Saab 9-5 Aero Estate
Discussion
I recently got a job in London and that meant I didn't need a car for commuting any more. I bought my wife a Ford C-Max in June (Sold my Type R to find that!) This left us with her old Citroen C3. The deal is I could sell that to find a car for me to use in the evenings and weekends. Had to be an estate to accommodate our resident Greyhound and baby stuff.
I've always liked the 9-5 estates. To be honest, I wouldn't have even known about its brilliance if I hadn't seen its huge following here on PH. I think its been a shed of the week car and I'm sure that has prompted a spree of interested punters and prices that have gone up a bit.
I looked at four cars and was on the verge of giving up, but then I spotted an auction car on Ebay with a decent description and it looked to be really clean. The seller also responded well to questions. It was leggy though!
It was a 120 mile trip to view it, but it was worth it. It was incredibly clean with a stack of receipts (An inches worth). Drove well and came with a load liner, two sets of mats, CD changer and a detachable tow bar. It even has the original parcel shelf. All of the cars I looked at didn't have the parcel shelf and they are rare on Ebay.
Anyways, he wanted bang on market value for it, so a deal was done there and then. I collected it on Tuesday of this week. Few pics below. His garage was immaculate and he had a restored SD1.
The mileage? Its on 202k and was the best car I saw. I looked at cars with half the milage and this was in much better condition. I'm not going to say how much I paid for it, but I'm happy with the price I paid.
Unfortunately, I had a puncture on the passenger side rear last night, so now I have to buy a pair of rear tyres. Thats just bad luck and I can get a pair of tyres for £100, but I shall probably spend £140 and get a pair of Khumos.
Long term plans are minimal:
Replace wheel nuts with with new ones (Current ones are very tatty)
Add roof bars (For carry bikes and similar)
Add Parrot Bluetooth kit (If it can be done with the fibre connected stereo)
Fit ali pressed plates (All ready bought)
Full service including filters and plugs in May when we have the C-Max serviced.
New rear brake pads and fluid (Pedal is a little spongy)
I think this car is turning into the BMW 328i touring as the first choice for a quick cheap estate. Lets face it, the E36 3 series are getting on a bit now and rust is a serious issue.
There aren't many cars that I have bought that I have been so pleased with. I certainly wasn't excited when I bought the C-Max. This car wafted home wonderfully and apart from the tyres, it hasn't skipped a beat
So much mid range grunt.
I'll update the thread when I've done a few more things to it.
I've always liked the 9-5 estates. To be honest, I wouldn't have even known about its brilliance if I hadn't seen its huge following here on PH. I think its been a shed of the week car and I'm sure that has prompted a spree of interested punters and prices that have gone up a bit.
I looked at four cars and was on the verge of giving up, but then I spotted an auction car on Ebay with a decent description and it looked to be really clean. The seller also responded well to questions. It was leggy though!
It was a 120 mile trip to view it, but it was worth it. It was incredibly clean with a stack of receipts (An inches worth). Drove well and came with a load liner, two sets of mats, CD changer and a detachable tow bar. It even has the original parcel shelf. All of the cars I looked at didn't have the parcel shelf and they are rare on Ebay.
Anyways, he wanted bang on market value for it, so a deal was done there and then. I collected it on Tuesday of this week. Few pics below. His garage was immaculate and he had a restored SD1.
The mileage? Its on 202k and was the best car I saw. I looked at cars with half the milage and this was in much better condition. I'm not going to say how much I paid for it, but I'm happy with the price I paid.
Unfortunately, I had a puncture on the passenger side rear last night, so now I have to buy a pair of rear tyres. Thats just bad luck and I can get a pair of tyres for £100, but I shall probably spend £140 and get a pair of Khumos.
Long term plans are minimal:
Replace wheel nuts with with new ones (Current ones are very tatty)
Add roof bars (For carry bikes and similar)
Add Parrot Bluetooth kit (If it can be done with the fibre connected stereo)
Fit ali pressed plates (All ready bought)
Full service including filters and plugs in May when we have the C-Max serviced.
New rear brake pads and fluid (Pedal is a little spongy)
I think this car is turning into the BMW 328i touring as the first choice for a quick cheap estate. Lets face it, the E36 3 series are getting on a bit now and rust is a serious issue.
There aren't many cars that I have bought that I have been so pleased with. I certainly wasn't excited when I bought the C-Max. This car wafted home wonderfully and apart from the tyres, it hasn't skipped a beat
So much mid range grunt. I'll update the thread when I've done a few more things to it.
I'm just about to change my 9-5 2.2 tid estate for a newer Saab estate (can't decide on 9-3 vs 9-5) & am having slight PH fever as to whether to stick with a derv burner or sod the fuel cost & try & find an Aero instead? I'm really after a manual though have noticed the obvious in that there aren't many manual ones available from the few actually in the market. Btw, you can install a Parrot handsfree kit though might need an extra part dependent on the head unit from experience.
I'll await your next update with interest!
I'll await your next update with interest!
MrC986 said:
I'm just about to change my 9-5 2.2 tid estate for a newer Saab estate (can't decide on 9-3 vs 9-5) & am having slight PH fever as to whether to stick with a derv burner or sod the fuel cost & try & find an Aero instead? I'm really after a manual though have noticed the obvious in that there aren't many manual ones available from the few actually in the market. Btw, you can install a Parrot handsfree kit though might need an extra part dependent on the head unit from experience.
I'll await your next update with interest!
Good news on the Parrot I'll await your next update with interest!
