Are saabs good reliable cars? Someone wants to trade for one of my 1990 300se with 200K a 1986 saab 900s with 160K are they sturdy cars?

Be careful

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64 European Coupe Brilliant Silver with Red interior 4 Speed Sunroof
87 TDT 286k
87 SDL 195k
83 SD 202k
83 SD 201k
83 D 286k
02 R1150RT 32K
00 122HP FLSTF
07 KTM 250SX

"Danger takes many forms"

I just traded my 1991 Saab 900 with 160k miles for a 1968 Land Rover Series IIa.

I always thought my Saab was easier to work on than my 300SD. Parts seemed to be less expensive, too.

There are a couple of weakspots, most noticeably the headgasket. It will costs upwards of $1k to have a shop do it, or 12 hours of your time.

Saabnet.com is the place to go for Saabs, but is is nothing like here. Don't make Scott mad or he'll take his car and go home.

I was just talking to my cousin about her I think its an 06 or 07 9-5. Cool car she really likes it, no problems so far. Don't know much about them other than they look neat and have the key on the floor for some reason.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Key on the floor?

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

in my period away from benz.... i owned a 220b then a 190c, then i owned a corvair, an opel, two saab 99s, a bmw bavaria, and then a 220d. and about twenty five more.

anyway the 99s had very very robust motors. weakish trannys for the power, a lot of junk english electrics, some very good bosch stuff, very robust bodys and some great acceleration and excellent road manners.

i went back to german cars after the two saabs.

overalll, if the benz is a ten, in quality, the bmw is about a seven or eight and the saab is about a six.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Those crazy Swedes found that ignition keys caused injuries in accidents, and they put it on the floor of the 99 and 900 lines.

It's really not inconvenient, and you get used to it right away. The engine is laterally-mounted, which is odd for a FWD, but it's easy to work on. And as was stated, the parts aren't expensive.

Yeah the old ones had the key on the floor, strange.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

No.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Note picture.

Saabs, especially the 900, are junk. They are the worst designed cars I've ever seen. Everything is sdarwkcab-ssa. Clutch in the front, belts against the firewall, tranny is the oil pan, axles are a PITA to get out, key can get stuck in the ignition, and the wiring is atrocious.

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BMW 7 or 8????? they invested a lot more in the eighties and nineties though. I love benz, but for gas engines and overall road handling I prefer BMW no doubt. lift up a bmw at the front, that frame is so tight that the rear will come up as much as the front...
allignment is way better too.

If you get a Saab 900 and the tranny goes out, you might as well get another car. Very labor intensive which equates to very expensive.

I had an 84 900 turbo 3 door that was awesome except for the tranny. It was my Mom's car before mine so it lived a posh life before I got it. Okay I was 20 and wasn't gentle on the car, missed a few shifts into second, so it wasn't totally the cars fault. I didn't listen to the shop where I had it worked on, he told me to rebuild it, I didn't listen and had a supposedly good used tranny installed somewhere else. After the 2nd tranny went I traded it in on my first new car - 92 Honda Civic DX. Big mistake. I remember seeing the Saab around town after that and it is probably still running today.

From what I remember before I got rid of it, it was a sturdy car. It is great in the snow and is like a tank with 4 good snow tires on it - lived in Rochester NY back then. The brakes need a lot of attention. I remember replacing the pads fairly frequently and the rotors seemed really thin. Also, it has an aluminum oil pan, don't over tighten the drain plug. It will strip the threads!

I was told the key was between the seats for security. It is really hard to get the assembly out. I tried. You get used to it quickly. I remember getting into a friends car, more than once, and jamming the key into their console and wondering what the problem is.

I would do it if it shifts smoothly. I remember the mechanic said something about the syncro for 2nd gear being the weak point in an otherwise sturdy transmission. The shifter always has a little pull towards the center, but it should shift in smoothly when you pull back and towards you to engage 2nd. If it clunks or grinds (with the clutch in)it is close to dying.

Good luck with your decision.

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'80 300D na @156K
'82 300TDT Midnight Blue - Parts car
'84 300D euro 4 speed
'99 Isuzu Trooper
'67 Mustang GT 390/4 speed
'96 F350 Dually Dump (For Sale)
'00 Kawasaki KLR650

the oil pan alone for an M3 is $1,000



that's enough to steer me away from bmw.

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-1983 VW Rabbit LS Diesel (5speed, VNT/Giles build)

drive carefully. you get what you pay for.
what, other than a porsche, compares to an M3... also in terms of durability that is.