1997 SAAB 900 S Cabriolet 2.3 non turbo petrol

Summary:

Solid and simple engineering, let down by poor quality plastic design for the interior

Faults:

Engine oil sludged up, and engine ready to fail due to oil starvation at purchase.

Interior plastics break easily: both rear cabin lights fall out of their sockets due to broken tabs. Sun visor mounts crack etc. Black plastic trim turns greyish white.

General Comments:

Bought from a car yard after test driving several before. This car was in nice condition and felt well looked after when test driving.

I did have a screaming sound from the engine when first started, but disappeared within 30 seconds. Did some Googling and discovered that that SAAB have big problems with these engines 'sludging up' and seizing. Took delivery Thursday and removed the rocker cover Saturday, and found sludge over a centimetre thick stuck to the cover and head. Removed the sump and the same. The sludge looked like coffee grounds in black honey. The oil 'pick-up' filter screen was almost completely blocked apart from about 10%, this I suspect was the source of the screaming sound. The SAAB filter screen is very fine on these engines compared to other manufacturers, and is the cause of engine failure. I replaced the filter screen with a coarser mesh and replaced the stock oil filter with a Ryco Z9, as it holds about 200ml more oil. Now when I change the oil, I drain the oil through a sieve to check for sludge. I then replace the sump plug and fill the engine with diesel, allow it to sit for half an hour and drain, again checking for sludge. I have not detected any sludge and do not use synthetic oil. If I had not done the above, this engine would have had a catastrophic failure.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th November, 2011

1997 SAAB 900 S Taladega 2.3L

Summary:

Excellent, reliable and classy buy.

Faults:

Mutli-stack CD player (Clarion) in boot jammed and needed to be sent interstate to be fix by the manufacturer. $800 to repair the laser.

Decals needed replacing between windows. May have been due to previous owner. Approximately $150 each.

General Comments:

Excellent car, with a sporty feel and luxury items.

Never had any problems with the running of the car and it runs very well both in the city and on the highway. Would recommend using Premium Unleaded, and whilst an additional cost, the improved results are obvious. Servicing is not the cheapest, however that is expected if you buy a European car.

The heated-seats are a bonus, particularly if you have a sore-back!

This car also has one of the most remarkable level of boot space for a hatchback, with the seat being able to fold down and many other features to list! Even after 2 years I am still finding nifty things that have been designed into the car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th April, 2004

2nd Nov 2004, 15:08

I just recently bought a used SAAB 900s last week. It had 95K miles on it, but engine feels new. I have just one problem with it so far, yesterday the audio system shut down on me. My radio won't work, as well as the tape player. The display screen does not recognize that there is a tape in, so I figured the tape was jammed, so since the eject button won't work, I manually took the tape out, with the help of a butter knife, but nothing changed. None of the buttons on the audio pannel work except the on/off switch that makes the antenna go up and down. Except I found out that when you hold down the Band button, "Code In" is displayed on the display screen. I have no idea what that means. I don't know how to program the little computer in there, or what the programs do. I would just like some help on figuring out what is wrong with my audio system, it gets very boring and lonely in my car without any kind of music : (

Thanks,

Kelly.

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1997 SAAB 900 Anniversary coupe 2.0

Summary:

Sensible, quality car

Faults:

Airbag required replacement - done without charge out of warranty following call to Saab Auto Australia as next year's 9-3 had airbag recall.

Tilt/slide mechanism for coupe front seat now only tilts; AUD300 quoted to get the 'slide' functioning.

Dealer incompetence saw bolts in steering arms not re-tightened following wheel alignment. This resulted in steering becoming deranged and both front tyres scrubbed. I needed to arrange for a Saab Auto Australia Technical Advisor to go to the dealers to get this sorted out. Both tyres replaced under warranty, but no offer from the dealer to refund any of the money I was spending for them to stuff up my car...

Sony stereo fitted in Australia replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

Super comfortable long distance car.

Swedish build quality very good. Australian modifications (stereo, colour-coded paint) not to same standard.

Will hold two pairs of skis in bags inside the cabin.

Huge boot will hold pram and then some.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th December, 2002

2nd Aug 2012, 23:36

2012 -- I still own this car -- and I was only looking to own it for a year or two at purchase -- but now have a (second) Alfa 159 and a Mercedes C200 CGI, so it'll be sold soon hopefully. It will be missed.

With an additional 103,000 km on it, nothing major has gone wrong. A snapped clutch cable and a minor door lock inconvenience is as dramatic as it gets.

Still super comfortable. Still super practical. Mechanics reckon it's good for another 150,000 km, and they are probably right.