Possibility of a good deal on this:

1986 Saab 900T
convertible, manual, silver, less than 45K miles, garage kept, babied.
300 in the US that year (debut). 50 were stick, the rest auto.

My mechanic is going to look it over. From what I'm reading on saabnet.com, these are really fun cars and quite rare.

[en.wikipedia.org]
[www.saabhistory.com]

Anyone had or have one of these? (convertible or not)

Warnings, loves, irritations? I'm mainly looking for input from those who have OWNED one, not heard or read about them.

A few things i've been reading...
[www.carsurvey.org]
[www.carsurvey.org] (non-turbo)
[www.carsurvey.org]

thanks...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2008 12:01AM by incognegro.

Sorry, I Didn't own one, but-- I knew someone who did, he bought it new, although model year may have been up to a couple years later than '86. I thought it was a really nice car (expensive back then, too), fun to drive, nicely laid-out. But he always seemed to be taking it in to the dealer for one repair or another -mostly small electrical stuff, but I think there may have been one big tranny issue after a couple of years, too. It was also a manual trans.

In case you have not been driving 20yo+ cars, I'd say that in general, most examples of that vintage you'd be considering to buy today will have proven their basic durability by the very fact that they're still on the road. I have a couple of them myself (different euro makes). But be prepared for their demand of a more active ownership role, including seeking out a mechanic/s who can competently work on it, and especially a good supplier of parts (new or used, likely located out of town) that you should get used to quickly calling at the earliest hints of possible future issues.

I have had 3 SAABs.
'74 99LE-Stick-Bought Used-2 Door-Great snow car, and went for many miles-luckily I enjoyed working on Cars then, and had a decent wrecking yard for parts in town. It was dependable and didn't breakdown much at all---just that the parts at the dealer were $$$ Loved my first SAAB--I even remember the VIN number 99742021825

'80 900Turbo-Bought Used-Stick-3-door-(that is what the hatchbacks were called. Bought it with tons of miles on it--put in a new Turbo and such--and went for a long time-Incredible freeway car. It is amazing how much it could hold. Loved all the unique feature of this car. The Turbo adjustable waste gate (APC) gave you more boost depending on the Octane of the gas.

'88 900-Stick-Bought new-3-door-Missed the Turbo, but it was a sales rep car for me, and had to compromise. No problems at all-solid performer over the years.

All the cars went well over 100,000 miles

300 in US--and 50 stick is nice, but this car is never likely to be any kind of collector.

It may be more difficult to get parts---but my SAABs were some of the greatest driving cars I have had....that being said....it is still a 1986 car and technology has come a long way.

Wow, sounds great.
I had a '82 900T that my brother bought new from the factory. When I got it it was 15 years old and a rust bucket, but it was fun to drive.

Fun cars.

we've had 2, a '92 900 and a '01 9.5 wagon, both still in use.
The former with 130k the later perhaps 40k.
I like them both, but the 900 is fun to drive and has a lot of guts.
The tranny dies on us at 90k, but I think it was the result of a mechanic not knowing the car well enough.
Our friends have had 4 or 5 Saabs, including a 99. They have enjoyed them all.
In general fun to drive, pretty good on maintenance and construction (say the tranny) and comfortable.

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I think so, Brain, but wouldn't anything lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight?

all good input, thanks. just want to see what the mechanic has to say.
also really want to see it myself, sit in the seat and drive it.... see how it FEELS.

i'm by no means sold on it yet, but the idea of the oft-cited "little old lady who only drove it on nice days" actually holds true in this case. she's 70 and her bad back no longer allows her to drive stick or get in & out easily.

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factory recommended coolant change interval is 12K or every year for SAABs of that era AFAIK. Bet that cooling system is a ticking time bomb. Most SAAB owners never take care of the cooling system properly.

Saab uses a higher magnesium content to their aluminum alloy, and it needs very regular and frequent coolant flushes to replenish the pH buffers to prevent it from going acidic and eroding the block and head. You get microscopic or near microscopic porousity issues with coolant sealing surfaces. Leaking intakes and head gaskets are the big worries. Total teardown and machining said surfaces is the only true cure.

your call. Even sitting, that thing should have been flushed and refilled every 2 years or so.

thanks for that, Racer X. going to have the mechanic ask her about coolant changes, also if she has service records (hopefully so).

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