2002 Saab 9-3 | Dead on arrival.
Discussion
So, I'm in a bit of a predicament.
I bought a private sale 02 Saab 9-3, 2 litre Petrol Turbo last night. 151k on the clock, great aesthetic condition inside and out. Lid missing from the water reservoir, text worn on some interior buttons but no smoke, rattles or mechanical alarm bells. Drove well, clutch felt a bit soft. £500 on the nose.
After the 20 mile drive home it smelled a bit like hot oil, and when heading out to work this morning the clutch popped. Couldn't disengage it. Wasn't going anywhere. I oompah loompah'd it to the side of the road and towed it the mile back home.
After an unsuccessful foot-pump bleed (apparently that won't work), it would appear that the concentric slave cylinder well and truly Augustus Glooped.
To me that means new clutch...
Spoke to the buyer who said he'd never had any problems with it, but magically diagnosed it as the slave cylinder over the phone. Kindly (or feeling guilty) he drove to me to see if he could help look at it. No luck. No refunds, sold as seen, no golden ticket. I can't help but think he knew about the clutch and sold it on knowing it was on the way out. I don't expect he thought it would go so fast. Either way, it's my issue now, but I feel like I've been shafted up the chocolate river.
I've had it checked over by a garage, who've said £695 to get it back to 'roadworthy'. New sump plug (to fix oil leak), rear brake pads and a new clutch.
Does this value sound correct?
Do I cut my losses and walk away?
Can I youtube my way to fixing these issues myself?
Am I a total Willy Wonker for buying it?
Totally unfamiliar with Saab's, and a bit disappointed with my experience so far. Vehicle drove wonderfully before the clutch went. Would love to keep it on the road, but not sure if it's worth it. Would love it to be the golden goose.
Any assistance or comments or honest truths greatly appreciated.
Charlie.
I bought a private sale 02 Saab 9-3, 2 litre Petrol Turbo last night. 151k on the clock, great aesthetic condition inside and out. Lid missing from the water reservoir, text worn on some interior buttons but no smoke, rattles or mechanical alarm bells. Drove well, clutch felt a bit soft. £500 on the nose.
After the 20 mile drive home it smelled a bit like hot oil, and when heading out to work this morning the clutch popped. Couldn't disengage it. Wasn't going anywhere. I oompah loompah'd it to the side of the road and towed it the mile back home.
After an unsuccessful foot-pump bleed (apparently that won't work), it would appear that the concentric slave cylinder well and truly Augustus Glooped.
To me that means new clutch...
Spoke to the buyer who said he'd never had any problems with it, but magically diagnosed it as the slave cylinder over the phone. Kindly (or feeling guilty) he drove to me to see if he could help look at it. No luck. No refunds, sold as seen, no golden ticket. I can't help but think he knew about the clutch and sold it on knowing it was on the way out. I don't expect he thought it would go so fast. Either way, it's my issue now, but I feel like I've been shafted up the chocolate river.
I've had it checked over by a garage, who've said £695 to get it back to 'roadworthy'. New sump plug (to fix oil leak), rear brake pads and a new clutch.
Does this value sound correct?
Do I cut my losses and walk away?
Can I youtube my way to fixing these issues myself?
Am I a total Willy Wonker for buying it?
Totally unfamiliar with Saab's, and a bit disappointed with my experience so far. Vehicle drove wonderfully before the clutch went. Would love to keep it on the road, but not sure if it's worth it. Would love it to be the golden goose.
Any assistance or comments or honest truths greatly appreciated.
Charlie.
If that price includes the complete clutch kit then it doesn't sound a bad price.
Slave cylinders can fail at any time so you could very well be unlucky. Given its a private sale you are on your own. I guess if the seller offered anything towards it then it could be seen as admitting guilt.
If you like the car then it's probably worth fixing, you could see if the seller would go halves on the parts to save you a bit.
Slave cylinders can fail at any time so you could very well be unlucky. Given its a private sale you are on your own. I guess if the seller offered anything towards it then it could be seen as admitting guilt.
If you like the car then it's probably worth fixing, you could see if the seller would go halves on the parts to save you a bit.
ian316 said:
why would you change the clutch instead of doing the slave cylinder and getting a sump plug for a few quid and do a oil change before throwing 600 quid at it, it drove fine with no problem with the clutch start with the cheap fix first
I understand with the labour to remove the slave, they may as well replace the whole clutch. Little difference in price.saad9-3 said:
I understand with the labour to remove the slave, they may as well replace the whole clutch. Little difference in price.
Yes,it's the same job,remove gearbox to get at both clutch and slave cylinder.316s post doesn't make sense.....
Edited by lucido grigio on Thursday 7th September 18:35
lucido grigio said:
saad9-3 said:
I understand with the labour to remove the slave, they may as well replace the whole clutch. Little difference in price.
