still looking for a winter shed

[sawman]

over the last week or so i have been casting around for a winter shed.

I have been beaten to a couple of possibles and am off to see a saab 9000 later, I have just noticed a very local dealer has a R reg bmw 319 hatchback, I have never really had much interest in bmw so have no idea whether one of these would be a good idea.

I have been mainly looking at FWD and 4x4, on account of winter traction issues ( I travel about quite a bit out of town) but I am suspecting that a lowly 318 wont be packing big wide wheels, so maybe traction wont be too much of an issue

any thoughts?

[inman999]

There's a Honda Legend with 4 hours left on eBay. No bids with 400 quid start at the moment.

No it's not mine.

[TheD]

inman999 said:

There's a Honda Legend with 4 hours left on eBay. No bids with 400 quid start at the moment.

No it's not mine.

Ahh....I've got that on my list of have to gets. £400 makes me think it has to be for me if I had some room for it.

[trickywoo]

I'd strongly advise against RWD for out of town winter work unless you plan on fitting full winter tyres.

I know its not quite the same but my 528 would not move on a level driveway with packed snow last winter but any FWD was fine.

[inman999]

TheD said:

Ahh....I've got that on my list of have to gets. £400 makes me think it has to be for me if I had some room for it.

It's an itch I've not scratched yet. Think it would be my car of choice for a banger rally.

[sawman]

trickywoo said:

I'd strongly advise against RWD for out of town winter work unless you plan on fitting full winter tyres.

I know its not quite the same but my 528 would not move on a level driveway with packed snow last winter but any FWD was fine.

I'd be doubling my investment if I winterise, so maybe not....

[nagsheadwarrior]

inman999 said:

It's an itch I've not scratched yet. Think it would be my car of choice for a banger rally.

I bought an X 2001 Legend on ebay last year for £700 with loadsa t n t, 185k and feels spot on, thoroughly recommended for reliable,understated,mystery barging.

They're not quick and they dont handle at all though so dont expect a 535

[Vince70]

I would go for a B5 Audi A4 in fact that's what I use for my winter hack, mines a poverty spec 1.6 fwd version and is fantastic in the snow as the engine is way out front of the steering rack.
But if you fancy a 4wd they can be had in avant and saloon in Quattro flavour for banger money now.
Plus you don't have to ever worry about road salt etc as the cars don't rot as they are zinc coated, its as if they were designed for winter in mind.

[NiceCupOfTea]

If the 9000 is half decent then bag it. The 9000 is the best car Saab ever built, feel modern to drive, great kit levels, good reliability, and unstoppable in the snow, especially with a set of winters on. You can't even give them away at the moment, my dad has a decent 96 2.3T Anniversary that he can't get rid of and is trading it in against an X3 for a pittance. There's nothing wrong with it and it will happily go another 15 years with servicing, will probably be scrapped.

I bought one a year ago to keep me going until April. I still have it, it's the most complete car I have ever bought. Plus, heated seats are perfect as you see all the proles in their poverty spec BMWs spinning their 19"s

[morgrp]

I'd go for this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1996-VOLVO-850-2-5-20V-A...

Just about indestrucable - The 850 is the most robust volvo they have ever made. Lovely 170bhp 20valve 5 banger - sounds like an Audi quattro - big comfort, decent 4wd grip and big winter tackling abilities (good heater, heated seats etc)

They also do a 2.5 LPT with 193bhp if more performance is your bag

[sawman]

NiceCupOfTea said:

If the 9000 is half decent then bag it. The 9000 is the best car Saab ever built, feel modern to drive, great kit levels, good reliability, and unstoppable in the snow, especially with a set of winters on. You can't even give them away at the moment, my dad has a decent 96 2.3T Anniversary that he can't get rid of and is trading it in against an X3 for a pittance. There's nothing wrong with it and it will happily go another 15 years with servicing, will probably be scrapped.

I bought one a year ago to keep me going until April. I still have it, it's the most complete car I have ever bought. Plus, heated seats are perfect as you see all the proles in their poverty spec BMWs spinning their 19"s

just got back from the 9000, lovely car, pretty tidy, but the throttle was racing periodically.

I liked it a lot, but await a verdict on the throttle issue

[NiceCupOfTea]

How do you mean racing? Might be worth a post on UKSaabs.

[Pothole]

trickywoo said:

I'd strongly advise against RWD for out of town winter work unless you plan on fitting full winter tyres.

I know its not quite the same but my 528 would not move on a level driveway with packed snow last winter but any FWD was fine.

That's BMWs for you. My Volvo S90 was fine through the winter last year. (I live up a half mile private drive off a country lane which never sees grit or a plough)

[sawman]

NiceCupOfTea said:

How do you mean racing? Might be worth a post on UKSaabs.

Difficult to describe, but idle speed was pretty fast (3k rpm) and then whilst driving the car wanted to drive off - I had to stand on the brakes to keep below 30mph

had a look on saab central, various suggestions seemed to include vacuum tube leaks, or throttle body issue. looking at the vacuum pipes there seemed to be some gubbins around the pipe unions, so might be a simple issue.

I'll see what the seller comes back with as a solution/diagnosis