Which Saab Convertible should I buy

[JensenA]

I own 9000 so my Sister thinks I'm a Saab expert. She's after a Convertible and has a max budget of £5k, but preferably round the £4k mark. I've been doing the usual trawling on Autotrader, and getting a bit confused as to which model to go for, 2.0/2.3 2.0 HOT/2.3 SE/2.0i etc etc, so need a bit of advice on the best one to go for and which ones to avoid.
Performance is high up on the list of priorities, but so is mpg and reliability.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[aeropilot]

JensenA said:

Performance is high up on the list of priorities

Then a convertible isn't the right choice

Saab ragtop's are just too 'flexible' to consider performance......as in my opinion are just about all ragtops......cutting the roof off a monocoque doesn't make for a performance car.

However, I'm in a minority I guess, so, I'd say at your budget, you'll be looking for a late (2001-2) 9-3 Aero.......but a good one of those maybe just over budget.

I would however, recommend a similar year 2.0SE instead, which will be more in the budget. Good spec in the SE, and being the lpt engine, better mpg than the HOT engine in the Aero, and you can always get a simple ECU upgrade to get a bit more ooooph out of the lpt later on.

[JensenA]

Cheers for the speedy answer. I do tend to agree with you, but in 'performance' I mean it in terms of what model to avoid because it's a slouch

[K321]

hot aero..mpg though is low, low 20's...
2.o avoid as slow
2.3 lpt is ok i guess. i would go for the HOT version though

[Z4STER]

Hi JensenA,

My girlfriend wants to sell her Silver 2002 registered (but on 01 plate) 93 SE 2.0 Conv, 68k miles, vgc, does 33mpg on motorway. Not advertised anywhere yet, Richmond London area, PM me if you are interested. £5200 ono. Very good runner and all electrics in good working order, unlike many of these models. It has good body work all round and will sell for more in the classifieds !!!