I accidentally bought 2 Saabs in one week. 9-3 Turbo shed!
Discussion
My trusty Ford Cougar shed went bang on the M4, Cambelt snapped. 
This left me in a bit of a situation where i needed a vehicle, luckily my boss is a smashing chap and will always let me borrow his pickup/work vehicles if i need to get too and from work, however other commitments mean i need a car anyhow and wouldn't want to take advantage of my boss!
My dads friend had a Saab that the MOT ran out mid December and was sat around doing nothing, i semi knew the car i think i may have been a passenger in it once, it was nothing special just an old 900 he got cheap, but a cars a car, right? I gave him a call and chatted to him about it, he didnt know if it would pass an MOT or anything like that but he said chuck him £40 and it's mine.
£40!? For over a ton of Swedens finest steel and leather? I'm in.
Went to pick it up, wouldnt start because the battery was dead and when we did it jump start it, it roared into life waking up the entirety of Bath because it had little to no exhaust left. and it smelt worse than a used diaper full of spoilt shrimp. Great... But it's a car, for £40, i shouldnt complain.
It was dark when i picked it up.. thank god. It probably hadnt been washed in many many years and the inside was mouldy and stinky... At this point im starting to think i'd have been better off throwing my £40 in a fire.
Later that week whipped it over to my friends garage to see what it needed for an MOT, Exhaust wasnt too pad, bit of patchy buzzy buzzy and its sealed up enough, needed a CV boot and that was about it.. surprisingly solid for what it was. We then spent multiple hours cleaning it inside and out trying not to vomit. All cleaned and many air freshners applied i left it with my friend to do the bits it needed and get it MOT'd. This is how it looked when i left, i wish i took before pictures as it really was vile!
Meanwhile my dad owns a 2002 Saab 9-3 2.0t. I let him know my Cougar had died and he let me know he was viewing a jag at the weekend hoping to buy it and trade in his Saab! I told him to ask the dealer what he would give him trade in and id pay it! i needed a car and i knew his Saab is well maintained and a lovely wafty car. He went to view the Jag, he loved it and bought it, the dealer offered him £700 trade in for his Saab but he asked what he would get knocked off the price instead of trading in the Saab, dealer wouldn't budge past £300 off what he'd already negotiated down. So i agree'd i'd give my dad £400 for his Saab and he'd be getting the same deal and helping me out hugely!
It's a 2002 9-3 2.0t Auto. 115K miles and fairly good service history. All the toys you could ever want, Cruise, heated seats, parking sensors, Xenons, etc etc.
All for £400!
So here i am, £440 poorer and the owner of two Saabs.
What the hell do i do with the 900!? I think im going to let my friend MOT, sell it for a fair price for somebody to run about in and throw some of the money i make off of it back at my Dads friend for selling me it so cheap, after taking my cut for dealing with the god awful mess inside!
I have a few plans for the 9-3 Though
MOT is up in a few months so providing it doesnt bork itself and serves me well as a daily until then which i imagine it should i will have it MOT'd and serviced and then im very tempted by a remap... I'm currently loving the way it drives, enough power to get around easially and a lovely auto box, comfy and a nice place to be, my only criticism so far would be the ride is a bit harsh but nothing too bad, may need some bushes in the near future.
This left me in a bit of a situation where i needed a vehicle, luckily my boss is a smashing chap and will always let me borrow his pickup/work vehicles if i need to get too and from work, however other commitments mean i need a car anyhow and wouldn't want to take advantage of my boss!
My dads friend had a Saab that the MOT ran out mid December and was sat around doing nothing, i semi knew the car i think i may have been a passenger in it once, it was nothing special just an old 900 he got cheap, but a cars a car, right? I gave him a call and chatted to him about it, he didnt know if it would pass an MOT or anything like that but he said chuck him £40 and it's mine.
£40!? For over a ton of Swedens finest steel and leather? I'm in.
Went to pick it up, wouldnt start because the battery was dead and when we did it jump start it, it roared into life waking up the entirety of Bath because it had little to no exhaust left. and it smelt worse than a used diaper full of spoilt shrimp. Great... But it's a car, for £40, i shouldnt complain.
It was dark when i picked it up.. thank god. It probably hadnt been washed in many many years and the inside was mouldy and stinky... At this point im starting to think i'd have been better off throwing my £40 in a fire.
Later that week whipped it over to my friends garage to see what it needed for an MOT, Exhaust wasnt too pad, bit of patchy buzzy buzzy and its sealed up enough, needed a CV boot and that was about it.. surprisingly solid for what it was. We then spent multiple hours cleaning it inside and out trying not to vomit. All cleaned and many air freshners applied i left it with my friend to do the bits it needed and get it MOT'd. This is how it looked when i left, i wish i took before pictures as it really was vile!
