12th May 2005, 07:45

Not to be rude to the kind sir with the comment about buying the Saab with a lot of miles, after having 3 Saab's my family has had to replace 1 transmission in the combined 1,000,000 they have been driven of course they will need work, but all great things only are great with a little TLC. give it time, you won't be hurt by your choice.

4th Jan 2006, 10:41

Orig Swedish 900's are real drivers and mechanics cars. Parts are relatively inexpensive and accessible on the engine. Have converted a 900 automatic to manual transmission. New Parts for this swap (clutch kit, engine seals etc) cost approx $700, and the engine work labor cost approx $700 as well, not to mention the donor car (for the manual tranny parts) which cost $50. Including the project car itself at $50, this was a fun 6 month project in my spare time. But now I have a great 1990 Saab 900 with full leather, a bulletproof drive-train all for approx $1,500, plus a real education on how to take apart and fix these cars. Used Saab 900's are cheap. Not many special tools required (torx drivers and a couple of trick clutch tools you can make easily.)Did I mention the Saabs are very very very safe? They are. And comfortable? they are. Enjoy!

Easy to work on and well designed. Am doing same on recently purchased 1979 Alfa Romeo Spider. Both are true classics the likes of which are never to be seen on the drawing boards or roads again (alas).

12th Sep 2007, 01:42

I’ve yet to learn to love it. I’m a Japanese who live in Australia at the moment, bought one out of curiosity (as to why many people are mad about it) ; it is a 2.0 16-valve 3-door manual hatch, with full service history and 152k on the clock. I gave it an all-fluid change, new front brake disks; and because one of the rubber covers has a crack, I’d the drive shafts reconditioned at the same time.

Things don’t like:

• Compare to the E30 318is and E36 3.2 I had in Europe before, the 900 is just plain slow and has lots of road noise.

• While the gear change in the BMW was a joy, light and precise; the 900’s gear change is awful and has a very vintage feel.

• Even the 1.8 16-valve E30 had quicker acceleration than the 2.0 16-valve 900.

• Despite having thicker body panels than the BMW and the poorly made Peugeot 405, the body set off a resonance over rough roads; this is seriously lack of refinement. I already had suspension bushes checked and some of them replaced; I think it is because 900 is an old design (started life as the 99).

• It encourages me to drive slower with strong understeer, while the BMWs do the opposite.

• You need to take the whole rear light cluster out to change a light bulb, a very vintage design.

• Admirations from other people; they think it is great, I think it is noisy, slow and has horrible gear change.

Things I like:

• Changing light bulbs behind the instrument panel is very clever, just remove the speaker above and you have full access.

• All controls including the radio on the dash are at eye level and a short distance from the steering wheel.

• The seats are far more comfortable on a long trip than other French, Japanese, British and German cars the family or I had.

• The loading bay is so long, it can swallow a windsurfing board easily.

• All panels are thick; the hatch and the doors feel like a ton (that is why it is so slow!). Absolutely no rust given Australia is so dry.

• Very economical; comparable to the 318is and much better than the (much faster) Subaru Forester 2.5XT.

Advice on how to appreciate ‘Classic’ 900 are welcome.