Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

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SaabStag
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Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2016 9:48 am

Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#1 Post by SaabStag » Sat Mar 05, 2016 11:01 am

Hi all,

I'm in the market for a Saab 9-3 Convertible for my wife and I'm wondering whether PC has ever published a Buyers Guide for this model? If so, in which issue would this have been?

Otherwise would someone be able to point me to a fairly comprehensive Buyers Guide elsewhere?

Thank very much in advance!! :)

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JPB
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Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#2 Post by JPB » Sat Mar 05, 2016 6:50 pm

There's the usual objective review from Honest John here but I don't think there's one in PC, in fact I'm toiling to think of any modern car that's made it into their pages, possible exceptions being the MGB, mini, Series 3 Land Rover, 2CV and VW Beetle, all of which were still in production long after the magazine's first edition was on the news stands.

But the only way to find out whether you could live with any car is to dive in and take a long test drive. As there are still Saabs aplenty on traders' forecourts, this should be easy enough to organise. Tip: As it's a convertible you're after buying, test drive one on a wet, miserable day when there's loads of traffic around and ideally find some rough, loose roads to drive on as one thing you're going to need to know is whether the car feels taut and doesn't flop about all over the place in the style of some older soft top models, another is how much water finds its way in.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

rich.
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Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#3 Post by rich. » Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:01 pm

ask this chap, it might still be for sale & it is a lovely car..
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6417
;)

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JPB
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Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#4 Post by JPB » Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:21 pm

rich. wrote:ask this chap, it might still be for sale & it is a lovely car..
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6417
;)
Sorry to butt in, Rich, thing is; that thread has a second page. On that second page, it says this:
tornewtsam wrote:Now sold!
;)

But maybe the car's successful seller would have some advice to offer to the new bloke?
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

tornewtsam
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Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 3:17 pm

Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#5 Post by tornewtsam » Sat Mar 05, 2016 8:37 pm

Hi, and yes as the successful seller I can probably help with some points to watch out for although I cannot say if there is a buyers guide. For the mark 1 (the same shape as the earlier 900)
Things to watch out for are - Rust: there should be none anywhere and if there is walk away. These cars were so well built and are so plentiful there should be no reason to buy a rusty one. Service history: check service record for sump strainer cleaning on a regular basis (at least every 20K) without this the engine could be starved of oil and die prematurely. Digital displays: both the computer and heater displays lose pixels so you cannot see what they are saying. There are a number of good repair houses out there that can take your displays and fix them for around £40 each giving a lifetime guarantee, but if this has already been done all the better. Bulkhead splitting: this is almost impossible to detect because it happens behind the protective layer of insulating foam. If it's bad you can tell by the way the car handles under harsh acceleration, it torque steers quite a lot anyway but if it's all over the road then there is a good chance the bulkhead might be split. If you can get a low mileage one and think the bulkhead is OK then you can get a "Viggen Rescue kit" which clamps the steering rack to the bulkhead / to the chassis making everything firm and reducing the torque steer to virtually nothing (I fitted one to my car and what a difference!). Abbott racing do the kit but if you are on a budget Parts for Saabs also do one for a fraction of the cost. I would recommend getting one fitted as soon as you buy the car; you will notice the difference.
The roof: as long as its not falling apart there should be nothing to worry about, even if it doesn't work it shouldn't take too much to fix. Mine didn't work when I bought it but it was only a micro switch and was soon sorted, Hydraulics might be the cause but even that only costs a few hundred pounds to sort. If the roof itself is in bad condition there are various companies that can replace the canvas for around £700. Turbo, as these are generally low pressure there is not much strain on them, but check the pick up from about 2500 rpm is blistering, if not there could be a turbo problem, if you get an aero the turbo is high pressure so might have taken more stress. Other than that it should just be usual things that you look for on any car, interior condition should be excellent, leather has no splits and carpet is in good condition, no rattles or shake even with the roof off. All the electrics should work so check heated seats, windows, mirrors headlight wash wipe, remote boot release etc. Try to get a car with a wind deflector or if not buy one soon after, the difference is unbelievable as you get no wind buffeting even at motorway speed and any non rainy day can be a roof off day as the heater in these cars is so good you can drive roof off in winter as well as summer.

If you are in the market for a newer mark 2 version I am not familiar with them but there should be no issues to speak of (my friend has one and it's a twin turbo diesel that does around 60 mpg)

That's about it, but if you have any specific queries just ask.

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JPB
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Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#6 Post by JPB » Sat Mar 05, 2016 11:01 pm

I seem to recall that forum stalwart Luxobarge once described how he had come up with his own, well engineered solution to the bulkhead issue on his own car, but am I remembering this correctly?
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true.. :oops:

Topaz
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Location: Derby

Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#7 Post by Topaz » Sun Mar 06, 2016 12:59 pm

A topic has been started on the 'Popular Classics' forum that may be of interest.

See here http://popularclassics.forumcircle.com/ ... highlight=

This also links to a car for sale here
https://www.gumtree.com/p/saab/great-sa ... 1158059180

Mike

SaabStag
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Re: Saab 9-3 Convertible Buyers Guide

#8 Post by SaabStag » Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:51 pm

Thanks everyone for your comments, much appreciated!

I must though apologize for the delay in responding to you guys, it's part due to work commitments and part due to what can only be described as an early onset of amnesia! :lol:

We have had a look at Mk2 ones as well and they are of course a much more modern car, although it feels heavier than the Mk1. One niggle I have regarding the Mk2 is the poor quality plastics and rubbers, the buttons seem to disintegrate prematurely and a lot of the external plastics and rubbers also look very worn even on very low-mileage Saabs.

Anyhow, we'll keep looking and hopefully we'll find a nice one before too long.

Thanks again for your comments!

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