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... 
Have to say the ventilated seats are awesome!
Had to pop out at lunchtime, car closed up all morning in the full sun, 26 degrees.
Open all windows to let worst heat out. Then set off with air con on cold and seats on max. Close windows once moving and it's comfortable literally within thirty seconds. No leather burns at all!!
I'll be commuting in it all week this week to see what's what. Zero issues so far, it hasn't marked its territory in the work car park and per the OBC I'm getting around 31-32 average, which is as good as I dared hope.
I lost some fuel to the leak when the tank was brimmed, so I'm sure the actual consumption fill to fill will be slightly disappointing until I resolve that (seal is on its way).
Otherwise, I've not yet found anything that doesn't work. Even the heated mirrors burned the condensation off quickly at 6am this morning.
Still waiting to find the massive issue that makes me go "so that's why he only wanted £350...." Surely there must be something??
Had to pop out at lunchtime, car closed up all morning in the full sun, 26 degrees.
Open all windows to let worst heat out. Then set off with air con on cold and seats on max. Close windows once moving and it's comfortable literally within thirty seconds. No leather burns at all!!
I'll be commuting in it all week this week to see what's what. Zero issues so far, it hasn't marked its territory in the work car park and per the OBC I'm getting around 31-32 average, which is as good as I dared hope.
I lost some fuel to the leak when the tank was brimmed, so I'm sure the actual consumption fill to fill will be slightly disappointing until I resolve that (seal is on its way).
Otherwise, I've not yet found anything that doesn't work. Even the heated mirrors burned the condensation off quickly at 6am this morning.
Still waiting to find the massive issue that makes me go "so that's why he only wanted £350...." Surely there must be something??
Shaw Tarse said:
What would happen if the heated & ventilated seats were switched on at the same time?
Might be a bit like the statistician with his head in the oven and feet in the freezer? *
Sensible answer - I guess since the seats "suck" rather than "blow" that the warmth would just be ejected into the cabin from under the seat?
Less sensible answer - ventilated seats must result in faster trump distribution too!!
- C. Bruce Grossman 1960
Connected to Tech 2 at the weekend and ran full diagnostics.
Two faults only, one for the variable intermittent wipe switch being "out of range" which I already suspected was making no difference to the interval, and second one was no communication at all with the parking sensors.
I'll have the rear bumper off soon to fit a towbar, so will check the connections then.
Also turned the annoying seat belt chime off and tweaked a couple of settings relating to the climate control - made it single sided when no passenger (as my ocd can't cope with different temps left and right!!) and turned the compressor off by default below 18c.
The fuel pump seal and pump retaining ring tool arrived so set to.
Access is fairly comfortable at least
Pump retaining ring should have been a struggle but was barely finger tight so suspected this to be the cause of the leak but since I'd got a seal thought I might as well fit it.
Old ring wasn't really seated properly and much larger than replacement when compared
New seal fitted and the retaining ring properly tightened down, went for a spirited test drive to check for leaks. Petrolly smell soon returned. Bugger!
No leak around the pump now, but wet on top of the tank, near the pump, but far enough away to be tricky to access via the access hole
Looks like a cracked plastic weld around a blanking plug (for additional US market emissions guff) as the plug is certainly still in very solidly. I think the easiest solution given the access will be to try cleaning around it with a toothbrush and brake cleaner, and then a smear of two part expoxy around the seal with a fingertip, and hope for the best!
Otherwise it'll need the tank dropping to access better, unless I want to get creative with the tin snips!!
Two faults only, one for the variable intermittent wipe switch being "out of range" which I already suspected was making no difference to the interval, and second one was no communication at all with the parking sensors.
I'll have the rear bumper off soon to fit a towbar, so will check the connections then.
Also turned the annoying seat belt chime off and tweaked a couple of settings relating to the climate control - made it single sided when no passenger (as my ocd can't cope with different temps left and right!!) and turned the compressor off by default below 18c.
The fuel pump seal and pump retaining ring tool arrived so set to.
Access is fairly comfortable at least
Pump retaining ring should have been a struggle but was barely finger tight so suspected this to be the cause of the leak but since I'd got a seal thought I might as well fit it.
Old ring wasn't really seated properly and much larger than replacement when compared
New seal fitted and the retaining ring properly tightened down, went for a spirited test drive to check for leaks. Petrolly smell soon returned. Bugger!
No leak around the pump now, but wet on top of the tank, near the pump, but far enough away to be tricky to access via the access hole
Looks like a cracked plastic weld around a blanking plug (for additional US market emissions guff) as the plug is certainly still in very solidly. I think the easiest solution given the access will be to try cleaning around it with a toothbrush and brake cleaner, and then a smear of two part expoxy around the seal with a fingertip, and hope for the best!
