Opinions on cheap Saab's as runaround?

getmeouttahere

Been looking for a cheap car to get to/from work and Saabs seem to be cheaper compared to a lot of others.

Looking at automatics as that's all I can drive, I've seen a couple of Saabs fairly local in the £1000 ballpark.

First one is a 2004 (53 reg) Saab 9-3 2.0 Vector, 100k miles
Second one is a 2005 (05) Saab 9-5 2.0 Vector, 100k miles

Anything I should look out for, and are they generally good motors?

I must admit, the 9-3 looks nicer inside from an aesthetic point of view, but is about £150 more than the 9-5, although insurance seems to be cheaper for the 9-3.

harveybobbles

Petrol ones are nice.

Diesel ones will eat your wallet.

getmeouttahere

harveybobbles wrote: »

Petrol ones are nice.

Diesel ones will eat your wallet.

They're both petrol. Probably not going to be the most economical but I'm after something comfortable.

Horizon81

I'd be interested in opinions as well. Can pick up a 9-3 5 door 2.0 aero (petrol turbo) with 210bhp for a couple of grand. I can't think of much else that offers the same size, comfort and power. Must be a reason why they're cheap other than being a rebodied Vectra!

forgotmyname

They are cheap because SAAB went bump, which caused prices to plummet.

And a lot of people buy them cheap and run them with minimal servicing. Then pass them on just as the big bills are looming.

As mentioned above a diesel one is just waiting to empty your wallet, buy a dodgy petrol one and that can also do the same.

If you can find a one owner looked after example then all good, but beware cheap dealers and auction vehicles.

CHR15

I used to have a 2004 2.2TID 9-3.
To be fair it was comfortable and a nice car to drive.
The stereo was pitiful, and I really do mean pitiful, the worse I have ever known to be fitted to a motorcar.
My mobile on loudspeaker laying on the passenger seat sounded better.

I had an electrical problem in the end I simply could not solve, the whole dash would reboot (sweeping dials) randomly or just stop working.
The final straw was driving on the motorway late at night. and the whole electrical system had a meltdown, the headlights went off so I was on an unlit motorway at ahem, 70mph and couldn't see a thing in front of me.
It only lasted about 5 seconds but with no visibility at all, it was a long 5 seconds.

Saab parts are getting scarce, and expensive. Most are simply GM parts though so Wheel Hubs for example, Saab price £127, GM Price £35. It's the same part number in a different box.

Seatbelt retractor spring snapped
Intercooler split
Wheel hubs needed replacing
Front coil spring snapped ripping the tyre apart going around a roundabout (scary).
That's about it though in the 4 years I owned it.

Traded in for a 530D and never looked back.

getmeouttahere

CHR15 wrote: »

I used to have a 2004 2.2TID 9-3.
To be fair it was comfortable and a nice car to drive.
The stereo was pitiful, and I really do mean pitiful, the worse I have ever known to be fitted to a motorcar.
My mobile on loudspeaker laying on the passenger seat sounded better.

I had an electrical problem in the end I simply could not solve, the whole dash would reboot (sweeping dials) randomly or just stop working.
The final straw was driving on the motorway late at night. and the whole electrical system had a meltdown, the headlights went off so I was on an unlit motorway at ahem, 70mph and couldn't see a thing in front of me.
It only lasted about 5 seconds but with no visibility at all, it was a long 5 seconds.

Saab parts are getting scarce, and expensive. Most are simply GM parts though so Wheel Hubs for example, Saab price £127, GM Price £35. It's the same part number in a different box.

Seatbelt retractor spring snapped
Intercooler split
Wheel hubs needed replacing
Front coil spring snapped ripping the tyre apart going around a roundabout (scary).
That's about it though in the 4 years I owned it.

Traded in for a 530D and never looked back.

Yeah, a BMW would be my preferred choice, but I just don't have the budget for one unfortunately.

I have also looked at Vauxhall Astra's, but the Saab looks so much nicer.

Foxy-Stoat_3

What car do you want, cheap to buy, or cheap to run or both?

Not many autos are cheap to buy and run.

How many miles are you doing to do a year?

atrixblue.-MFR-.

SAAB clubs and saab forums would be a better place to purchase one as they tend to go above and beyond what is normal in servicing them and maintaining them, although your buying private your buying a load of receipts to prove maintenance and servicing and a generally well maintained car, my neighbor was a member till he went VX, his was always serviced and maintained well.

Marktheshark

Basically a Vectra with a saab badge.
Hence why they are cheap.

getmeouttahere

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

What car do you want, cheap to buy, or cheap to run or both?

Not many autos are cheap to buy and run.

How many miles are you doing to do a year?

Well, I've got a budget of approx £1500-£2000 (with the £2000 being absolute max).

My current car costs me £90-£100 a month in fuel and I only do 23 miles a day, 5 days a week. So £100 a month is getting me about 460-500 miles.

I will literally only be using the car to get to and from work, so annual mileage is likely to be in the region of 6,000 miles.