Does anybody know anything about Saabs? (or recommendations for a 2nd car)

[BrooklynMW]

Hey Fellers

As some of you may know, my girlfriend and I will be relocating to L.A. in January. I'll be driving my e30 out there. Once we're there I would imagine we would need a second car, as I'm sure mine and my girlfriends schedules won't always be lining up.

In a perfect world, I would get her an e28 or an e24 (or give her the e30 and drive the e24 myself).
I would also consider something more practical for her, like a Subaru.

But when I sat down with her today and asked her what kind of car she would like to have, she said Saab. She owed an '86 900 turbo when she was in college, it was her favorite car and would love another one. 4 door, 2 door or convertible, it doesn't matter.

Now, I'm a big Saab fan, so I'm not going to fight her on this. but I know absolutely nothing about the cars. I know nothing about their reliability, repairability, and so on.

Does anybody here know anything about Saabs? I'd prefer to ask a BMW community then go over to some foreign Saab sight.

Thanks!

[Kershaw]

saabs from the last 15 years suck. they were owned by ford if that is any indication.

[trackjunkie21]

Get an 80's 900 turbo. God how I love them. they aren't the most reliable cars though, and they are a pain to work on.

[imdashiz]

Get an 80's 900 turbo. God how I love them. they aren't the most reliable cars though, and they are a pain to work on.

this, pretty much sums it up

[BrooklynMW]

Yup that pretty much sums it up for me. If Saabs are not reliable and easy to repair the way BMWs are, then I'll talk her into an e30 vert.

Unless someone has a pristine Saab.

And yeah, I pretty much meant the pre GM Saab era, anyway. The "classics" if you will

[Stanley Rockefeller]

saabs from the last 15 years suck. they were owned by ford if that is any indication.

Ford owned Volvo, GM owned Saab

either way they are equivalent in quality, or lack thereof (both suck in comparison to an older BMW).

Go with what ya know, and the rest will sort itself out.

[delatlanta1281]

Get a mazda protege. they are reliable and get great gas mileage.

[Conki]

Get a mazda protege. they are reliable and get great gas mileage.

A 1993 Protege was my first car. It was actually kinda fun to drive with the 1.8l fourbanger and a 5 speed gearbox. Got good gas mileage, had a lot of fun with the e-brake in parking lots in the winter.
I bought it for $700 and for 2 years I haven't had a problem with it. Right when I was ready to move it just simply didn't start (it wasn't a battery issue). I'm sure it was gonna be an easy fix, but since I had to move in two days from Indiana to California, I didn't have any time to investigate the issue, so I just sold it to a junk yard for $350.

I'd go with a Protege from my experience:)

[QUKBMER]

Get a BMW ! The 80's saab's are POS, the motor is on top of the transmission then they put the fan belts between the engine and the fire wall (no room to work/engine is backwards). Then the clutch is up front by the radiator oh oh and the e-brake is designed in the front brake calipers.

[delatlanta1281]

A 1993 Protege was my first car. It was actually kinda fun to drive with the 1.8l fourbanger and a 5 speed gearbox. Got good gas mileage, had a lot of fun with the e-brake in parking lots in the winter.
I bought it for $700 and for 2 years I haven't had a problem with it. Right when I was ready to move it just simply didn't start (it wasn't a battery issue). I'm sure it was gonna be an easy fix, but since I had to move in two days from Indiana to California, I didn't have any time to investigate the issue, so I just sold it to a junk yard for $350.

I'd go with a Protege from my experience:)

Thats's what I had. I bought a 93 SOHC with 80k on it for @ 2500 bucks in 97. I finally gave it away to my buddy's little brother in 00 with @ 250k on it. I loved that car. He drove it throughout highschool and finally sold it to some brasilians for @ 500 bucks. Then he bought an e30. The reason I gave him my protege was B/c I had bought my e30 as a repacement and had a company car as well.

[IronJoe]

Get a BMW ! The 80's saab's are POS, the motor is on top of the transmission then they put the fan belts between the engine and the fire wall (no room to work/engine is backwards). Then the clutch is up front by the radiator oh oh and the e-brake is designed in the front brake calipers.

Owning both, I'd say the Classic 900s (c900) and BMW e30s are very similar. Definitely not a POS.

And yes, the motor is in "backwards" but it's unfair to say there's "no room to work". In fact, because it's backwards a clutch job can be completed in under two hours! They were designed for the long haul, and significant thought was put into efficient servicing. The engine bay is large and roomy, there is a lot of room to work. Starter, alternator, water pump, etc is all easily accessible from above. I have done virtually done every standard repair job on one of my family's 8 Saabs and I can say with confidence that from an ease of servicing perspective, you can do MUCH worse. The "youngest" in our fleet has 180k, and they all run like champs.

The 2.0L and 2.3L turbo motors make great daily drivers. Predictable FWD, excellent passing power, better-than-average fuel economy. I still get 30+ highway with my SPG. For a missus' everyday car, I'd recommend a 94-98 9000 Aero, they are great daily drivers and they had a good automatic trans, and are new enough to have the desired creature comforts. Avoid the newer 900s (the first GM-platformed car, 1994+) and c900s with the 3-speed automatic.

Oh, and the e-brake only operates the front calipers in 1987 and older cars. In an emergency situation it's often safer than ripping the e-brake and having your rear end swing out.

[Naplm00]

AVOID, they are hard to work on and parts are expensive

just buy another e30 if you want torture

[TrackjunkiE30]

I bought my wife a Saab 93T. After 3 months, I sold it and bought her a 5 series. BUT as mentioned previously, the older Saabs are great & very reliable.

[BrooklynMW]

Well, it seems Saabs bring the same opinions as any other older car. Some of you hate em, some of you love em.

We'll just see what we end up with. Since I would probably be in charge of keeping the car maintained, I'd say she's getting a BMW. However, if she is willing to maintain her own car, I would enjoy riding around in a 900 Turbo from time to time.

[BrooklynMW]

Otherwise, we get something practical as a second car...and no offense, but NO Mazda Proteges!!!

Practical cars in the running are:
-Subaru Outback
-Subaru Forester
(did I mention I love Subarus?)
-VW Golf or Jetta

-Her mom's old 99' Honda Accord (ew, gross, but probably free)