Yes,it's the same job,remove gearbox to get at both clutch and slave cylinder.316s post doesn't make sense.....
Edited by lucido grigio on Thursday 7th September 18:35
Ah, when bangernomics goes wrong...
For the money to repair and the condition you state it's in, you'd have a decent car with a new clutch and rear brakes with an eminently tuneable engine (circa £50 will take it up to 220bhp) And don't underestimate how vast the boot is! I got a fridge, a cooker and two old kids bikes in the back of my old one with the rear seats folded - it's like having a van as well as a car.
Or you break it yourself but most 2nd hand SAAB parts aren't that expensive, so you'll have to sell quite a few bits to recoup your losses - I broke one of mine and got £50 for the turbo and ancillaries, £100 for a 3 week old exhaust, £20 for the DI cassette and nobody really wanted much more than trim pieces at £5-10.
They are not great cars per se but do get under your skin, especially with a couple of cheap mods to help the suspension/steering out and a cheap remap.
For the money to repair and the condition you state it's in, you'd have a decent car with a new clutch and rear brakes with an eminently tuneable engine (circa £50 will take it up to 220bhp) And don't underestimate how vast the boot is! I got a fridge, a cooker and two old kids bikes in the back of my old one with the rear seats folded - it's like having a van as well as a car.
Or you break it yourself but most 2nd hand SAAB parts aren't that expensive, so you'll have to sell quite a few bits to recoup your losses - I broke one of mine and got £50 for the turbo and ancillaries, £100 for a 3 week old exhaust, £20 for the DI cassette and nobody really wanted much more than trim pieces at £5-10.
They are not great cars per se but do get under your skin, especially with a couple of cheap mods to help the suspension/steering out and a cheap remap.
I owned a 9-5 and enjoyed my time with it, it was a wallowy old bus but was comfortable, fast enough and great load lugger. I know it's a different car but the price I paid £700 bought me a very nice example I struggled to sell it for £850 the following year. Plenty of cheap saabs about (or at least there was when I was looking)
I also have a rule with my cars, if it requires money spent too early I get rid. I feel if a car needs money spending that fast it'll soon ask for more!
I'd say get it on eBay as spares/repairs and buy something else. Always buy on condition when buying cheap, as mentioned above my 9-5 was an absolute steal for what I paid.
I also have a rule with my cars, if it requires money spent too early I get rid. I feel if a car needs money spending that fast it'll soon ask for more!
I'd say get it on eBay as spares/repairs and buy something else. Always buy on condition when buying cheap, as mentioned above my 9-5 was an absolute steal for what I paid.
At £500 I'd take it as a lesson in bangernomics and get the spanners out. Those are pretty easy to work on yourself and, I guess, depending on whether you can get by without it in the meantime (which I assume you already have to!). It'll still be a couple hundred quid but at least it'll all be known from then on.
When you ask if you can get info from YouTube to fix it yourself, what's your level of mechanical ability? There's nothing massively complicated there in technical terms, but it's not a small job, you're effectively doing a similar amount of work as an engine or gearbox change.
£700 sounds not terrible for an all in price. Simple question is, do you feel that with the work done, it's a £1200 car? If not, perhaps cut your losses and move it on.
When you say the water reservoir cap is missing, do you mean coolant or screenwash? I'd want to make sure the cooling system was ok if it's the coolant tank cap, and not someone removing it to stop the system pressurising and revealing an issue.
Anyway, I've bought far worse for more money, so don't beat yourself up. Have a look on ebay how much they're going for in a "spares or repairs" state and have a think about whether you'd rather take a slight hit to move it on, or put the money into it now.
Unless it's exactly what you want (e.g. full house Aero with all the kit, in otherwise excellent condition), I'd be 50/50 on what to do, though I have the advantage of being a position to do the clutch myself if I chose to. My concern is that you spend the money to fix the clutch, then driving it for a week reveals other problems.
£700 sounds not terrible for an all in price. Simple question is, do you feel that with the work done, it's a £1200 car? If not, perhaps cut your losses and move it on.
When you say the water reservoir cap is missing, do you mean coolant or screenwash? I'd want to make sure the cooling system was ok if it's the coolant tank cap, and not someone removing it to stop the system pressurising and revealing an issue.
Anyway, I've bought far worse for more money, so don't beat yourself up. Have a look on ebay how much they're going for in a "spares or repairs" state and have a think about whether you'd rather take a slight hit to move it on, or put the money into it now.
Unless it's exactly what you want (e.g. full house Aero with all the kit, in otherwise excellent condition), I'd be 50/50 on what to do, though I have the advantage of being a position to do the clutch myself if I chose to. My concern is that you spend the money to fix the clutch, then driving it for a week reveals other problems.
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