Otherwise it'll need the tank dropping to access better, unless I want to get creative with the tin snips!!
That was a nasty fiddly job. Keyhole surgery is definitely not on my career options as I think I would have killed the patient!
Not pretty but fingers crossed may do the trick?
Note - opening to work through is about the same height as phone camera lens, so of course access looks fine when shoving the end of my phone into the gap!!
Not pretty but fingers crossed may do the trick?
Note - opening to work through is about the same height as phone camera lens, so of course access looks fine when shoving the end of my phone into the gap!!
stewjohnst said:
You'll of course be jealous to know that both my headlight wipers return to their correct positions 
I've used the lights and wipers more the last couple of days and normal headlight wiper parking has now been resumed
Went t'mill to get chicken food last night and on getting out of the car thought I heard something drop on the floor, but simultaneously clattered the sill trim with the seatbelt buckle so couldn't be sure and couldn't see anything on the floor. Untangled the seatbelt and got on with things.
Later I went to fit a replacement wiper stalk to fix the non-variable intermittent wipe, and whilst crouching down to undo the column shroud realised that the large seat adjuster button, the one that controls fore and aft / height and tilt, was entirely missing. Balls!
Replaced the wiper stalk and it was immediately obvious why the old one was faulty
Then drove back to the mill in hope rather than expectation (in the rain, tested variable intermittent, all good
) and lo and behold, sitting untouched in the now empty car park was one perfect, undamaged seat button! 
Little update - 1,500 miles now covered.
We're not quite in Autumn yet but this morning was the coldest summer morning so far, just three degrees. This gave the opportunity to confirm that the heated driver's seat and heating elements in the mirrors all still function correctly, which they do.
I've not encountered any problems so far. Under bonnet levels appear static (or at least any movement is minimal) and the old bus hasn't missed a beat.
That said, over poor surfaces, lumps, bumps and changes of camber, it is obvious that some rubbery bits underneath are past their best. I've not had a look yet but I would guess subframe bushes, maybe an engine mount or two and some suspension bushes will be pretty tired.
The only symptoms are a very occasional clunk from the rear over certain bumps (although need to rule out exhaust mountings on this one), a tiny bit of a wobble / rear steer over changes of camber and a touch more vibration in the cabin when stationary in drive than there would have been when new.
All of the above are me being quite particular, passengers have commented on what a quiet and comfortable car it is, so it obviously it doesn't feel and sound like it's on its last legs!
So the issues are sufficiently minor that they could easily be ignored if one were to adopt a bangernomics mindset, but the temptation to spend and improve is growing. I find myself liking this car very much and it seems to be a good'un so I'll probably get spendy in due course. Maybe wait until the MOT in November and see what the fails and advises are, and go from there.
Of course, spend on the rubber bits and then then it easily becomes a slippery slope and where to stop? Remap and 3" downpipe? Eibach springs and Bilsteins? Few hundred quid of smart repairs to bring the bodywork up to scratch. Suspect it would be easy to add a zero to the purchase price...
We're not quite in Autumn yet but this morning was the coldest summer morning so far, just three degrees. This gave the opportunity to confirm that the heated driver's seat and heating elements in the mirrors all still function correctly, which they do.
I've not encountered any problems so far. Under bonnet levels appear static (or at least any movement is minimal) and the old bus hasn't missed a beat.
That said, over poor surfaces, lumps, bumps and changes of camber, it is obvious that some rubbery bits underneath are past their best. I've not had a look yet but I would guess subframe bushes, maybe an engine mount or two and some suspension bushes will be pretty tired.
The only symptoms are a very occasional clunk from the rear over certain bumps (although need to rule out exhaust mountings on this one), a tiny bit of a wobble / rear steer over changes of camber and a touch more vibration in the cabin when stationary in drive than there would have been when new.
All of the above are me being quite particular, passengers have commented on what a quiet and comfortable car it is, so it obviously it doesn't feel and sound like it's on its last legs!
So the issues are sufficiently minor that they could easily be ignored if one were to adopt a bangernomics mindset, but the temptation to spend and improve is growing. I find myself liking this car very much and it seems to be a good'un so I'll probably get spendy in due course. Maybe wait until the MOT in November and see what the fails and advises are, and go from there.
Of course, spend on the rubber bits and then then it easily becomes a slippery slope and where to stop? Remap and 3" downpipe? Eibach springs and Bilsteins? Few hundred quid of smart repairs to bring the bodywork up to scratch. Suspect it would be easy to add a zero to the purchase price...
