Tfw Saab will never exist again

if bmw bought saab then saab would exist again but they want to design shit like the x7 instead
>tfw you'll never see cheaper bmw's that are sold as saabs

friend of a friend said his would break down frequently, and with the make being out of business that makes me think maintenance would be expensive..

I started looking into the brand briefly when I found a cheap 9-5 near me. I'm gonna be buying my first car in 2-3 months.

>Saab will never exist again
Thank the lord

No more so than a Volvo, but they had that extra pretentious European look to them that made boomers angry and caused rumors to be spread about them

Certain years are kinda unreliable but otherwise they are God machines

Would 2006 be one of years?

Their last models were pretty shit when it comes to reliability. No wonder they no longer exist.

Nah. I used to have a 1985 900 which I had for 6 years with minimal drama.
Fun things I remember from the swedish vehicle:

They had the best transmission noise you've ever heard. Like some whirring clockwork Jules Verne bullshit once you pick up some speed.

The gear gait for reverse had a switch on the side which pushed in when you pulled the stick over. This is still technically neutral, but as you have the switch pushed in your reverse lights come on. You can do this safely at any speed (so long as you don't pull the stick back to engage it).
People backed off real quick when you flash reverses at them for being up your arse.

The "slant 4" engine was a nice thing. A basic looking inline 4 cylinder thing just cocked over roughly 45deg. Fairly modest power output, but fuckhueg amounts of torque.
Quite low revving, reds at ~5000. Very rarely ever needed to go above 2000.
Bonnet/Hood hinge is at the front so the whole thing tilts forward to open. Looks cool but was a pain in the dick to work on.

With the slow but stronk engine, and the giant hydraulicly sprung bumpers it had you could use this thing like a bulldozer if you were so inclined.
Dickhead blocked you in? Not nesessarily a problem with one of these.

Wipers on the headlights and heated seats. These were the saab gimmicks at the time. No other non luxury cars had this so you were a special snowflake. For a while at least.

I fucking loved that thing. Was p. sad when it "found" a pothole one night, shattered the offside ball joint, more or less tore the wheel out of it's mounting, and twisted the steering rack.

maybe, i knew guy with 1999 model and it was literally toyota tier reliable

I didn't even get a check engine light from the time I bought my 9-5 until the time an asian totaled it in a parking lot (about 1.5 years). fast as fuck too.

rip

The 900 series had the worst wind wander I've ever experienced in a car. Worse than those old Volvos.

What model year was it? Trying to pin down when Saab turned to shit (allegedly)

Saab cars were the greatest cars GM ever made

Pretty reliable. Simple to work on for the most part. There are some retarded things to expect since it is a European vehicle owned by GM. Some parts might be hard to find though.

They're still around and still affordable
...for a jet fighter

Pls r8 this deal. They want $1200 for it, might be able to get it a bit cheaper since it's been up for a while.

sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/saab-900-turbo-1992-green/6280222007.html

Doesn't look bad.
Go to see it, and check for:
>rust starting around the saab badges just above the repeater lights - open it up and check the inside as well
>orange "fur" all over the engine - not critical in itself, more an indicator of how well looked after it's been
>shit in/around the ignition barrel - it's on the floor under the handbrake so it collects all kinds of weird stuff
>silver plastic trim lines on the bumpers coming loose
>if bumpers front and back look even - if it's been shunting the hydraulic springs can lock and the bumper won't return to level
>roof seals not looking like crap
>take it for a drive - the transmission should sound like a smooth clockwork whirr
>low rev it and dawdle around for a bit as if you're mooching around town when it's busy - if it's not been properly looked after, sometimes 1 cylinder will flood and the ride will get lumpy as fuck until you floor it for a few seconds and it clears itself

If you can pursuede him to accept 1000, that would prob. be a decent buy. Assuming it's not just dressed up.

That looks to be a good deal, but weird he isn't listing the issues, he might be hiding something.

The biggest issues with that era is the transmission's pinion bearing. They fail over time, usually 150k to 200k. When it fails it destroys the transmission and used ones start at 1200. The pinion bearing can be replaced.

Different eras and models have different problems.
The classic 900 has a weak transmission.
The new 900 had weak turbos.
The first gen 9-3se and viggen needs their DIC replaced about once every 150k to 200k miles. The SID( information display) ribbon goes to shit. Engine can sludge up with poor maintance.
The 9000 is pretty fucking robust, especially the aero.
1st Gen 9-5 can sludge before 2005. Same DIC and Sid issues as 1st Gen 9-3
I don't know enough about the 2nd gen 9-3 or 9-5.

I own a 92 turbo 900 200k+ miles, 01 9-3se 250k miles and a 95 9000 260k miles. All have been pretty trouble free. None have left me stranded.

Niggermobile of the sky