1994 SAAB 9000 CSE 2.0

Summary:

The great big swede

Faults:

Anti-roll bar link snapped.

Near side rear brake caliper seized.

Offside front flexi brake hose worn through.

Exhaust middle section snapped at rear join.

Air-con not working.

Electrical fault on headlamp wash/wipe.

Noisy thrust release bearing.

Cruise control not working.

General Comments:

I got this car relatively cheap, because the person who owned it never looked after it, as you can see from the long list of faults. However the 9000 is definitely worth the time and money to restore.

Even though the ride seems restless, and the 2.0 Ecopower engine seems somewhat gutless as you get higher up the gear box, there is just something about this car that makes you fall in love with it.

Maybe it's the excellent driving position, or the fantastic levels of equipment, or maybe it's just the fact that the Saab 9000 is a very solid and well built car, capable of phenomenal mileage.

It may have issues of ride, handling and running costs, but the Saab 9000 is such a good car, it just doesn't matter.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th March, 2005

31st May 2010, 09:07

I have a 1994 Saab 9000 CSE and it's a 2.3, NOT A 2.0, so what's up with that?

4th Dec 2010, 09:47

In Europe you could still get the 2.0L engine. The 2.3L was the standard engine in the USA.

1994 SAAB 9000 CSE 2 litre turbo

Summary:

Sven Goran Erikkson 9000CSE Turbo

Faults:

Nothing gone wrong so far

But need to replace general working parts only in due course.

General Comments:

I was after a Large Prestige Car that was also a Hatchback..& there are very few around. I drew up a shortlist & as my last car a Renault Laguna had given me nothing, but grief, I had to make a quick decision as I had no wheels.

What a fantastic decision it was to buy the SAAB 9000 CSE. I cannot praise the Swede's enough for making the Sven Goran Erikkson of Car's...Modest, Great Ability, Professional, Not exactly Good Looking, always Smartly presented & reliably honest approach.. welldone!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th May, 2004

1994 SAAB 9000 cse 2 Litre (non turbo)

Summary:

A slow very expensive heap

Faults:

Gearbox failed (differential) £570 for a reconditioned box.

Rear crankshaft oil seal failed and destroyed clutch Gearbox out again! Very Expensive!!

Air conditioning radiator failed, left it not working as not essential.

Various oil leaks.

Water pump failed, d.i.y repair still £78 for a genuine Saab pump.

The last straw!! Clutch master cylinder failed, did not inquire on price of repair, disposed of car!!

General Comments:

Please read and understand this review, never believe anyone that says Saab's are very reliable cars, because in my experience, they are not. Even minor repairs are very expensive if the work is carried out by Saab.

My car was not an abused hack it had plenty of Saab history and appeared to be in good condition, but after the first failure I should have realized that the cost of keeping an older Saab running is like throwing money down the drain. I hung on to the fallacy that the car would repay me with at least 50000 miles of motoring, How wrong I was!!

It was comfortable and it had a large boot, they are the only positive things I can say.

Running costs are astronomical.

In the end I had to throw it away, it was so bad.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th November, 2003

25th Nov 2003, 16:51

I have a 1990 Saab 9000 with 204,000 miles. First off, I would tend to disagree with your labeling Saab as unreliable. You experience is based upon just that, one experience. Don't call the rest of us Saab owners dishonest, my car is reliable and I'm not telling a tall tale in any respect. I have had to replace my clutch slave cylinder, which at the same time I did my clutch along with some seals. It sounds like you simply got a car that hadnt been taken care of. Trust me, I've seen saabs in awesome cosmetic shape that had not been taken care of at all and that had tons of mechanical problems as a result (as any other car would). My 9000s is a non-turbo and gets to 60 in 9 seconds, that's not too shabby for a 2.0L car with no turbo. It also competes with the 5-series of these years in handling. Anyways, I just want your possibly emotional comments to have a very negative impact, I and many others tend to think that what you say is untrue of most saabs.

11th May 2004, 18:45

Perhaps you are being a little harsh, but I can't say I entirely disagree with you... I have a 9000 with very low mileage (about 50k miles when I bought it), and it has had problems galore. Parts are hard to find and expensive, servicing is spotty, and it seems like something is always breaking on my car. Right now, I'm wondering what's going to break next!

Are Saabs reliable? Well, they're built of fairly high quality components, but the engineering seems to be well... odd... The electrical systems are the most failure-prone, as according to various consumer organizations. Mechanically, these cars are pretty decent (except for the transmissions), which puts their overall reliability somewhat above a North American car, but far below that of the Japanese.

If you want a Saab, for the love of God, make sure everything on it works perfectly! Otherwise, you'll be spending a lot of time and money getting it fixed.

1994 SAAB 9000 CSE 2.0 Eco

Summary:

A comfortable cruiser

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

I bought the car because whenever I took my old 900 for a service at the main dealer, where I received good service and reasonable costs, they often lent me a 9000 for the day. I enjoyed driving it so much I went and bought one.

The car is very comfortable and very different to the 900. It is great to have the climate control on a hot day or just to clear the air on a long journey.

My 2.0 Eco is a little underpowered compared to my previous car and I am seriously thinking of having an intercooler fitted by Abbot Racing in Essex to boost the output to 190 bhp.

Insurance costs seem to be rather high but a reasonable quote was obtained through the SAAB owners club.

Cruising tends to return around 31 mpg and it is useful to have a constant readout of fuel consumption as this encourages a lighter foot.

No costs yet but I would not expect any. Both my previous SAAB's were pretty reliable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th June, 2000

31st Jan 2003, 13:02

I too have recently (Dec 23rd 2002) purchased a 9000 CSE 2.0 LPT and find the standard 'fit' to be a little underpowered. A brief search on the i/net show lots of enhancements and tweaks that report to give massive improvements. e. g Hydro Injection Systems.

1994 SAAB 9000 CDEi 2.0 petrol

Faults:

Ignition unit changed at 78K (under warranty).

No other faults.

General Comments:

Not a boy racer, but very comfortable and safe.

Build quality excellent, 94K miles, and runs very sweetly. Local main dealer (Leamington) very competent.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th December, 1998