100k mile Dame Edna Aero Estate - what to check?

[PhilipAlfa]

Hello! As you can probably tell from my username I'm not a SAAB expert... I need a family wagon/dog carrier and am quite keen on a Dame Edna (yes really) 9-5 Aero estate - Alfa's 159 just doesn't have a big/square enough boot (plus seem quite expensive) and a friend had a 9-5 years ago which I always liked.

I've seen a suitable car for what seems a good price but it's done just shy of 100k miles - see http://www.sportiva.co.uk/la55gxm.htm.



Anything I should be looking out for (exhaust life/radiators/suspension bushes etc)? How long does the turbo usually last? I think I read on here that the timing chain is good for 200k (?) but anything else that I should be looking for in the service history to ensure that it has been changed - or equally is there anything that if I see it should ring alarm bells?

Any help/advice much appreciated!

Cheers

Philip

[aeropilot]

Manual is rare, but, it's quite low spec compared to what you can get an Aero....but worryingly, for me, it's had the 4th service (big one) not done at a dealer....?
Unless it's been done at one of the few good Saab indie's, I'd not touch a car that doesn't have a full dealer service history. Keep looking, they are about.

[PhilipAlfa]

Ok thanks for that. Can I ask one other silly question? I need the car to have electric folding door mirrors due to the narrow space I park the car in. How can I tell from pictures whether a 9-5 has them fitted? Is there a switch on the dashboard I need to be looking for?

[aeropilot]

PhilipAlfa said:

Ok thanks for that. Can I ask one other silly question? I need the car to have electric folding door mirrors due to the narrow space I park the car in. How can I tell from pictures whether a 9-5 has them fitted? Is there a switch on the dashboard I need to be looking for?

Yes, there is a switch.

It's down in the lower right hand side of the dash and has a graphic of a door mirror on it.

If you look at this photo of a high spec Aero, you can just see the switch with the mirror symbol on it just inside the rim of the steering wheel below the horiz at the 3 o'clock position. In the 2nd pic below it you can see this switch is blanked on a car without the folding mirrors.





You will need to find a car with one of the Convienience Packs(?) fitted for the leccy fold mirrors, as they were rarely speeced as an individual option. I'm not sure what pack though, as the naming and options parts all changed for the Dame Edna cars from the earlier ones, where my knowledge is more particular to.
I think there were two packs, one with the Sat Nav and one without. The concience pack adds dual leccy fronts seats, heated rear seats, rain sensor wipers and the 200w Harmon Kardon audio upgrade as well as the folding auto dim mirrors[/footnote]

Edited by aeropilot on Monday 5th July 11:54

[PhilipAlfa]

That's brilliant - thank you. It's the top of my budget (actually a bit over) but i have found this one which seems to have all that I need:



http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/SAAB...

I might go and see it tomorrow and try to negotiate!

Thanks

Philip

[aeropilot]

Looks OK.

No mention of the HK audio upgrade or rain sensor wipers, but it does have the leccy fold mirrors and leccy seats....so may or may not have the full Convienece Pack option?

You can see if it has rain sensor wipers from outside looking at the windscreen. You can see the little black sensor panel up in the centre-top of the screen in the area in front of where the mirror is.
Leccy seats should be both passenger and drivers with memory function on drivers side only.
Should have heated rear seats too, there's a single button in the rear of the front centre console/arm rest housing.
HK audio upgrade can be spotted by looking in the back load area, There's a removable panel on each side, but if the HK ES3 system is fitted, a subwoofer 8th speaker is fitted in it's place.

[PhilipAlfa]

Saw the car the other day - it doesn't have any of the extras you describe! So just electric drivers seat (no memory) standard stereo etc.

However it's in great condition, with a low mileage and full Saab service history.... so I placed a deposit and will be picking it up tomorrow!

Thanks for your advice - I'll let you know what I think after I've driven it home (approx 100 miles)

[aeropilot]

PhilipAlfa said:

Saw the car the other day - it doesn't have any of the extras you describe! So just electric drivers seat (no memory) standard stereo etc.

However it's in great condition, with a low mileage and full Saab service history.... so I placed a deposit and will be picking it up tomorrow!

Thanks for your advice - I'll let you know what I think after I've driven it home (approx 100 miles)

Leccy folding mirrors must have been specified as a single extra cost option then. You don't see that often as the extra cost for the Convience Pack over just one or two of the options was very small so that's why most cars are either basic spec or full spec.

Car looked good though

[PhilipAlfa]

Well the 9-5 has sat at Heathrow airport all week, so i haven't really had much time to gel with it yet. First impressions are that it's a great long distance cruiser, very comfortable (although it has taken me ages to get the electric seats to the right position) and the dog loves the spacious boot!

I think the power delivery is going to take a bit of time to get used to - never really driven a turbo petrol before and when it kicks in, boy does it kick in!

[aeropilot]

PhilipAlfa said:

I think the power delivery is going to take a bit of time to get used to - never really driven a turbo petrol before and when it kicks in, boy does it kick in!

Experiment with it, but, they respond best by using the throttle progressively rather than stamping on it as you would in a n/a engine. You don't really ever need to rev the nuts off of them either. Feeding in the power/torque helps with taming the torque steer as well, and as a result they can be pleasant enough to drive quickly. I actually use the 'boost' gauge more than the tach in reality, as this isn't a real boost gauge, but an electronic torque request meter driving by the ECU, so learn to use that. For example, experiemnt bewteen cracking open the throttle with the needle in the lower white zone, compared to squeezing it progressively with the needle just at the start of the yellow and you'll see what I mean.
Trionic 7 in the 9-5 has the capacity to 'learn' your driving style from storing throttle position, so performance can drop off if the engine isn't 'exercised' regularily so to speak.

[PhilipAlfa]

aeropilot said:

so performance can drop off if the engine isn't 'exercised' regularily so to speak.

Damn! I'll just have to exercise it regularly then....