Late 900 or early 9-3 vert?

Late 900 or early 9-3 vert?

Author
Discussion

InsigniaSRI

Original Poster:

22 posts

146 months

Thursday 25th October 2012
quotequote all
Anyone have experience of both? Any major differences? I have no real preference looks wise, I do think they have aged really well and still look fantastic considering they can be picked up for a few hundred!

I hear they all come with heated seats as standard? is remote central locking standard too? The only issue I see mentioned a lot is wobbly pedals on movement of the steering wheel. Is this due to the bulkhead or something?

Will be used as a second "fun" car, weekends and camping. How big is the boot compared to, say a gen 6 celica vert, that had tons of room even with the roof down. Are the rear seats enough for a medium sized pooch??

Thanks for any help

griffin dai

3,215 posts

156 months

Thursday 25th October 2012
quotequote all
I've had my 9-3 vert since feb, good car but coming from a 9000 aero it's not as well built imo, little things like indicator stalks and switches feel a bit cheap/fragile compared to the older Saabs (cheers GM)

Moving pedals will probably mean a cracked bulkhead, can be sorted but prices vary of garage to garage, I think mine quoted £350 odd.

Boots not a bad size, the roof bag can be pulled up on clips when not in use to give a few extra inches.

Handlings not the best! Steering rack clamp and subframe brace as well worth the money to reduce scuttle shake.

I've been told the 900's roof can play up, mine threw a wobbly this summer but turned out to be a broken wire. No problems since. As said its a nice enough car, looks good, comfy,feels pretty modern, handles miles better after a lot of mods, pretty quick after a remap....but it's just not a 9000frown

MrMoonyMan

2,584 posts

218 months

Thursday 25th October 2012
quotequote all
9-3 is vastly improved over the gm900

InsigniaSRI

Original Poster:

22 posts

146 months

Thursday 25th October 2012
quotequote all
Never had a saab, itch that is going to be scratched pretty soon. Not too fussed over handling, it's never going to be a b road blaster is it? Purely for looks and a cheap soft top.. Not that I like attention but the one and only other vert I had was great fun. Nothing beats open air motoring! Even in the depths of winter lol.

K321

4,112 posts

225 months

Monday 29th October 2012
quotequote all
have had both.
i would definitely go for the 9-3 vert

my experience of 900vert

1) prefer the shape, looks more sleek.
2) not all of them have heated seats, this was an option and you will find many which dont, but leather did come as standard.
3)the clutch on the 900 has a cable, and they snap easily, i must have had 8 incidents where it snapped.
4) the roofs are prone to breaking,loose wires, to full on units malfunctioning- a costly repair.- if you scour the classifieds you will notice a lot with the roof not working- some adverts say you can use the roof manually, but you can't, it has to be fully electric.
5) i had a few issues, from fuelpump braking, to radiator overheating, the 3 of them which i have had, have collectively broke down on me ..9 times. -all 3 had overheating issues, coolant hoses not properly fixed, trouble selecting reverse gear- a common fault. the worst issue i faced was when the rear glass screen blew up when i tried to heat it on a cold winter morning.
6) av maintance per year..£1800 exlusive of insurance/petrol



9.3 vert
1) interior is more up to date, the same ergonomics remain except that the 'black panel' is now changed to 'night panel'-
2) the clutch is different, much lighter to use, and its far easier to drive. the car is much easier to drive and the gerabox feels smoother.
3) roofs still prone to breaking-
4) i prefer the standard 17 inch alloys on 9.3 verts, they look more sporty
5) generally far more reliable.
6.) i prefer the seats with the anti whiplash headrests, more comfier.
6) annual mainteance cost me about £1000 a year excluding insurance/petrol,plus it never broke down.

verdict- choose the 9.3 vert all the way
check rook properly works when you view and that the plastic flaps on the back are flush,often in classifieds you will notice there are verts with holes where the flaps should fall flush . check the usual smoke if its a turbo

the boots are small when the roof is down, when its up you can fit about 4 medium sized bags, the back seats are really spacious for 2 adults, though narrow.

bulkheads cracks are over exaggerated on the net, i have had 3 900's and 3 9.3s, and none have had this fault- with mileage of them exceeding 200k

Edited by K321 on Monday 29th October 01:36


Edited by K321 on Monday 29th October 01:38