She’s got a 2002 Saab Turbo (what I don’t know, but it’s a 4-dr hatchback) with 92,000 miles on it. A/C doesn’t work. I currently drive my first and only love: a 1992 Toyota pick-up that has never had A/C, is now lacking working speakers, is nearing 200,000 miles, and makes me wonder if she’ll make it up the next hill. Is the 2002 Saab a good buy at $4k and is it reliable? One thing about the Red Rocket is that it’s cost me almost nothing in repairs outside of routine updates, etc…So I don’t know if I’m taking on a project with the Swedish car.
The Saab can be a money pit. Turbos can be a money pit.
I wouldn’t touch it past the warranty.
Avoid it if you want something reliable. Speakers are $40, splurge a little! Or find something else, but not that Saab. It’s “much worse than average” in many categories (and overall) at Consumer Reports.
Pass on the Saab, and I like Saabs! I’ve owned a couple of the good ones back in the mid '80’s (and 85 non turbo, and an 87 Turbo). I also had a 2000 9-3 Turbo that was a company car, drove it from 0 to about 60K miles. An '02 Saab at this point in its life will need some repairs and some of them will be pricey.
A guy in my neighborhood took his old Chevy S-10 pick up and got wheels repainted, put new tires on it, and got a Maaco paint job. Two years later it still looks very good, before the truck looked like a junker. Perhaps you should spend some money the “Red Rocket”? A new radio, new speakers, a paint job, some mechanical work and it should zip up those hills.
Money spent on the Red Rocket is more likely to reward you with more years of faithful service.
The Red Rocket rides again! Thanks, all.
You made the right choice. A pick-up truck is useful. Saab lost its utility when the company moved away from the 2 stroke engine back in the early 1960’s. Those 2 stroke Saabs were useful–one could drive up and down the street and fog for mosquitos. One could also remove the engine at night, carry it in and work on it on the kitchen table. Now it takes the GNP of a couple of 3rd world countries to keep a Saab running.
That might be one of the Saabs that has sludge problems .