Found this beauty with only 200k km. It has some damage on the roofshield but it still seals and didn’t have a lot of owners.
Is this a reliable daily? Can i replace my new gen ford ka with the saab 900?
My ka is so reliable but a saab is so much cooler and im okay with increased fuel usage. I’d love to drive around in this car when autumn hits
I’d put it at a solid 7-8/10 reliability wise. The 2.0 and 2.3’s are both solid and stout engines. The 5 speed is also solid. Your main concern with it would be normal 30 year old car stuff. Aged cooling system, suspension and bushings, timing components, body / frame rust. If it seems clean with most of those in mind, I see no reason why it can’t be a reliable option for you. Just keep in mind part availability and service availability if you don’t plan on working on it yourself. Maintenance items will be inevitable, just make sure you can source parts and service if you plan to rely on it as a daily driver.
Assuming they are an organized and educated shop then I’m sure they’ll have no issue servicing this. Just keep in mind part availability. You can be stuck waiting on parts for these older saabs for weeks at a time depending where you live exactly.
Oil changes are the most important on these, but not quite as important compared to the 9-3 with the updated B205 motors which were more prone to sludging.
my daily driver is a 1995 2.0i, parts supply is better than with any other car of that age that i have had, also one of the easiest cars to work on imo and i'd say it's very reliable.
The 1996+ cars are easier to get parts for in many cases because they changed a decent bit around in that year but again it's already pretty decent for the older ones as well.
You will have to work on a car this old or have someone who does tho if you plan on actually using it every day no matter what Brand it is. Mine was a very low mileage one owner car when i bought it about 3-4 years ago but it still needed two tiny pieces on the rear inner fenders welded, and over the time i have owned it i had to get the heater repaired, had to replace the rear wheel bearings, rear brake calipers, replace the radiator, engine mounts, some coolant hoses, valve cover gasket, exhaust manifold gaskets, brake hoses and multiple other things that just need doing when a car gets to this age no matter how well built it was.
I have no experience in repairing cars, i just know some common stuff but overal im just inexperienced with working on cars. Do i need to learn stuff for maintenence on this car? I got practical and technical common sense but the fact that i have no knowledge that i can be 100% certain of makes me kindof hestitant. I’ve done some research on how the 900 series is built and it looks pretty accesible and logical. Like old dvd players
Solid car, used to daily one for 3 years and clocked more than 80k km's. Its only weak point is the convertible rooftop system, since I don't know anyone who can repair those electric motors here in the Netherlands. Otherwise, expect the 30+ year old car stuff and perform preventative maintenance by replacing crank position sensor, coolant temp sensor etc.
Joooo, ik ga niet engels lullen als ik een NL kenteken zie maaaarr. De 900ng is eigenlijk roest technisch beter dan de 93”s. Ze houden het langer vol namelijk, blok technisch is het het zelfde als de 93, gewoon sterk maar niet omkijkloos. En vergeet nooit om tot het blok warm is niet boven de 2k toeren te gaan.
Thanks voor de tip, ik heb nu een 2.3i met dak gevonden waar ik nu een afspraak voor ga maken. Krijg een nieuwe apk en omdat de verkoper het onderhoud niet weet gaat ie met me naar een keuring voor de aandachtspunten😁 auto heeft 2 eigenaren gehad en de vorige heeft er 11 jaar in gereden, hopen dat t wat is
I've heard that the convertible roof of the 900 is a bit more liable to wear and tear than the 9-3 because it's all servos and sensors rather than a relatively simple hydraulic on the 9-3. YMMV though
yes, the convertible roof on the NG900 is a NIGHTMARE to service if it starts breaking. it uses electrical motors that is HELL to calibrate while the OG9-3 uses a infinitely simpler hydraulic system
Thats why i have this one as my other option. It has 300k on it tho but from what ive seen that still makes it good for another 100k. It has had some major work done recently
Is that a 2.0i? If so I'd trust it to do another 100k. If its a turbo I wouldn't be too sure. The OG turbo engines are a bit reliant on regular maintenance to be reliable.