Edited by 99t on Tuesday 19th September 09:28
HybridAero said:
My advice would be to buy a 9-5 that is already modified and save yourself thousands....
This is totally sound advice. If I had even one shred of common sense I would either run it as-is, without spending a bean on it until it dies, or sell it whilst it is all working and put the proceeds towards a good pre-tuned one.
I should heed the above. I really, really should!
Cambs_Stuart said:
Great thread and deserves a reader's car of the week nomination for that comment alone.
Love the original three spoke alloys.
Love the original three spoke alloys.
A 230 mile round trip was completed at the weekend without incident, four up and very comfortable. Mainly motorway and returned 35mpg at a nice steady seventy and a bit!
The MOT is due mid-November but my insurance is due at the end of October, so I plan to put it in for an early test later this month, just to check that the jobs I think need doing aren't the tip of a huge rustberg.
A pass would, of course, be a bonus, but I would be genuinely surprised.
I've mentioned previously that the suspension is feeling rather tired. The front in particular seems to have worsened the last month or so, probably due to my enthusiastic cornering style combined with some pretty shocking surfaces on my commute. I fully expect a moderate fail on a handful of semi-consumable items (to include but certainly not limited to bushes, brake hoses etc.) Also the front tyres are pretty much on the wear indicators now (and the wheels are desperate for a refurb) so probably add those to the fail list.
Assuming an "acceptable" fail is obtained, I'll revert back to my trusty Octavia for estate duties when I renew my insurance - might as well save on admin fees by not having to change vehicles a couple of weeks into the new policy and put that money towards parts instead!
This will then give me the opportunity to drop the front and rear suspension (and probably the subframe) on the 9-5 and replace / re-bush as necessary. Plus do any other bits the MOT has unearthed. I have the space to do this in the barn so at least I can undertake the work under cover and in a methodical and relaxed (read as leisurely) manner once it is SORN and out of Mrs 99t's eyeline!
Of course, should it fail comprehensively and catastrophically, then I'll have to have a re-think about the car's future, but hopefully that won't be a bridge I'll need to cross just yet...
99t said:
A pass would, of course, be a bonus, but I would be genuinely surprised.
Well f
k me!!
Asked the garage to make a list of non-mot items they spotted whilst underneath, which they did - nothing too terrible, a small coolant leak in the region of the thermostat, a couple of slightly crusty areas around drain plugs on the floorpan, rear washer not working, dampness on a PAS cooler line and a couple of others I've forgotten until I collect the car and see the list.
Overall a decent result so I'll move forward with my plan of SORNing at the end of the month and renewing the suspension front and rear as necessary.
Question is, do I treat it to the Eibach / Bilstein springs and dampers...???
This may be me, right now, contemplating possible upgrades...
Edited by 99t on Tuesday 7th November 13:31
I certainly don't feel as though I was ripped off! 
I think it's fair to assume that with a fresh ticket it is still worth what I paid for it, so the cost of maintenance only over the first 2,000 miles is:-
Fuel pump seal £4.90
Bit of epoxy resin (from tube already on the shelf) say £1.00
Bulb for brake light (from spares collection) say £1.00
MOT £36.00
Total £42.90 or approx 2p per mile!!
I suspect 2p / mile will be a difficult figure to beat once I start spending, but I will update it periodically regardless.
(Of course add in petrol, tax and insurance and the real world cost is more like 25p per mile.)
I think it's fair to assume that with a fresh ticket it is still worth what I paid for it, so the cost of maintenance only over the first 2,000 miles is:-
Fuel pump seal £4.90
Bit of epoxy resin (from tube already on the shelf) say £1.00
Bulb for brake light (from spares collection) say £1.00
MOT £36.00
Total £42.90 or approx 2p per mile!!
I suspect 2p / mile will be a difficult figure to beat once I start spending, but I will update it periodically regardless.
(Of course add in petrol, tax and insurance and the real world cost is more like 25p per mile.)
Started having a look at some of the non-mot notes the garage made last week.
Rear washer is of a design where the screenwash passes through the spindle of the wiper motor before being directed through ninety degrees and split into two jets (firing parallel to the rear wiper) by the plastic cap over the wiper arm locknut. Common for the motor spindle to corrode internally with small flakes of corrosion then blocking the jets.
With the cap lifted, screenwash should be fired straight out of the spindle but not so much as a drop. Used a thin but fairly long Allen key to probe inside the spindle and felt the rusty blockage yield. Was then able to fire (an initially very orange) jet of screenwash out of the back.
