All the petrol turbos are chain cams.
So....Saabs...
- Thread starter Phate
- Start date
All the petrol turbos are chain cams.
Thanks for that
I knew some of the petrol ones were from my VXL owning days, but wasn't sure if all the petrol ones were.
V6's are belts 
Oil quality and teh latest PCV revision are vital on some engines (not sure which - too modern for me!), find out if it's had it's sump dropped to check for sludge issues.
Biggest current problem with Saabs is parts availability - whilst the parts division is profitable and not part of the reorganisation, the suppliers aren't playing ball
That should change soon though
Oil quality and teh latest PCV revision are vital on some engines (not sure which - too modern for me!), find out if it's had it's sump dropped to check for sludge issues.
Biggest current problem with Saabs is parts availability - whilst the parts division is profitable and not part of the reorganisation, the suppliers aren't playing ball
That should change soon though
Hehe Will...pretty set I'm going to get one
I was going to go for a Mazda 3/6 MPS but I think for the amount of driving I do spending an extra 2-3k on top of the Saab price for performance I'm hardly going to do and that Saab above is hardly a slouch! It just isn't worth it!
I was going to go for a Mazda 3/6 MPS but I think for the amount of driving I do spending an extra 2-3k on top of the Saab price for performance I'm hardly going to do and that Saab above is hardly a slouch! It just isn't worth it!
Some 9-3's have issues with the firewall cracking but there is a kit to sort it, it was fixed on later models by strenthening the bulkhead itself.
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70836
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70836
Can you compare it to the E46?
Theres such a price difference, like a few thousand, between the same years 9-3 and an E46 I just wonder if the extra is really worth paying. Most people that have actually owned the 9-3 all seem to rate them highly.
As for being a Vauxhall in drag, isn't the rear end different (and better) on the 9-3 to the Vetra?
I'm going to have to sell my Jeep soon due to work and not quite sure I can get away with something as fuel heavy as another Impreza (only car I really want) won't be huge miles but probably a good 20K a year. I've averaged 5K a year in the Jeep
Thats a good point, Mark would you mind posting such a comparison if you have time please?
No, no, no, that's the old hatchback model that was affected by the bulkhead issue. The saloon is fine. Completely different design (and car).
I'm a BMW man by background so as far as I'm concerned there's no comparison. But - and its a BIG but - you're never going to find a mint 330i Sport for Aero money as you've already correctly pointed out. Any similarly priced 330i will be a dog or chavved to the moon. I spent the time to find a well cared for 9-3 and having got a mechanic to inspect it last week it seems the only thing that needs to be done now at 90k are rear brakes and tyres, and possibly a front ball joint in the future. The E46 is the purer driving machine but 95% of the time it doesn't matter. The E46 is also lairier in the wet and snow. It also always used to annoy me that the E46 didn't have rear folding seats.
But none of these 'ultimate driving machine' issues matter that much at this £3-4k pricepoint because your considerations are completely different to if you were considering either of these cars new or at twice the budget.
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Say Wha?!
It's the GM900 Variant, not fluent in them sufficiently to know which version he is getting.
I've been looking at these lately too.
I think they look fairly decent, have a few toys, pretty quick and still understated enough that you wouldn't worry about parking it in a rough area. Would make a nice upgrade from my MK1 1.6 Focus.
Are they reliable?
I think they look fairly decent, have a few toys, pretty quick and still understated enough that you wouldn't worry about parking it in a rough area. Would make a nice upgrade from my MK1 1.6 Focus.
Are they reliable?
Quite seriously, absolutely bombproof.
I had a 1999 9-3 a few years ago, driven, everyday, for 18 months, nailed from stone cold, like it was stolen...
It cost me the following:
Fuel
Tyres
Servicing
Not many cars would cost you JUST that.
Been doing some research on this model I'm after, it's the same story - they don't really have common faults, or things to look out for. Find one with a full history and your laughing basically.
The other thing I forgot to mention was that the 9-3 does have a oil service indicator which you can check at any time using the SID. Not quite as sophisticated as the BMW Inspection I, II etc, but it tells you the 'oil quality as a %', which I'm told isn't particularly accurate as its based on an algorithm measuring number of cold starts, temperature etc, rather than actually measuring the quality of the oil (though apparently anything over 0% is fine). It also has a 'days to next oil service' indicator which on pre 2006 cars is based on the old recommendation of 18 months, which after 2006 changed to 12 months. The oil indicators can reset by the dealer/indie including Vauxhall who have the Tech II system.
So officially servicing is variable. When its due for a service, it apparently flashes up a "Time for Service" message on the SID. I'm still trying to figure out exactly, what this 'Service' involves. Obviously, its going to be include an oil service, but I'm not sure that there's necessarily anything 'major' that needs doing on these cars other that oils, filters and fluids of various sorts, inspections, replacing wear and tear items etc. My local dealer for example has a service menu of:
Service 1
Oil/Filter
Full health and safety check
Service 2
Oil/Filter
Spark plugs
Full health and safety check
Service 3
Oil/Filter
Spark plugs
Fuel and Air Filter
Full health and safety check
Interestingly, my dealer charges £50 more to do a Service 3 on Aeros than on non-Aeros, so I'm guessing there's more to inspect, or the filters and plugs are different or more expensive? There also seems to be an auxillary belt (not cambelt)- the manual makes no mention of when that gets changed - people have mentioned around 60k-72k to be on the safe side. Manual says its used to charge the battery and power the aircon compressor, so I'm doubt that that would cause any engine damage if, in a worse car scenario, it were to break.
Given that its a turbo'd car, my view is that oil services should be done much, much, more frequently than that rather than relying on a computer algorithm. I'm planning on doing mine every 6k given that National do a Castrol Edge 0W30 oil/filter deal for £44inc which is cheaper than buying the oil and filter yourself.
So officially servicing is variable. When its due for a service, it apparently flashes up a "Time for Service" message on the SID. I'm still trying to figure out exactly, what this 'Service' involves. Obviously, its going to be include an oil service, but I'm not sure that there's necessarily anything 'major' that needs doing on these cars other that oils, filters and fluids of various sorts, inspections, replacing wear and tear items etc. My local dealer for example has a service menu of:
Service 1
Oil/Filter
Full health and safety check
Service 2
Oil/Filter
Spark plugs
Full health and safety check
Service 3
Oil/Filter
Spark plugs
Fuel and Air Filter
Full health and safety check
Interestingly, my dealer charges £50 more to do a Service 3 on Aeros than on non-Aeros, so I'm guessing there's more to inspect, or the filters and plugs are different or more expensive? There also seems to be an auxillary belt (not cambelt)- the manual makes no mention of when that gets changed - people have mentioned around 60k-72k to be on the safe side. Manual says its used to charge the battery and power the aircon compressor, so I'm doubt that that would cause any engine damage if, in a worse car scenario, it were to break.
Given that its a turbo'd car, my view is that oil services should be done much, much, more frequently than that rather than relying on a computer algorithm. I'm planning on doing mine every 6k given that National do a Castrol Edge 0W30 oil/filter deal for £44inc which is cheaper than buying the oil and filter yourself.
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What exactly is slow and boring about 0-60 in 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 147mph?
Lots.
my T5 is faster than that, and still manages to feel boring. But then the S60 is supposed to be a comfortable cruiser. Its not supposed to be exciting and interesting to drive.