Classic 900 turbo buying advice
Discussion
I'm thinking of getting one of these, and was wondering what to look out for. Obviously I want lot of service history, but is there anything in particular?
I'm really after the classic 16v FPT with the aero kit and all that. I've seen a few, some with intergalactic miles such as this one:
http://pistonheads.com/sales/140782.h
Should that put me off? Will I find a decent, tidy aero for under 2K or will they all be nails for that price?
I'm really after the classic 16v FPT with the aero kit and all that. I've seen a few, some with intergalactic miles such as this one:
http://pistonheads.com/sales/140782.h
Should that put me off? Will I find a decent, tidy aero for under 2K or will they all be nails for that price?
Edited by the fury on Wednesday 4th April 12:40
I've had several 900T's as well as a couple of 9000's. Mileage has never been a concern of mine. My last 9000 was almost at 400'000 before it suffered body damage. All the othere were past 200k. The engines in these cars last forever if looked after. I'd check the engine and gearbox for obvious faults, leaks etc. Check the turbo and don't forget the driveshaft gaitors. I'd live with minor faults as spares are available, plentiful and cheap. Most of all I'd look for really good bodywork as a rust marked car will be harder for you to sell later on. This car sounds like it's been looked after.
If you buy one you'll be surprised at just how versatile they are.
You could also ask questions here:
www.saabscene.com/forum/?Cat=0
Boosted.
If you buy one you'll be surprised at just how versatile they are.
You could also ask questions here:
www.saabscene.com/forum/?Cat=0
Boosted.
the fury said:
I'm thinking of getting one of these, and was wondering what to look out for. Obviously I want lot of service history, but is there anything in particular?
Edited by the fury on Wednesday 4th April 12:40
I spotted a decent Ruby a while back for 3K, I regret not buying it to be honest. Biggest killer on the 900 6 years ago when I had mine was rust, 6 years later I expect the same problem only more so. Only way to check a car that looks visually rust free is to jump in the back seat and remove the side trim panel. They always rust from the inside out down the bottom of the rear wheel well. Saab used mega good trim fasteners back then which meant that you could refit these panels many many times with no problem, and it takes literally seconds. If I was selling a 900 I would take em off to show the prospective buyer how rot free the car is. Loads of ppl also used to have gearbox problems but IMHO 90% of this was down to poor driving. I had a friend with one, the gearbox was fine, a week later the gearbox was knackered. My car did 193K miles on the original gearbox with 80K miles of it running 1bar boost and custom intercooler. Lastly a full main dealer history on these cars isn't worth the paper its written on IMHO, much better a specialist and an owner that has spent money when and where required i.e. done more then tarted it up.
As I said in another thread, the essential spot to look for rust is the front undercarriage parts where the drivshafts run through. If it's dodgy there, it's basically scrap yard fodder unless you're willing to invest far more than the car is worth. The other notorious rust areas are quite obvious when you go look at a car - wheelarch flares, door bottoms (inside mostly) and bonnet sides near the A-pillars (where older cars have either a 'SAAB' or a 'turbo' badge).
Gearbox problems are indeed quite dependant on driving styles/skils - a loud whine at 50-60 mph in fourth and fifth usually means the pinion bearings are on their way out. The pinion bearing assembly (among many other things) was uprated in '89, and once again in '91. '88-On models should have turbos with a water cooled bearing housing, these are a bit less susceptible to failure than earlier versions.
Good classic 900 Turbo's with the Combi Coupé (3-or 5-door - the frist are the most popular and the latter have somewhat more 'cult appeal' as they look even more leftfield with the little opera windows) have doubled in price over the past 5 years on the continent, while prices in the UK are still very reasonable. On the lipside I also see more examples in the UK looking rather sorry for themselves while the remaining c900s here tend to have been enthusuast owned for some time now.
