Jan
the bad? the good?
Answer:
Do not buy a 95 Saab 900 V6!!!
I owned one for 7 years and loved every minute of it!
It was one fine car…until it passed the 5 year 120,000 mark.
I took great care of it, but when it comes to repairing or replacing parts…ouch!!!
Example, the fuel lines are plastic and grow brittle and the fuel filter is under the passenger rear door area. That allows the line to bend and break ever so slightly. It costs about $1000 US to fix. The exhaust…pray you don't live where there is emission testing. New exhaust system…$1500 US. That's at the dealer. I kept mine for two extra years, because, like a great dog, it served me well and I loved it. Plus, I'm a decent shady tree mechanic. However, a dog loves even after it no longer can play. The Saab just sits there and mocks you. A '95 right now is 13 years old, and unless you live near one of few Saab parts yards in the US and are truly a certified mechanic, or simply have lots of money to drop into a hobby, maybe something else would be better.
I miss it every day. But would take it back that old.
Good luck.
Answer:
The NG900 (94-98.5) and the early 9-3s (98.5-02) are technically the same car, though during the switch from the 900 to the 9-3 moniker the whole platform went under a major overhaul and many improvements. The 9-3 is the better car to have, but finding lightly driven 900s isn't too hard and can be a great value.
Stay away from the V-6 900 models, these engines were great in their time, but proved very unreliable and hard to get anything for because Saab is the only company to sell this engine in America (the 2.8L V-6 was a GM of Euro design). The most reliable of the 900s was the N/A 2.3L I4. But the one to really get for the enthusiast was the smooth revving 2.0L Turbo. The 9-3 was only available with the turbo fours, one w/ 185HP version and a high end 200HP one. Then there was the 9-3 Viggen (one of my dream cars) with 225HP.
Parts can be a little tough to find, but not outrageously expensive. Do you're maintenance and it'll keep you happy to upwards of 200K. The last one I had ('97 900 SE Turbo) read 168K the day I sold it, was to a close friend and he is still abusing the tar out of it.
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