Let's Barge! (Saab 9-5 Aero)

[wiffmaster]

Afternoon chaps,

Girlfriend recently passed her test aged 25 and I thought I'd get us a new car to celebrate.

I had a few requirements:

• Had to be relatively cheap to insure. She's only held her licence for 4 months, so anything with a massive engine was out.

• Had to be relatively compact - we live in Central London, so something easy to park would be nice. Plus she learnt in a Corsa, so is used to cars that size.

• Had to be under £2,000. She's a good driver, but first year after passing there's often a few close shaves...

• Had to be safe. For the same reason as above.

• Had to be automatic (I just can't be bothered with a manual in the city, what with all the queues, road humps, etc)

• Should be interesting enough that I wouldn't lose the will to live every time I climbed in (had to sell my motorbike to make way for this - only one parking space in London).

Started off looking at the usual suspects (VW Golf, etc), but anything within budget tended to be incredibly dull or way too expensive to insure (think £1500+). Then I remembered that Saab used to exist. Initially looked at a few 9-3 Aeros, but most of the ones I saw were fairly ropey.

Then I stumbled across a nice looking 9-5 Aero. Full service history, 110k miles, receipts for £1000s, recent air-con recharge, alloys refurbished, etc. Struck a deal and have spent much of this week giving it a thorough clean inside and out and tarting it up a bit (new mats, number plates, PH smilie, etc). It's off to the local Saab specialist for a full check up and service next week.

First impressions:

• It has worn its 110k miles very well.

• It's a lot of car for the money (figuratively and literally)

• Saabs are very cheap to insure - possibly because they're driven by 65 year old architects who never crash.

• Quite impressed that they got 250bhp out of an old 2.3L turbo.

• It's much better at wafting that hooning. Mid range punch (50 mph+) is quite impressive.

• Some of the interior switchgear is a bit low rent - but it's a nice place to be.

• The seats are stupendously comfortable.

• I managed to fulfil most of my original criteria...apart from the compact bit.

Edited by wiffmaster on Saturday 22 February 17:54

[wiffmaster]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone - glad to see that I'm not the only one with a soft spot for the 9-5.

HybridAero said:

That's immaculate! I've heard the auto gearboxes suit these well. If you or your mrs get bored of the power, stage 1 is only £80 from Noobtune and will turn your cruiser into a midrange beast - 250 bhp 258 lb ft become 275 bhp 309 lb ft - http://noobtune.co.uk

Saw him mentioned on a few Saab forums and people seem impressed with his work. Will see how I get on, but definitely something to consider a few months down the line. I assumed it would be expensive to get more power out of a what is a relatively small engine, but reading around it seems they can be made to produce a fair bit more for not a lot of cash - impressive.

lewis328 said:

Nice looking car, I have my eye on a similar car to the one you have. It's up for 1800 but with 118k. Will be keen to see how you get on with yours? Any torque steer on them?

There's a bit of torque steer on mine, but much less than I expected with 250bhp. Apparently these are particularly sensitive to tyre choice and tracking. If the one you're looking at is the one in Glasgow, then it looks pretty much identical to mine and seems to be in nice condition.