Needless to say the cap and jets were completely clogged too, took some time using fine wires and compressed air as the jets are absolutely tiny, but cleared then eventually. Success for now, not sure how long they'll stay clear.
Next up the coolant leak. The level has moved by perhaps 5mm in 2000 miles, but sure enough..
It's in the vicinity of the thermostat housing so hopefully a simple enough fix. I'll order a thermostat and replace it anyway as it is running slightly cool in free-moving traffic (approx ten degrees too cool per Scanguage) and that's only going to worsen as the weather gets colder.
I'll investigate the rusty drain holes better when I jack the car up to do the suspension, but on shoving my phone under the car I initially thought they don't look too bad
Then I moved the phone forward, ok riiight...
Underseal looks bubbly for quite a way from the drain, I sense a bit of welding coming on. Mostly though the underside was described as very clean for its age and mileage so worth sorting any issues now.
PAS pipe dampness query, I couldn't see anything from above so will revisit when I'm underneath.
Finally, come the dark and frosty winter mornings, one's gentleman's region doesn't want to be super-cooled in error. All of the bulbs in the heat / vent switches had failed, so replaced with suitable LEDs (of the same wattage as the bulbs, allegedly).
Bit of a fiddly job as there are two bulbs per switch, one for the symbol and one for the indicator on the rotary switch. Getting the LEDs seated (and with the correct polarity) involved a combination of guesswork, thin screwdrivers and blu-tack!
Unfortunately, the symbols are now super-bright, although the indicator lines are acceptable. Even though they are low enough down in the dash not to be too distracting, for the sake of my OCD I think I'll have to see if I can find a way to dim the LEDs output slightly.
The original bulbs were fitted with green rubbery caps so maybe see if I can find a way to glue those over the LEDs..?
Rear washer is of a design where the screenwash passes through the spindle of the wiper motor before being directed through ninety degrees and split into two jets (firing parallel to the rear wiper) by the plastic cap over the wiper arm locknut. Common for the motor spindle to corrode internally with small flakes of corrosion then blocking the jets.
With the cap lifted, screenwash should be fired straight out of the spindle but not so much as a drop. Used a thin but fairly long Allen key to probe inside the spindle and felt the rusty blockage yield. Was then able to fire (an initially very orange) jet of screenwash out of the back.
Needless to say the cap and jets were completely clogged too, took some time using fine wires and compressed air as the jets are absolutely tiny, but cleared then eventually. Success for now, not sure how long they'll stay clear.
Next up the coolant leak. The level has moved by perhaps 5mm in 2000 miles, but sure enough..
It's in the vicinity of the thermostat housing so hopefully a simple enough fix. I'll order a thermostat and replace it anyway as it is running slightly cool in free-moving traffic (approx ten degrees too cool per Scanguage) and that's only going to worsen as the weather gets colder.
I'll investigate the rusty drain holes better when I jack the car up to do the suspension, but on shoving my phone under the car I initially thought they don't look too bad
Then I moved the phone forward, ok riiight...
Underseal looks bubbly for quite a way from the drain, I sense a bit of welding coming on. Mostly though the underside was described as very clean for its age and mileage so worth sorting any issues now.
PAS pipe dampness query, I couldn't see anything from above so will revisit when I'm underneath.
Finally, come the dark and frosty winter mornings, one's gentleman's region doesn't want to be super-cooled in error. All of the bulbs in the heat / vent switches had failed, so replaced with suitable LEDs (of the same wattage as the bulbs, allegedly).
Bit of a fiddly job as there are two bulbs per switch, one for the symbol and one for the indicator on the rotary switch. Getting the LEDs seated (and with the correct polarity) involved a combination of guesswork, thin screwdrivers and blu-tack!
Unfortunately, the symbols are now super-bright, although the indicator lines are acceptable. Even though they are low enough down in the dash not to be too distracting, for the sake of my OCD I think I'll have to see if I can find a way to dim the LEDs output slightly.
The original bulbs were fitted with green rubbery caps so maybe see if I can find a way to glue those over the LEDs..?
markirl said:
As LEDs are more efficient, fitting the same wattage will result in much brighter LEDs.
Apologies, lazy choice of wording on my part. The LEDs are rated at 0.2W and the original bulbs were (I believe) 1.2W, the LEDs were simply sold as appropriate replacements for the incandescent bulbs but no rating in terms of light output was provided.
That said, the LEDs were dirt cheap compared to the cost of proper replacement bulbs so if I can find a way to tame them a little I'll be happy.
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