1972 SAAB 96 V4 1.5 V4
Summary:
Crazy Old-school Saab
Faults:
The speedometer has never worked.
Brake master cylinder went just before 2004's MOT was due. Plus some welding on the rear N/S sill and new rear brake cylinders had to be fitted.
Petrol pipe in the engine perished- easy to fix thankfully.
Clutch master cylinder went and required a rebuild. (why the master cylinders?)
Clutch and brake pipes perished just before 2005's MOT, that was when we got rid of it because it was getting a bit beyond our budget. The handbrake broke as well then.
The horn contact on the steering wheel was worn and required adjustment to get the horn working again.
Apart from the rust on the sills, it had only slight surface rust on the rest of the body work, which was good for the year.
The auto choke got stuck in the off position and caused the car not to start. My dad managed to fix it though.
Most of these problems were age related and considering it was 33 years old when we got rid of it, it did quite well.
The alternator was on the way out as the lights were a bit flickery and the orange charge light was on dim most of the time.
General Comments:
The car really did go some and the acceleration in first and second was great.
It used to get odd looks from pedestrians!
The seats were very comfortable, especially the rear one.
The heater was very good, it used to heat up in about two minutes of the car being started, very good for the winter.
The column gear change was fun.
Good sized boot for the size of the car.
The original seats were a very nice dark green, but were a bit tattered due to the previous owners having a dog in the car.
Overall, it was a very nice car to own, but in the end we just couldn't afford the repairs so we donated it to a place that deals with old cars like it.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th July, 2005
23rd Oct 2010, 11:03
I had several of those old V4 Saabs for years, and they did get old and parts wore out. But I had lots of spare parts from others of same model, and loved them, although one had to be his own mechanic at times. But I live in a rust-belt, and when the bottoms rusted out, and I couldn't get them welded up again, I had to let them go (usually over 200,000 miles by then).
Every model of car has its weak points, and if one knows what they are, one may deal with them better. It is interesting that some of these little quirks would happen on other cars of the exact same model at approximately the same mileage; I'd have stories to tell, but that would require a different forum and perhaps a different website, one devoted to that particular model of car.
11th Nov 2013, 06:48
The SAAB 96's gearbox bearing problems stem from winding up in the indirects, which causes the alloy gearbox casing to distort, leading to bearing failure. Outrageous that SAAB should have cut corners like this.
31st Jul 2005, 14:44
It was given to us by my aunt so it wasn't like we got ripped off or anything :)