£300 topless swede.
Discussion
After deciding to lay up or at least reduce the winter use of our Z4 a winter hack was needed. A good friends wife had a Saab 9-3 convertible 2.0t Vector with 125k on the clock and a full service history,last service was done less then 1000 miles ago. Said car had just failed it's mot so she decided she wanted rid. A quick chat and i was the proud owner of the Saab for the princely sum of £300. The fail sheet didn't read to badly so i set about rectifying the issues.
1. O.S.F seat belt not retracting. This appears to be a common problem and was solved with a used item from eBay £140 delivered. This seems a high price for a second hand seat belt but a new one was over £400, so in true shed fashion I went with the cheapest option.
2. Both front drop links. Again eBay to the rescue £17 delivered.
3. N.S.F indicator bulb. Had one in the shed £0.
4. N.S.F side light bulb. Again one in the shed £0.
5. Main beam dip switch not switching from dip to full beam. Cleaned the switch with the contact cleaner I had in the shed £0.
Car was then booked in for the mot, passed with a few advisories.
Both front tyres close to legal limit.
Oil leak.
Both front light lenses cloudy.
That was Thursday last week, been driving it around for the last couple of days, got to say it's a very nice drive, smooth, quiet, comfortable and relatively powerful.
Bodywork wise it's as I would expect for a 14 year old car, light scratches and car park dinks but nothing nasty. Best described as good condition for age and mileage.
Interior again is in good condition, all I have done to it is give it a good clean and fix the electric mirror switch, when I bought it they told me the electric mirrors had never worked. Removed the switch, it wasn't even plugged in, reconnected the wires and had working electric mirrors.
The original floor mats were looking a little tatty so I splashed out another £30 and treated the old girl to a new set.
So as it stands it owes me,
Car £300,
Seat belt £140,
Drop links £17,
Mot £50,
Mats £30,
Total cost so far £537.
I'm happy with that and will now just drive it, anything it may need in the future will all be done on a shed budget.
So here's what a £300 topless swede looks like, not to bad I think you will agree.
1. O.S.F seat belt not retracting. This appears to be a common problem and was solved with a used item from eBay £140 delivered. This seems a high price for a second hand seat belt but a new one was over £400, so in true shed fashion I went with the cheapest option.
2. Both front drop links. Again eBay to the rescue £17 delivered.
3. N.S.F indicator bulb. Had one in the shed £0.
4. N.S.F side light bulb. Again one in the shed £0.
5. Main beam dip switch not switching from dip to full beam. Cleaned the switch with the contact cleaner I had in the shed £0.
Car was then booked in for the mot, passed with a few advisories.
Both front tyres close to legal limit.
Oil leak.
Both front light lenses cloudy.
That was Thursday last week, been driving it around for the last couple of days, got to say it's a very nice drive, smooth, quiet, comfortable and relatively powerful.
Bodywork wise it's as I would expect for a 14 year old car, light scratches and car park dinks but nothing nasty. Best described as good condition for age and mileage.
Interior again is in good condition, all I have done to it is give it a good clean and fix the electric mirror switch, when I bought it they told me the electric mirrors had never worked. Removed the switch, it wasn't even plugged in, reconnected the wires and had working electric mirrors.
The original floor mats were looking a little tatty so I splashed out another £30 and treated the old girl to a new set.
So as it stands it owes me,
Car £300,
Seat belt £140,
Drop links £17,
Mot £50,
Mats £30,
Total cost so far £537.
I'm happy with that and will now just drive it, anything it may need in the future will all be done on a shed budget.
So here's what a £300 topless swede looks like, not to bad I think you will agree.
Good choice although I feel sick that you paid so little for such a good car. I'd be feeling very smug indeed!
I bought an old 95 for train station duties 2 years ago. The idea was to mercilessly run it into the ground but I rather like it so spent a fortune on it to make it mechanically perfect and now drive it the most of the time, everywhere. Best heater and seats of any car. Fact. Thinking of getting some of scratches touched in soon.
Shame they don't make these quirky cars anymore.
I bought an old 95 for train station duties 2 years ago. The idea was to mercilessly run it into the ground but I rather like it so spent a fortune on it to make it mechanically perfect and now drive it the most of the time, everywhere. Best heater and seats of any car. Fact. Thinking of getting some of scratches touched in soon.