Meanwhile my dad owns a 2002 Saab 9-3 2.0t. I let him know my Cougar had died and he let me know he was viewing a jag at the weekend hoping to buy it and trade in his Saab! I told him to ask the dealer what he would give him trade in and id pay it! i needed a car and i knew his Saab is well maintained and a lovely wafty car. He went to view the Jag, he loved it and bought it, the dealer offered him £700 trade in for his Saab but he asked what he would get knocked off the price instead of trading in the Saab, dealer wouldn't budge past £300 off what he'd already negotiated down. So i agree'd i'd give my dad £400 for his Saab and he'd be getting the same deal and helping me out hugely!
It's a 2002 9-3 2.0t Auto. 115K miles and fairly good service history. All the toys you could ever want, Cruise, heated seats, parking sensors, Xenons, etc etc.
All for £400!
So here i am, £440 poorer and the owner of two Saabs.
What the hell do i do with the 900!? I think im going to let my friend MOT, sell it for a fair price for somebody to run about in and throw some of the money i make off of it back at my Dads friend for selling me it so cheap, after taking my cut for dealing with the god awful mess inside!
I have a few plans for the 9-3 Though
MOT is up in a few months so providing it doesnt bork itself and serves me well as a daily until then which i imagine it should i will have it MOT'd and serviced and then im very tempted by a remap... I'm currently loving the way it drives, enough power to get around easially and a lovely auto box, comfy and a nice place to be, my only criticism so far would be the ride is a bit harsh but nothing too bad, may need some bushes in the near future.
So been wafting around in this for two weeks now.
General opinion is it's a fantastic car for everyday driving, lovely auto box enough poke and not bad on fuel if driven sensibly!
Extremely well equipped for its age.
It lacks the fun factor though, but once im in a financial situation where i can afford to buy something more fun i will.
The only downside i've found so far is the 6 CD changer has a 'random' option, which means i can play the 6 CD's i have in there on random, fantastic right? Not when it changes disc nearly every time after a song since its random and you get the whirring and clunk of the CD changer working its ass off to keep up. but thats not really something that takes away from the car.
Plans are MOT is due in a few months so providing it flys through which i cant see why it wouldnt i'll give it a service and will debate a remap. For now its just carrying my arse from place to place in comfort.
General opinion is it's a fantastic car for everyday driving, lovely auto box enough poke and not bad on fuel if driven sensibly!
Extremely well equipped for its age.
It lacks the fun factor though, but once im in a financial situation where i can afford to buy something more fun i will.
The only downside i've found so far is the 6 CD changer has a 'random' option, which means i can play the 6 CD's i have in there on random, fantastic right? Not when it changes disc nearly every time after a song since its random and you get the whirring and clunk of the CD changer working its ass off to keep up. but thats not really something that takes away from the car.
Plans are MOT is due in a few months so providing it flys through which i cant see why it wouldnt i'll give it a service and will debate a remap. For now its just carrying my arse from place to place in comfort.
Was talking to my old man the other day and he couldn't remember how long he'd had his Jag now so it got me wondering how long i've had his old Saab, i didnt even initially plan to keep it long but i kind of like it more than i should and cant think of a better comfy do stuff car. So took a look on here to see when this was posted figured i may aswell update it
It's still going strong, all i've done is slap an MOT on it, service it myself, replace the dried out cracked ariel cover and the Washer pump stopped working this week so i will sort that soon, costing me a fortune in Rainx.
Currently still enjoying driving it, other than the tax being a bit expensive it's not too bad on fuel (30 ish average journeys) but its got plenty of power for normal driving, a lovely autobox and god it's comfy.
I must admit.. it's somewhat boring having something i dont need to/want to tinker with. I'm still very tempted by a remap when i have the money.
anyhow, couple of pictures
Ariel replaced with a cheap ebay one as i struggled to find a genuine Saab one, i think it looks fine.
I moved house in it, other than borrowing the Hilux from work for my Bed/Larger objects the Saab carried everything well. It even helped when i bought a Sofa off of Gumtree!
Road trip up to Wales for a friend to pick up a rather tidy 325.
And a picture i took about 20 minutes ago, gave it a quick wipe over ready for Goodwood FOS this weekend, me and a friend are heading down tomorrow and camping until Sunday, will be there for all four days.
It's still going strong, all i've done is slap an MOT on it, service it myself, replace the dried out cracked ariel cover and the Washer pump stopped working this week so i will sort that soon, costing me a fortune in Rainx.
Currently still enjoying driving it, other than the tax being a bit expensive it's not too bad on fuel (30 ish average journeys) but its got plenty of power for normal driving, a lovely autobox and god it's comfy.
I must admit.. it's somewhat boring having something i dont need to/want to tinker with. I'm still very tempted by a remap when i have the money.
anyhow, couple of pictures
Ariel replaced with a cheap ebay one as i struggled to find a genuine Saab one, i think it looks fine.
I moved house in it, other than borrowing the Hilux from work for my Bed/Larger objects the Saab carried everything well. It even helped when i bought a Sofa off of Gumtree!
Road trip up to Wales for a friend to pick up a rather tidy 325.
And a picture i took about 20 minutes ago, gave it a quick wipe over ready for Goodwood FOS this weekend, me and a friend are heading down tomorrow and camping until Sunday, will be there for all four days.
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