The 9-3 estates are quite compact compared to the 9-5s, but they don't have a very large boot for a estate, but they are at least a decent shape. The 2.2TIDs are little crude compared to the later 1.9 (150) engines. However, some people believe they are slightly better on fuel and actually more reliable (Chain driven for a start). Also worth noting that most people report that the 2.2 in 120bhp guise is little lacking in a car as big as the 9-5.
Best of luck with your search
Awesome (although i am very biased !), just changed my D.I Cassette yesterday and car is running much much better. I need that cargo net you have (no idea why). As for questions about about mpg, i have averaged today 34 over a 180 mile motorway trip, not bad in my opinion for a petrol barge.
J
I'm interested to hear of your mpg once you've settled down with the performance although if I'm going the Aero route I'd be quite tempted by a 260bhp Aero & maybe a remap (it would be rude not to!).
bakerstreet said:
Good news on the Parrot
The 9-3 estates are quite compact compared to the 9-5s, but they don't have a very large boot for a estate, but they are at least a decent shape. The 2.2TIDs are little crude compared to the later 1.9 (150) engines. However, some people believe they are slightly better on fuel and actually more reliable (Chain driven for a start). Also worth noting that most people report that the 2.2 in 120bhp guise is little lacking in a car as big as the 9-5.
Best of luck with your search
Thanks....I bought the 2.2tid originally for the peace of mind of being chain driven though SWMBO says it's time for a change...the size of boot on a 9-3 isn't an issue as my dogs are only Terriers & we have no kids clutter to cart round. I'm impressed overall by my 9-5 as it has thus far been reliable & comfy & done 42k miles in the 2 yrs I've had it(now on 147k).The 9-3 estates are quite compact compared to the 9-5s, but they don't have a very large boot for a estate, but they are at least a decent shape. The 2.2TIDs are little crude compared to the later 1.9 (150) engines. However, some people believe they are slightly better on fuel and actually more reliable (Chain driven for a start). Also worth noting that most people report that the 2.2 in 120bhp guise is little lacking in a car as big as the 9-5.
Best of luck with your search
I'm interested to hear of your mpg once you've settled down with the performance although if I'm going the Aero route I'd be quite tempted by a 260bhp Aero & maybe a remap (it would be rude not to!).
MrC986 said:
Thanks....I bought the 2.2tid originally for the peace of mind of being chain driven though SWMBO says it's time for a change...the size of boot on a 9-3 isn't an issue as my dogs are only Terriers & we have no kids clutter to cart round. I'm impressed overall by my 9-5 as it has thus far been reliable & comfy & done 42k miles in the 2 yrs I've had it(now on 147k).
I'm interested to hear of your mpg once you've settled down with the performance although if I'm going the Aero route I'd be quite tempted by a 260bhp Aero & maybe a remap (it would be rude not to!).
We have a large dog and there for need large car/sofa/bed...the list is endless I'm interested to hear of your mpg once you've settled down with the performance although if I'm going the Aero route I'd be quite tempted by a 260bhp Aero & maybe a remap (it would be rude not to!).
I forgot to reset the trip, but dash is showing 30mpg, which isn't too bad and actually better than my old 2002 Mini Cooper S which had 90bhp less and was probably 500kg lighter. I've done about 230 miles to half a tank, which is actually much better than I was expecting.
Small update.
Well I've had the Saab for a year now and approximately 7000 miles. It's done more miles than I was expecting but it's done a few long trips to the coast and a family holiday to Somerset.
It wasn't the greatest start as within two weeks I had a puncture, so I decided to replace both of the rears with some khumos. Reasonably priced and seem to be wearing well.
It's just had its MOT and unfortunately it did fail on the headlamp washer pump. They aren't used much and it had seized. Annoying, but I just paid out for a replacement. There was a few advisories, both nothing serious. However, I shall probably tackle the track rod ends, which was mentioned. Should be able to manage that myself and then just pay for it to be tracked.
Wifey had to use recently after the C-max locks failed in poor weather. She complained about how big it was but then said it was very comfortable and she liked the auto box and the heated seats.
The Saab covers miles effortsly and seats are in a very good state despite 208k on the clock. It's also been to the tip numerous times and the boot is properly huge. However, rear room and room up front is limited and mpg was not what I was expecting. It's generally around 25/26.
As a family we quite like it, but I have a window of opportunity to purchase my dream car, so this will be sold in the summer to make way for something else. It's worth adding that despite the niggles at the MOT, it has not let us down once 😀
Well I've had the Saab for a year now and approximately 7000 miles. It's done more miles than I was expecting but it's done a few long trips to the coast and a family holiday to Somerset.
It wasn't the greatest start as within two weeks I had a puncture, so I decided to replace both of the rears with some khumos. Reasonably priced and seem to be wearing well.
It's just had its MOT and unfortunately it did fail on the headlamp washer pump. They aren't used much and it had seized. Annoying, but I just paid out for a replacement. There was a few advisories, both nothing serious. However, I shall probably tackle the track rod ends, which was mentioned. Should be able to manage that myself and then just pay for it to be tracked.
Wifey had to use recently after the C-max locks failed in poor weather. She complained about how big it was but then said it was very comfortable and she liked the auto box and the heated seats.
The Saab covers miles effortsly and seats are in a very good state despite 208k on the clock. It's also been to the tip numerous times and the boot is properly huge. However, rear room and room up front is limited and mpg was not what I was expecting. It's generally around 25/26.
As a family we quite like it, but I have a window of opportunity to purchase my dream car, so this will be sold in the summer to make way for something else. It's worth adding that despite the niggles at the MOT, it has not let us down once 😀
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