Gearbox problems are indeed quite dependant on driving styles/skils - a loud whine at 50-60 mph in fourth and fifth usually means the pinion bearings are on their way out. The pinion bearing assembly (among many other things) was uprated in '89, and once again in '91. '88-On models should have turbos with a water cooled bearing housing, these are a bit less susceptible to failure than earlier versions.
Good classic 900 Turbo's with the Combi Coupé (3-or 5-door - the frist are the most popular and the latter have somewhat more 'cult appeal' as they look even more leftfield with the little opera windows) have doubled in price over the past 5 years on the continent, while prices in the UK are still very reasonable. On the lipside I also see more examples in the UK looking rather sorry for themselves while the remaining c900s here tend to have been enthusuast owned for some time now.
the fury said:
How do I tell exactly if it's the LPT or the full-on 175HP version? What's the precise model name I'm after? And what is Red box APC?
Best way is to look at the dash - the low blow doesn't have the in dash boost guage (on the right above fuel & temp), the full turbo does.
Under the bonnet, the full turbo will have an intercooler behind the n/s headlamp, and an APC (red or black box) in the n/s wing.
In the UK the full turbo was just called the Turbo, or Turbo S with the Aero bodykit - otherwise known as a T16 / T16S. In Europe the T16S was the Aero, and in the states the SPG.
Just to confuse things the 900S was an LPT with the aero bodykit!
The bottom line is, look for the boost guage / intercooler / APC (although the latter two could be retrofitted, it's unlikely the boost guage would be - and if it was it's effectively a full turbo!)
As for the APC (Automatic Performance Control) - it's a box of electronics that limits boost depending on knock. The black boxes are usually 175bhp and the red boxes 185bhp. It's not an exact science though - most will be down on power by now unless they've been tweaked, and my car, although it has a red box, is only rated at 175bhp as it was previously catted.
It's academic anyway, a few pence on resistors and a soldering iron and a black box can be at red box or better spec
I must do mine this summer!
the fury said:
What about air-con? I know some have it, but is it totally prohbitively expensive to get some retro-fitted if it hasn't?
Yes, probably cost you hundreds. Get an SE (or maybe an S) and it should have aircon. Climate was a very rare option.
I have got the spec list for all the models somewhere as I considered one once.
Has a post been deleted? I thought k321 posted something but I can't remember. I think he recommended a manual. I have no idea if the autos are unreliable, but I do know that I wouldn't go for a cable clutch manual if the car is going to spend time in traffic. Late 900s have the hydraulic clutch that the 9-3 got.
900T-R said:
nicecupoftea said:
Has a post been deleted? I thought k321 posted something but I can't remember.
Um, that was the other thread about buying an NG900 I think...
In which case ignore my previous post!!
Air con is fitted on a few cars - either late runout cars (SE spec, many 'verts, Ruby), I was lucky to get mine with a/c fitted as standard.
Having said that, many people strip it out (no idea why) so you may be able to pick up the bits. It fits "on top" of the engine so it should be possible to retrofit but it will cost to get somebody else to do it.
It used R12 refrigerant, but I had mine recharged with a drop in replacement last year and it is still blowing nice and cold
Edited by nicecupoftea on Sunday 6th May 16:24
gorvid said:
How fast are these ??
How powerful in their different guises ?
How powerful in their different guises ?
As standard the 2.0 16v was about 130 bhp, LPT was 150 LPT, 16v turbo 175 / 185bhp depending on model.
Turbo models are tuned easily by upping the boost, although any more than 200bhp and you really want to be looking at other things - Eric / 900T-R's car is the benchmark in this respect as far as I am concerned, so much better than just turning up the boost until the pips squeak!
Performance on the 16v/LPT is average, keeps up with traffic OK - full turbo is where it's at. 0-60 is probably about 8 secs but it's not the full story. Doing full bore standing starts will lunch the gearbox in no time at all - these engines are all about torque and their strength is mid-range overtaking torque, at about 2800 rpm it really takes off
I would say that they're quick when it matters - traffic light grand prix not its forte (although it'll happily despatch most stuff on the road) but cross country is when it's in its element.
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