Shed Of The Week: Saab 900 V6

A Saab 900 for (just over) £900? In beige? Sounds like a great Shed

Beige. With beige cloth.

It doesn't sound like the most inspiring start to a Shed of the Week but, as with all those home-buying programmes on telly, it's all about seeing past the paisley carpet and flock wallpaper to discover what lies beneath. Which, in this case, is an extremely elegant and very usable classic from the glory days of Saab.

Before we go any further, let's crank up the shimmery flashback music and imagine ourselves back in Sweden in 1996, when this car was built. Seven years before that, in 1989, the car bit of Saab-Scania had been hived off. General Motors bought half of the resulting company. GM went on to influence Saab manufacture through the 1990s, and more so after 1993, but they waited until 2000 before turning Saab into a wholly-owned subsidiary. At this point they waded in with their biggest cost-cutting boots on and basically killed off Saab's key brand attribute of quality in the mainstream, leading to the disappointingly banal 9-3 of 2003 and the firm's bankruptcy in 2008.

But in 1996, while we Brits were reeling under mad cow disease and Charles and Di's divorce, your average Saab employee was still happy in his or her job, still taking a refreshingly old-fashioned view on things.

Admittedly, in the case of the '94-'98 'NG' 900, the Cavalier platform they were using wasn't exactly bespoke or traditional, but the 900i Coupe was certainly recognised as a strong and worthy machine back in the day, winning a British Steel Auto Design Award from the Institute of British Carriage and Automobile Manufacturers. At a pinch, you could see it as a proper Saab.

It wasn't a quick one, even with this car's 24-valve V6 under the bonnet. Rated at 168hp and well known among Calibra owners, this Ellesmere Port-built engine featured a narrow 54 degree vee-angle (as opposed to the normal 60 degrees) to facilitate its planned big-picture fitment into a range of FWD or RWD cars.

Its biggest problem was timing belt issues. Not so much with the belts themselves, which should last for 100K miles, but with breaking tensioners. It's an interference design, so not keeping on top of the replacement schedule isn't something you'll get away with. Some reckon on changes every 50-60K miles, more cautious types say 30K.

The block is iron and the heads aluminium. Leaks between the two can and do occur, and also between the valve covers and heads. The good thing about the V6 engine is that it's easy to work on, relative to the turbo Saabs anyway, or indeed relative to any of the ones with timing chains. Plus the six doesn't have the oil sludging issues of the fours (which, incidentally, were related to Triumph's Dolomite unit).

Our Shed has the auto 'box, and it's important to keep the oil fresh in those. Loss of drive needn't be a fist-chewing worry, however: it can be down to something as simple as a dirty neutral safety switch.

Forget all that stuff though and look at the lines, the immaculate cloth seats (leather was a pretty rare option), those lovely turbine alloys, that boombastic boot and the cool Black Panel dash light-extinguishing feature that was interestingly renamed 'Night Panel' in 1999. This has been a loved car. The MoT was carried out in March. After a quick clearout to get the exhaust poisons down to the correct vole-stunning levels it passed with no advisories. Previous MoTs show a similar lack of incident, the only mention of corrosion being in regards to brake hose ferrules back in 2010. And that is a generic issue, not a Saab one.

If you fancy taking over the ownership of this fine beastie, of which probably less than 50 remain in the UK, you'll want to keep your eyes on the upper suspension mounts (front and rear), and on the handbrake which is a pain to keep properly adjusted. Clicking on full lock means worn driveshafts, while a wet patch in the passenger footwell means you've either got a blocked AC drain hose or your Gran's had another little accident. We won't bother mentioning the SID display unit as everyone knows about them. Oh. Too late.

Mrs Shed fondly remembers the mid-1990s. At this time she was going out with a sergeant in the local constabulary, a no-nonsense sort of a fellow and the owner of a 900 Coupe. Of course, Mrs Shed has had many interesting experiences with sleeping policemen, not to mention humps in quiet back streets, but she was particularly keen on 'her sarge' as she called him. Sadly the liaison came to an end when the copper traded his 900 in for a four-door that didn't have the Coupe's comfortably wide door apertures. Her next boyfriend was the driver of a delivery van with a hydraulic hoist attachment.

Here's the ad. For the Saab, not the van.

JUST BEEN MOT AND SERVICED, A STUNNING SAAB COUPE 3 DOOR AUTOMATIC 2.5 V6 SE MODEL, MET BEIGE , BEIGE CLOTH TRIM, AIR CON, FACTORY ELECTRIC GLASS SUNROOF, JUST BEEN MOT / SERVICED, GREAT COUPE V6 SE SPEC , REMARKABLE CONDITION THROUGHOUT BECOMING VERY RARE NOW, DRIVES SUPERBLY. HUGE SERVICE HISTORY FILE WITH ALL INVOICES. !!, Upgrades - FINISHED IN SAND BEIGE METALLIC, ELECTRIC GLASS SUNROOF, UNMARKED BEIGE CLOTH TRIM, AIR CONDITIONING, AUTOMATIC, JUST BEEN MOT AND SERVICED, ALL HPI CLEAR, VERY GOOD CONDITION FOR YEAR, LOWER ROAD TAX £235 YEAR,, REALLY NEEDS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED JUST SUPER CONDITION, VERY RARE 2.5 V6 PETROL VERSION 3 DOOR COUPE, FRONT FOGS, ALL SE EXTRAS, ALLOYS, Saab Car Computer, Electric Glass Sunroof, HUGE HUGE SERVICE HISTORY FILE WITH ALL INVOICES, AIR CON,, ALL SPARE KEYS, 5 SEATER MODEL, TCS TRACTION CONTROL, REMOTE BOOT RELEASE, CRUISE CONTROL, RHR, OBC, BOOT LIP SPOILER, RWW, ELECTRIC AERIAL, STEREO CD AND CD CHANGER, Automatic Transmission - 4-Speed, FOLDING REAR SEATS, Metallic Paint, ALL SPARE KEYS AND SAAB HAND BOOKS, OTG, ABS, SPORTS MODE GEARBOX, Service history, Average bodywork, Interior - Excellent Condition, Tyre condition Excellent, Standard Features - ELECTIC GLASS SUNROOF, Air conditioning, Cruise Control, Audio System 4 x 25W with Electric Aerial, Height adjustable drivers seat, Folding rear seats, Electric door mirrors, CD Player, Alloy wheels, Airbags, Electric windows, Traction control, Remote central locking, Power steering, Immobiliser, Central locking, HEADLAMP WASH, Anti-Theft Alarm System, 3x3 point rear seat belts, Air Conditioning & Heat Absorbent Glass, Cruise control, Lumbar support. 5 seats, LOWER ROAD TAX £235 YEAR, HERE READY TO DRIVE AWAY, GREAT SE SPEC, JUST BEEN MOT AND SERVICED, REALLY GREAT CONDITION THROUGHOUT - 21 YEARS OLD NOW. !! . HUGE HUGE SERVICE HISTORY FILE WITH ALL INVOICES PRESENT, HERE NOW TO VIEW AND JUST LOVELY CONDITION !!!!!!!!!, FULL DEALER FACILITIES, AA WARRANTY, FINANCE, PART EXCHANGE , DEBIT CREDIT CARD DEPOSITS ACCEPTED, £990 p/x welcome

2.5 V6 SE 3dr