of (our) misery difficult...
Nail on the head. Done a couple of family holidays, and it was the car I brought my daughter home from hospital in...I'd a Griffin for 5 years after I handed my lease car back on retirement. It was only meant to be a stop gap whilst I sorted out my daughter's flat 70 miles from me (great boot space), but I kept it as I liked it so much. I part exchanged it for a Lexus LS400 which I've also now had for 5 years - another great car, and does everything just a bit better than the Saab, but not by much. Both cars were equally reliable.
Pete
Pete
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