Damn you, UKSaabs classifieds!! 99t buys another £350 Saab!!
Discussion
After the demise of my unexpectedly good £350 9000 Griffin a couple of years ago at the hands of white van man, I've been hankering after a replacement bargain basement Swede, missing the sheer sense of smug satisfaction per pound that very little else seems to come close to.
Unfortunately, half decent 9000's now seem to have moved away from the lower end of the shedding spectrum (to be honest I was lucky to get as good a Griffin as I did for the price I did)
I've looked at 9-5's a few times over the years and found them to be in poor condition, overpriced, or both. They also like to rust a bit and even the newer ones (ok relative term these days) aren't immune to it. This made me reluctant to up my budget.
So when an early 9-5 Aero estate popped up in the classifieds at a seriously low price, I didn't have high expectations for it. However reading through the advert, it started ticking the right boxes for me:-
Intelligently written advert clearly covering positives and negatives - check
Some MOT and no worrying advisories in the history - check
Recent sump drop and breather hoses updated - check
In daily use and covering decent miles (i.e. France and back) - check
Lots of history, paperwork and evidence of servicing and maintenance - check
Virtually no rust and very tidy interior - check (albeit taken with a pinch of salt at this price)
Heated and vented leather (all working) - check
Manual box - umm, no, but maybe that shouldn't be a deal breaker at this price?
Local - oh balls! Other end of the country
However, after viewing the pictures, I decided to fire off a PM to the vendor, just in case he had any plans to head North in the near future. It was a total long-shot, but as it turned out he was visiting the Wirral in the Saab this week, staying about ten miles from my work! Sometimes things are just meant to be...
Obviously I viewed the car as soon as possible. As I parked up next to it - before I'd even got out of my car, I could tell it was worth every penny and the most cursory of inspections confirmed this. I didn't even haggle.
Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, there are faults, dents, issues to resolve. I may even have to spend some money on it. But it is cleaner and straighter than examples I have viewed priced at £1k and even £2k more.
Vendor's pics
And after collecting it earlier, a few more after throwing a fiver at the local Romanians.
Driver's seat pretty good for 170k!
I had started to think that all 9-5's left the factory with a rust hole here, rather than metal! (full disclosure, the other side does have a small bleb here but it's not so bad)
Shark's fin may have seen better days
Only issue on the drive home was a bit of petrol leakage from the fuel pump o-ring after I brimmed the tank. The pump has recently been replaced and clearly the seal needs to be revisited.
It doesn't feel particularly quick, probably about right to be fair - these aren't light cars and it is completely standard as far as I am aware. That said, I'll have to be careful as I was surprised by the speedo reading two or three times on the way home (backed up by GPS it reads pretty much bob-on) so clearly it is a bit deceptive.
Otherwise a brew and a scan through the paperwork revealed a replacement gearbox at 114k and a fully stamped up service book to 150k+
I know that Mike, the UKSaaber I bought it from, did a sump drop and a couple of oil changes during his ownership, and I have to say it drives far better than I dared dream.
So far then, so good...
Unfortunately, half decent 9000's now seem to have moved away from the lower end of the shedding spectrum (to be honest I was lucky to get as good a Griffin as I did for the price I did)
I've looked at 9-5's a few times over the years and found them to be in poor condition, overpriced, or both. They also like to rust a bit and even the newer ones (ok relative term these days) aren't immune to it. This made me reluctant to up my budget.
So when an early 9-5 Aero estate popped up in the classifieds at a seriously low price, I didn't have high expectations for it. However reading through the advert, it started ticking the right boxes for me:-
Intelligently written advert clearly covering positives and negatives - check
Some MOT and no worrying advisories in the history - check
Recent sump drop and breather hoses updated - check
In daily use and covering decent miles (i.e. France and back) - check
Lots of history, paperwork and evidence of servicing and maintenance - check
Virtually no rust and very tidy interior - check (albeit taken with a pinch of salt at this price)
Heated and vented leather (all working) - check
Manual box - umm, no, but maybe that shouldn't be a deal breaker at this price?
Local - oh balls! Other end of the country
However, after viewing the pictures, I decided to fire off a PM to the vendor, just in case he had any plans to head North in the near future. It was a total long-shot, but as it turned out he was visiting the Wirral in the Saab this week, staying about ten miles from my work! Sometimes things are just meant to be...
Obviously I viewed the car as soon as possible. As I parked up next to it - before I'd even got out of my car, I could tell it was worth every penny and the most cursory of inspections confirmed this. I didn't even haggle.
Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, there are faults, dents, issues to resolve. I may even have to spend some money on it. But it is cleaner and straighter than examples I have viewed priced at £1k and even £2k more.