Shame they don't make these quirky cars anymore.
wormus said:
Good choice although I feel sick that you paid so little for such a good car. I'd be feeling very smug indeed!
I bought an old 95 for train station duties 2 years ago. The idea was to mercilessly run it into the ground but I rather like it so spent a fortune on it to make it mechanically perfect and now drive it the most of the time, everywhere. Best heater and seats of any car. Fact. Thinking of getting some of scratches touched in soon.
Shame they don't make these quirky cars anymore.
Tell me about it. Had a Volvo V40 D3 company car loaned to me the other day. Had all the toys and digital dash but the layout was a mess, visibility poor with next to no feedback through the wheel. Was a joy getting back in my 9-5 aero with its sweeping windscreen and punchy engine.I bought an old 95 for train station duties 2 years ago. The idea was to mercilessly run it into the ground but I rather like it so spent a fortune on it to make it mechanically perfect and now drive it the most of the time, everywhere. Best heater and seats of any car. Fact. Thinking of getting some of scratches touched in soon.
Shame they don't make these quirky cars anymore.
What a great car for the money. I know SAAB have gone bust, but I still don't get why they're so cheap on the used market! Even 53-plate 9-3s with long MOTs go for less than £1k, which in itself is conspicuous value.
For yours to stand you in for less than £600 is utterly marvellous!
Happy shedding, sir.
For yours to stand you in for less than £600 is utterly marvellous!
Happy shedding, sir.
Presumably in true PH fashion, it won't be too long before you get it remapped and a bigger turbo fitted !
I have acquired a 2006 Fiat Grande Punto Sporting 1.9 130 primarily to keep the winter miles off my lovely Alfa 156 JTDM 150, but I am tempted to do all sorts of upgrades to the Fiat...A remap for one thing ....! But that will not happen as the gearbox is already a bit noisy !
I really like your Saab: they are so different and as I understand it those older ones are very well made and so comfortable.
Keep us updated with progress.
I have acquired a 2006 Fiat Grande Punto Sporting 1.9 130 primarily to keep the winter miles off my lovely Alfa 156 JTDM 150, but I am tempted to do all sorts of upgrades to the Fiat...A remap for one thing ....! But that will not happen as the gearbox is already a bit noisy !
I really like your Saab: they are so different and as I understand it those older ones are very well made and so comfortable.
Keep us updated with progress.
So today was a day spent on the canvas roof. When the car came to me the roof resembled the bottom of a fish pond, black could just about be seen through the green.
Roof cleaning time. I had in the shed half a bottle of Renovo cleaner and roof dye from my old MX5, treated with the cleaner and although it made an impact, the algae was far to advanced for the Renovo. As google is everyone's friend I asked it a question, it answered with Dettol mould and mildew remover, Tesco to the rescue.
A liberal spray and a scrub with a nail brush an green had turned to blackish grey. Although the green had gone there were still stains. Saying to myself whatever i do the stains will still be there I filled the little bucket with the roof dye 3 applications later the stains are barely visible and the greyness is now true black. In my book that is a shedding result although I will need to add £4 to the running total for the detol.
Next job, well i noticed the osf tyre was a little flat this morning and as both front tyres were mot advisories a new set will fitted shortly.
Oh hang on a minute im shedding, a pair of part worns will soon be fitted.
Roof pics will follow in daylight hours
Roof cleaning time. I had in the shed half a bottle of Renovo cleaner and roof dye from my old MX5, treated with the cleaner and although it made an impact, the algae was far to advanced for the Renovo. As google is everyone's friend I asked it a question, it answered with Dettol mould and mildew remover, Tesco to the rescue.
A liberal spray and a scrub with a nail brush an green had turned to blackish grey. Although the green had gone there were still stains. Saying to myself whatever i do the stains will still be there I filled the little bucket with the roof dye 3 applications later the stains are barely visible and the greyness is now true black. In my book that is a shedding result although I will need to add £4 to the running total for the detol.
Next job, well i noticed the osf tyre was a little flat this morning and as both front tyres were mot advisories a new set will fitted shortly.
Oh hang on a minute im shedding, a pair of part worns will soon be fitted.
Roof pics will follow in daylight hours
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