Hi everyone! I’m looking at a high mileage old Saab 900 SE Turbo convertible. Runs great. 1987. Over 200k miles. Cost less than $3k, as valued in Blue Book if in excellent condition. I’m in love with it already after having it as a loaner for 3 days. Thoughts, considerations? Thank you folks! -Midlife Crisis
If this 3000.00 is just throw away money and does not make you wonder if you can afford go for it .
Just expect that parts and repair will be a problem for this discontinued brand . If you are going to use it as a daily driver that might not be a good idea . You were not pleased with the repair cost on your BMW and this thing will not be much better.
1 Like
I agree with Volvo-V70. I am not familiar with that vehicle but, here is some info…
Saab 900 Coupe and Cabriolet common problems and solutions (breakeryard.com)
Thank you, volvo-v70. And for remembering my prior post. I decided to put the money into the BMW and it is running great. Want to sell it while it has some value. I’m tossing around getting this old car for the interim and summer fun. I’m also considering an electric but not just yet. The dealer is a car repair shop that used to work on Saab’s, now various foreign makes.
Thank you for this link. Fascinating resource. I believe the roof and mechanism was replaced but need to confirm. Am gathering notes before asking all questions of the dealer.
If you really want an electric then new with warranty should be your only purchase .
Yeah read the article somewhere about the girl that bought a used ford or something, then the batteries went out and obsolete new ones were going to cost her north of $10,000.
I really wonder why this Saab is only 3000.00 . With todays used vehicle crazy prices and some people concider that 1987 Saab convertible a collectors item it sounds like it may have problems .
A car that old is probably not a daily driver. When you sell the BMW, will you have a second, well, first car?
200 K miles with a turbo engine? And car brand is defunct? I expect Tom (of Tom and Ray) would be chuckling … lol … You already know this will car require quite a bit more maintenance and repairs compared to say a 1987 Civic. But a 1987 Civic won’t be as fun to drive. So its a compromise.
Me, I’d say no to that car b/c I wouldn’t want to be spending time and $$ solving its sure-to-come problems. But my daily driver is a 50 year old truck and no plans to retire it. Like I say, to each his own, life’s a big guessing game & compromise. My suggestion , if you want something a little unusual in a vintage sports car, better risk is an early 2000’s Porsche Boxster.
Get serious , an oil change for that Boxster will be over 300.00 and Porsche parts are expensive. Plus most owners don’t want anyone who is not trained on Porsche working on them.
The word “excellent” should never be used when describing a used car. Ever. The only car that applies to is a new one on the showroom floor.
At 200k miles I would bet that car has a list of needs (most used cars do) and I say that as a former SAAB tech and having owned a couple of 900s. A lot would depend upon a thorough pre-purchase inspection.
As for the 900s themselves, I love them as to looks, ride, and the turbo fun to drive factor. Throw in a manual transmission and even better.
As for the convertible factor; not so much. Tops can be pricy to repair and here in OK a convertible top in the summer only comes down at night. Otherwise; occupants are BBQed.
2 Likes
Thanks everyone. Loads of red flags on this. I knew this. Needed some sense knocked into me. Over to my other thread about good used convertibles.
This site is really valuable. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, experience, expertise!
I think I’ll wait on electric. Need to research rebates further. Hear rebates/whatever will be increasing. I’m in Massachusetts.
I know Oklahoma! I walked (who walks??) and the pavement burned my feet thru my shoes.
The (foolish) plan was to buy the Saab, sell the BMW, and look for a good used car. The Saab would have been the fun car for a couple of summers.
Buying the Saab for weekend driving is not foolish at that price . People spend much more than that for hobbies . Selling the BMW and then trying to buy a dependable used vehicle in this market is foolish.
This car could be ok for a short term driver and maybe having for a cruise when the weather’s nice, I know someone who had a Saab 9000 of similar vintage with over 200,000mi that would do the occasional 1,200mi road trip but she eventually moved on due to the costs of repairs.
There’s a guy down the street that has three Saabs of that era. One is a parts car for the other two. If doing that doesn’t bother you, go for it.
As for EVs, there are a lot coming to market in the next couple of years. They will have new model problems though. Some, like BMW and Chevrolet have had fires. Others, like Toyota and Subaru (same car, different badge) have thought with the wheels falling off. No fooling.