Vendor's pics
And after collecting it earlier, a few more after throwing a fiver at the local Romanians.
Driver's seat pretty good for 170k!
I had started to think that all 9-5's left the factory with a rust hole here, rather than metal! (full disclosure, the other side does have a small bleb here but it's not so bad)
Shark's fin may have seen better days
Only issue on the drive home was a bit of petrol leakage from the fuel pump o-ring after I brimmed the tank. The pump has recently been replaced and clearly the seal needs to be revisited.
It doesn't feel particularly quick, probably about right to be fair - these aren't light cars and it is completely standard as far as I am aware. That said, I'll have to be careful as I was surprised by the speedo reading two or three times on the way home (backed up by GPS it reads pretty much bob-on) so clearly it is a bit deceptive.
Otherwise a brew and a scan through the paperwork revealed a replacement gearbox at 114k and a fully stamped up service book to 150k+
I know that Mike, the UKSaaber I bought it from, did a sump drop and a couple of oil changes during his ownership, and I have to say it drives far better than I dared dream.
So far then, so good...
amstrange1 said:
My old 9-5 Aero always felt a lot slower than my 9000 Aero, even after a remap - but it did handle better.
I think "felt" is the key word here - it isn't slow at all, and seems to boost consistently just barely into the red which is what I would expect as standard.Just compared to the almost shocking alacrity with with my 9000 would pull (also a 2.3 auto but with a stg 1, so theoretically similar power to this) it doesn't have the same "Blimey!" factor!
I'm sure the extra weight plus refinement is a big part in this.
I was trundling along some b-roads that form part of my usual commute on the way home yesterday, really not pushing on, but overtaking the odd dawdler and wondered why everyone seemed to be going so slowly? Then when I checked my speedo, I was doing 70+ which is at least 20mph more than I would normally do down those roads when in relaxed mode!!
Cheers all 
Yes, heated and ventilated seats
Having cool air sucked past ones gentleman's area is a slightly odd sensation, it has to be said. Not unpleasant per se, just odd.
YCK by reg and yuck by nature, close up that looks proper minging!
Interior actually looks ok generally but a bit of a brush and hoover around the crevices definitely needed!!
Loving the Saaby touches like the double sun visors
Front undertray is missing (bar some shattered remains) and spoiler fit needs a tweak, so it's obviously had a slight altercation with something in the road!
Yes, heated and ventilated seats
Having cool air sucked past ones gentleman's area is a slightly odd sensation, it has to be said. Not unpleasant per se, just odd.
YCK by reg and yuck by nature, close up that looks proper minging!
Interior actually looks ok generally but a bit of a brush and hoover around the crevices definitely needed!!
Loving the Saaby touches like the double sun visors
Front undertray is missing (bar some shattered remains) and spoiler fit needs a tweak, so it's obviously had a slight altercation with something in the road!
MrHappy said:
Only small gripe is the near £300 road tax for the low mileage it's covering.
Tax was a small but pleasant surprise - registered before 1st March 2001 so falls into the older - older regime, so just £245 if paid annually. So that's £60 less than the newer, less powerful and less polluting Skoda it will quite possibly replace... 
That really seems like a bargain!
That fact it's come from Saab knowing people is a real bonus too.
Deceptively quick is the way I would describe them. They don't feel it, but they can me very, very quick indeed!
I've had three 9-5 Aeros and they are superb cars, I've done all sorts in them from tips runs and family holidays to chasing super cars around mid Wales! Never a dull moment
That fact it's come from Saab knowing people is a real bonus too.
Deceptively quick is the way I would describe them. They don't feel it, but they can me very, very quick indeed!
I've had three 9-5 Aeros and they are superb cars, I've done all sorts in them from tips runs and family holidays to chasing super cars around mid Wales! Never a dull moment
That's whole lot of car for the money.
I once found a receipt for my old 1996 XJ. New someone forked out £37k for it, then another receipt from 2001 it was sold for £16.5k.
Then I bought it in 2006 for £3k and had five year of faultless motoring until some runt decided to try and steal it. Unfortunately for them I removed the battery
so they decided to wreck the interior instead.
I saw it for sale recently for £2k.
Incredible what you can get today for very little outlay.
I once found a receipt for my old 1996 XJ. New someone forked out £37k for it, then another receipt from 2001 it was sold for £16.5k.
Then I bought it in 2006 for £3k and had five year of faultless motoring until some runt decided to try and steal it. Unfortunately for them I removed the battery
so they decided to wreck the interior instead.I saw it for sale recently for £2k.
Incredible what you can get today for very little outlay.
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