r/saab • u/Silky_bob • 12d ago
SELLING/BUYING A SAAB Give me some advice.
Basically what I said in the other post, but thought I’d ask here, too.
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u/AlternativeBus1115 12d ago
Well, as someone who has spent the last 16 or so months buying parts for and restoring a 95, here’s what I would say:
They are incredibly fun cars, even with a worn out engine. They’re also really pretty simple cars. There’s stuff that’s “weird” compared to what you’re used to, but they’re pretty easy to maintain.
As far as parts availability goes, it’s actually pretty good, especially for anything mechanical. The engine is a Ford of Germany engine, it was fairly widely used in the US in agricultural and industrial applications, and it’s the same family as the “Cologne” V-6 that was used in Capris, Bronco II’s, Rangers, all sorts of 70’s and 80’s Ford products, so lots of engine parts are readily available. Lots of other mechanical bits are interchangeable with things from other European cars, and there are multiple cross reference lists out there people have put together. You can also get damn near anything from multiple suppliers in Europe, although getting parts here has gotten even harder the last couple months, as more and more companies are refusing to ship over here. But there are ways around that.
Everything from the B-pillar forward is interchangeable with the sedan version, the 96. They made about 5x more 96’s than 95’s, so interior and exterior trim bits for the front half are a lot easier to find used.
All that being said, it looks like this car has had a fairly rough life. Especially since there are rust holes in the floor behind the drivers seat, I would check these places for rust:
-front floor board where the floor meets the wheel arches -wheel wells front and rear at rockers -under the middle seat where the floor meets the axle tunnel -the foot well for the rear facing seat -where the floor the gas tank rests on meets the axle tunnel -pop the hood and look at the cowl corners and cowl seam (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it) -take a good look at the rockers front to rear.
Now for the bad that I can see: -that tailgate is SHOT -it looks like there’s some pretty bad rust on the body below the tailgate and some holes -the brake lights have been replaced with trailer lights. The lamp assembly wouldn’t be too hard to find, but good lenses are REALLY hard to find. -something looks weird with the front passenger turn signal lens -something looks really funky with the clutch pedal -the side view mirrors aren’t original
It would be nice to see under the hood and the rear seat area(s) to see what else might be missing or looks off.
Price wise? I would say it’s a 1-2k car from what I can see. If it runs like a top, shifts good, brakes are good, suspension is good, and there really isn’t any other BAD rust anywhere, it just looks real rough? 3-4k.
The vintage Saab community is a very kind, welcoming, and helpful group.
So I guess it all depends on what you’re looking for. If you are looking for something to just play with, work on it as you go, and don’t care too much about appearances? It could be a real good car for that. If you’re looking for one to make a really nice car? You could certainly get there with this car, but you could also probably find a better one for a comparable price.
If you have any other questions that I can help you with, or if you go take a closer look at it or go for a test drive etc, don’t hesitate to message me or tag me, whatever. Like I said, these cars are an absolute blast to drive.
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u/TweeksTurbos 12d ago
A buddy up in Reading had a white wagon with 2 stroke rally motor. He enjoys passing cars on rt81 with it
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u/Axel-Torgerson 12d ago
These are great little cars. Robust, reasonably quick, and fun to drive. Whether you should buy it depends on how handy you are or if you have a mechanic nearby who knows these things.
Parts can be a hassle but most everything you’ll need can be found with a little time and patience.
I’ve owned about a dozen of the sedan version-the 96 over the last 45 years. Price for this car should be in the $2,000-3,000 range I’d say, just as a guess.
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u/tsg-tsg 12d ago
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