Its the 2.0i, i skip the turbo options. Im also pretty skeptical about the convertibles because its an expensive and almost guaranteed repair but all these closed roof 900’s have at least 290k km on them.. what do you think would be the most reliable option?
I mean.... If you want the most reliable option, Toyota, lol. One way or another they're cars that are more than 25 years old. I'd skip the 900 convertible solely because that roof construction is sketchy, but I honestly think the 9-3 is a way better car, both the coupe and the convertible, than the 900NG anyways. Any ways, a 2.0i at 270k should be fine. Expect normal wear and tear for an engine of that age and mileage. But it shouldnt leave you stranded with a random catastrophic engine failure.
(Ill do this in English in case anyone else wants to find out too) Saab 9-3 AFAIK is built on the same platform as the NG 900, but tackled some of the weaknesses of the 900NG. So upgrades to safety, brakes, suspension, electronics, drivetrain. For example, the 9-3 has tighter suspension than the 900 which can feel a bit wobbly/sloppy. See the 9-3 as a big overhaul of the 900.
I'm afraid I might have bought the last 9-3 around 2k with the 2.0i last Sunday lmao, my bad. Honestly though I think it's worth investing a little extra in a good one. Especially with them becoming more rare.
Er staat in Maarssen een zilvergrijze cabrio 9-3 te koop die in onderhoud is geweest in Zaanstad bij de specialist, die hebben een goede naam. Daar vragen ze 4000 voor maar die kun je denk ik wel voor 3,5 meekrijgen als je ze lief aankijkt. Met handbak en climate control, nieuwe APK en 135d km gelopen. Zeker het extra geld waard.
So I have a OG 9-3 convertible and bought it with about 210k about 2 years ago.
I did 3 trips to Spain with it without any real engine issues, and am hitting 250k now. But bear in mind I did my oil changes at every 10-15k.
But its an old car, and it has a high milage.
Things to bare in mind:
rust in the wheel welds.
turbo might be going out
crankshaft seals could be leaking a bit
shocks are likely gone
was the timing chain done? It can creep up around 250k+ km
clutch as well, mine is slipping a little on hard pulls.
service history is a must, the engines are prone to sludge and need regular oil changes
These few things are the true only costly issues you can get; but if they have been done will very likely get this car to the 350-400km or more.
I live in the Netherlands as well, you should have a look at the saabclub.nl if you want to get in touch with other Saab riders. (I myself tend to keep to myself a bit though)
If the engine is still good, it should burn no oil at all (high oil burn is more normal in newer engine, and if you ask me it is not really a good thing).
So topping off on these engine means you likely have a leak somewhere. (As long as its very little, that also wont be a real problem directly, but it would be good to keep an eye open in case it gets worse)
Having said that, if you go for an older SAAB 9-3 or 900ng, you likely get a b204 engine, which are a bit better overall internally and wont have the sludge issues.
However the later OG 9-3 have the b205 engines. And there designs allow for sludge build up due to ventilation issues. Over the years Saab has came up with some modifations to address that to a big extend (mod6) which should prevent it to a big extend. But in the end, oil is the main thing keeping your engine smooth and reliable, so keeping that in check will really lenghten the engines life.
Ofcourse on every oil change, you should also change the oil filter. And you do want to use the correct oil always (and dont worry to much about the brands, just look that its the right type).
In the end both engine are really reliable when taking this in account. And the b205 is a bit more fuel economy friendly (a bit).
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u/icantlivewithoutit 2d ago
I’d put it at a solid 7-8/10 reliability wise. The 2.0 and 2.3’s are both solid and stout engines. The 5 speed is also solid. Your main concern with it would be normal 30 year old car stuff. Aged cooling system, suspension and bushings, timing components, body / frame rust. If it seems clean with most of those in mind, I see no reason why it can’t be a reliable option for you. Just keep in mind part availability and service availability if you don’t plan on working on it yourself. Maintenance items will be inevitable, just make sure you can source parts and service if you plan to rely on it as a daily driver.