cheap to insure Saab 900 for about £2k?
Discussion
What would my options be? What are the engine options and what are the implications for insurance? (Reason I ask is that it will be in my wife's name and she is 21 and only has 1yr no claims)
Am wanting to spend no more than £2000 and don't want anything older than a 96, or anything that has done more than 100,000 miles.
Is there anything i should really be looking for and anything I should avoid? Any links to a site explaining all the model variations would be useful.
Ta
Am wanting to spend no more than £2000 and don't want anything older than a 96, or anything that has done more than 100,000 miles.
Is there anything i should really be looking for and anything I should avoid? Any links to a site explaining all the model variations would be useful.
Ta
Why don't you look for a classis 900 turbo? Pretty respectible speed, solid build and good looks. I think the the gm car's based on a cavalier and pretty unliked as far as I know. The classic is cheap to insure and there are specialist policies for it. Here's a couple of sites where you may get information.
www.saabscene.com/saabforum/ubbthreads.php?Cat=0
www.uksaabs.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=406bd744750ed5fd20330807ff33ce21
Boosted.
www.saabscene.com/saabforum/ubbthreads.php?Cat=0
www.uksaabs.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=8&sid=406bd744750ed5fd20330807ff33ce21
Boosted.
Mrs Beard has a normally aspirated 1994, NG (non-classic) 900S - its been very reliable over the five years we've had it (apart from an auto box rebuild at 190+K which seemed fair to me), now has 205K on it and still uses no oil etc between services. Insurance around £200 pa fully comp. Similar but newer cars are well under £2000.
OK, here you go:
og900 / c900 / classic 900 (79-94) - all but the very best will have 100k plus miles on them now (although this is a Saab you are talking about, so not necessarily a problem). Prices vary from next to nothing to 7 or 8 grand for a late convertible turbo in mint condition. 2k would get you something fairly serviceable - comes in n/a 8v, n/a 16v, 8v turbo, 16v turbo, and 16v light pressure turbo varieties.
More likely you want something a bit more modern. gm/ng 900 (94-98) are dirt cheap at the moment. Not as characterful as the c900s but still not bad. You have 4 engine choice :
2.0 16v (very underpowered IMHO)
2.3 16v (nice cruiser, loads of torque but can lift up its skirts and bolt if pushed)
2.0 16v turbo (185bhp) - nice and quick, can be tuned easily, handling will need taming
2.5 V6 - GM unit which many moan about but if you follow the cambelt change intervals you will be OK (camchains on Saab motors)
Gearbox is manual or "sensonic" clutchless manual. Avoid the latter as it's pricey to fix if things go wrong. Not sure if they did an auto.
Go for the latest gm900 you can, some of the early ones were terrible!
If money will stretch, early 9-3s should come into your price range (98-03?).
Engines the same initially with addition of a diesel, but after 6 months or so the 2.3 n/a was replaced by a 2.0 lpt (again, nice and tuneable). Much better drive than the ng900.
Depends what you're looking for, really. If a cruiser then no problem - would recommend ng900 / 9-3 in 2.3 or 2.0 lpt flavours as much less likely to have been thrashed.
If you want something with more poke, get a turbo, sort the handling (steering clamp, anti roll bar, ?new dampers), and chip the car. Speedparts Stage 1 takes an LPT from 150bhp to 220 odd bhp - not bad for a few hundred quid.
Spend some time on saabscene/uksaabs/saabcentral and get a feel for it
Just found these :
c900 :
Not quick, but a nice cruiser with a bit of style
ng900 :
Quite tempted by that one myself, looks lovely!
Better driving car if you can stomach the mileage. TBH the cars wear these mileages so easily it's not worth worrying about - just find a well cared for serviced example and you're laughing
og900 / c900 / classic 900 (79-94) - all but the very best will have 100k plus miles on them now (although this is a Saab you are talking about, so not necessarily a problem). Prices vary from next to nothing to 7 or 8 grand for a late convertible turbo in mint condition. 2k would get you something fairly serviceable - comes in n/a 8v, n/a 16v, 8v turbo, 16v turbo, and 16v light pressure turbo varieties.
More likely you want something a bit more modern. gm/ng 900 (94-98) are dirt cheap at the moment. Not as characterful as the c900s but still not bad. You have 4 engine choice :
2.0 16v (very underpowered IMHO)
2.3 16v (nice cruiser, loads of torque but can lift up its skirts and bolt if pushed)
2.0 16v turbo (185bhp) - nice and quick, can be tuned easily, handling will need taming
2.5 V6 - GM unit which many moan about but if you follow the cambelt change intervals you will be OK (camchains on Saab motors)
Gearbox is manual or "sensonic" clutchless manual. Avoid the latter as it's pricey to fix if things go wrong. Not sure if they did an auto.
Go for the latest gm900 you can, some of the early ones were terrible!
If money will stretch, early 9-3s should come into your price range (98-03?).
Engines the same initially with addition of a diesel, but after 6 months or so the 2.3 n/a was replaced by a 2.0 lpt (again, nice and tuneable). Much better drive than the ng900.
Depends what you're looking for, really. If a cruiser then no problem - would recommend ng900 / 9-3 in 2.3 or 2.0 lpt flavours as much less likely to have been thrashed.
If you want something with more poke, get a turbo, sort the handling (steering clamp, anti roll bar, ?new dampers), and chip the car. Speedparts Stage 1 takes an LPT from 150bhp to 220 odd bhp - not bad for a few hundred quid.
Spend some time on saabscene/uksaabs/saabcentral and get a feel for it
Just found these :
c900 :
AutoTrader said:
1993 SAAB 900i SE 16v Auto,
K reg. 80000 miles, full leather interior, taxed till June, full history, aircon, boot changer, cruise, remote locking, bargain. £1,250.
Not quick, but a nice cruiser with a bit of style
ng900 :
AutoTrader said:
1997 R Reg SAAB 900 2.0 SE Turbo Talladega
Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 64,000 miles, Met Dark Red With Cream Leather Trim. 01342 871572, 07836595799, Alarm, Colour Coded Bumpers, Multible Airbags, ABS, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Climate Control, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Full service history, Power assisted steering, Spoiler. £2,250.
Quite tempted by that one myself, looks lovely!
AutoTrader said:
1999 T Reg SAAB 9-3 2.0T
3 Doors, Manual 5 speed, Coupe, Petrol, 108,000 miles, Metallic Magenta. photo, power steering, ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Anti theft system, CD, Central locking, Cloth upholstery, Colour coding - Body, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Full service history, Head restraints, Folding rear seats, Immobiliser, Metallic paintwork, Multi function steering wheel, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Radio, Remote locking, Rear headrests, Spoiler, Sports seats, Wheel trims. 1 lady owner from new , full saab history , oxford saab , none smoker , motorway miles , drives and looks fantastic , grey interior , £2,295.
Better driving car if you can stomach the mileage. TBH the cars wear these mileages so easily it's not worth worrying about - just find a well cared for serviced example and you're laughing
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