I've always had a soft spot for Saabs which was heightened by my experience of flinging a 93X Estate around a frozen lake in Sweden a few years ago.
Does anyone have experience of ownership?

I'm specifically looking at pre 2009 93Xs - in 2009 there was a revamp which made the car more of an Allroad style jacked up look.

 

i like saabs..but from what i saw, when i worked for them,more unreliable than the poxhall equivalents.

but i would like the saaburu

 

I quite liked the concept of the Saabaru too - it really made the Impreza a lot less crappy inside than it once was.

SAAB is a total conundrum; it seems the early GM900s and 9^3s with the SAAB powertrains are the most-loved by their dedicated followers, but they are ancient now.

They seemed to become closer to badge-engineered as time went on (except overweight and less reliable) and I don't really get it with the later cars at all. They're not 99s or 9000s, which was oddly appealing too.

The 9^5 was a rare and elegant swansong and possible exception, but it's too rare to be able to trust any judgement.

SAABSunited would be a better ask, really.

 

i used to get a lift from a guy with one not that many years ago

it was a vectra in all but looks , had a 'sportier' ride, much nicer interior and did decent mpg

for a cheaper knacker probably not a bad buy but i wouldnt spend big money on one

 

That's actually a very apt summation, Notts!

 

The old 900's oozed style, they look like they could be a really good buy for a classic (if its not rotten).

My old boss had the 9000 Carlsson in this dog-dick colour rather like this one :
http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/...carlsson/22346

I only remember driving it once to the post office and back, whilst an office junior in 1991, it was a H reg too. An imposing car for back then, Q car strange but appealing.

 

I had a 95 estate as a company car ten years ago and it was my first experience of Saab ownership.




Took me a while to get used to some of its quirks - I kept banging the ignition key into the off position when going for the handbrake, next to which it sits - but I did (and do) like its image. Often said to appeal to architects, it certainly doesn't have any of the baggage that goes with the willy-waving BMW and Merc brigade and yet it manages to avoid being too fuddy duddy IMHO.

I had the version with the lower turbo boost but it still made very good progress and was the car in which I was caught doing three figures on the M6 ...

I think the 93, despite its Vectra origins, will still have some of the badge cachet ...

 

FWIW here's the car I'm looking at
http://uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=156567

 

Given the underpinnings, might be some useful parallel research to be done on the Vauxhall forums Gareth. I'm not aware of any issues with that engine but experience with other GM vehicles has led me to be suspicious of alternators and air conditioning components. It's an interesting car but the price looks ambitious to me. Do they command a premium?

 

I've had 5 of the 900 Saabs mainly turbos and loved them I then bought a GM 900 and it was very ordinary and not
much fun to drive, Vectra in a different body. I would have another classic 900 turbo but not a GM one.