Faults:

Original battery failed, - Replaced.

Exhaust pipe failed, (repeated short cold-weather journeys by previous owner.) - Replaced.

Headlight wipers neglected and defunct -Don't need them anyway.

Windscreen squirters blocked. - Fixed them.

General Comments:

I thought I loved this car the day I bought it, but within a week, I realized – This car is tiny. I’d just parted with my Ford Granada living room on wheels. So now I didn’t like it any more, because this was like a closet on wheels compared to the Granada. But over the coming months I began to notice things like; ‘This car is quick, this car is comfortable, this car is economical, this car is reliable.’ The list goes on.

One down side; Saab dealers know how to charge, I discovered this at my first service; IRP£390 (say €440) for what was effectively an oil change and a set of brake pads. I quickly learned how to change oil, plugs, and filters etc. So now I service it myself every 10000 Miles for approximately €50.

In summary, the car is an engineering masterpiece. Even though it’s a heavy 2.0 Liter Family Hatch, (it so wants to be a coupe) once you have come to a rapport with its willing engine, its solid Gearbox and its dynamic chassis / handling, you can out-maneuver any GTI in the hands of a driver who doesn’t understand his car, (and that’s most GTI drivers)

I should also comment on its strength, because a Honda Civic once wrote himself off in a futile attempt to bend my rear bumper; he failed.

P.S. I bought this car based on a one-liner from Jerome Clarkson. “Saab – A seriously good value second-hand buy.” – He was right.

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 102000 miles.

New front suspension bushes required at 108000 miles.

General Comments:

This car has had its detractors, but I feel that Saab did extremely well considering the Cavalier floor-pan it had to work with.

The handling is the car's downfall, but that was remedied by fitting slightly wider tyres and using Abbott Racing's steering rack clamp.

The car is comfortable, quick, much more economical than the classic 900 and relatively cheap to repair/service.

Faults:

The right hand side of the trip computer display fades occasionally (although it is still readable) and the glovebox door rattles occasionally over rough surfaces (yes you're right, I am picking holes now!).

General Comments:

A smooth, quiet, comfortable car which is perfect for long trips. There might be better cars technically for the money, but none which have captivated me so much.

Faults:

Interior lights failed.

General Comments:

A good car, smooth and quiet, with excellent seats, let down by uninvolving handling, rather heavy and limited storage space for cassettes, maps, coins and all the junk I need in a car.

A colleague left a motorway at 70mph and survived; the crumple zones were destroyed, and the rigid body cell was untouched.

Faults:

Seat belt pre-tensioner failed causing failure of driver air bag (off road 3 days).

Fog lamp bulb blew, can only be changed by dismantling front trim.

Cabin fan would intermittently stop (automatic climate control), which was fixed.

Now cabin fan runs out of control, like driving in middle of a tornado. Car currently off the road for one week waiting to get fixed.

General Comments:

Blistering acceleration from turbo blown two litre, but niggling faults spoil it. I've had more faults in two years with this car than in the last twenty years with Japanese cars. (Moral there?)