Thinking about a winter beater / rallycross car

[Andy.B]

...and I'm looking at pre-GM Saabs, such as a 'classic' 900. Any r3ver's with any Saab experience? I can't be the only one here with a soft spot for them.

Edit: looking for a car for under $5k.

[FredK]

Well, considering that freeride53 likes Peugeots, I think you'll find an enthusiast for nearly everything on r3v.

E30SPDFRK used to own a Saab 9000.

[Nick_S]

Winterbeater/rallycross car? Hate to be cliche, an older Subaru would fit the bill nicely. Nothing to say about the Saab 9000's, I've never even sat in one.

[Roysneon]

e30.

[TimKninja]

Volvo 240. Just bought one for the same purposes.

[Andy.B]

Volvo is a possibility.
Subaru's tend to be over-valued in my area. A forester would be fun.
e30's are great, but are going through the same market influences that beetles did in the 80's: They are viewed as plentiful and cheap, so the bottom end of the market are being bought up by people who view them as trendy, ironic, or disposable, and are being modded to death, thrashed, or parted out. Meanwhile, the ones worth saving are being saved. The result is a huge portion of the once inexpensive and readily available used e30 market is disappearing. Its harder and harder to find an e30 that doesn't need too much work to be practical, and is cheap enough to abuse.

I am interested in Saab's for several reasons. The first one I will confess to is an irrational love of the quirkiness of them. A neighbor down the street had a 900 when I was a kid in the late 80's/early 90's, and I always loved the look of it. The second is that the uncertainty of Saab's future as an automaker means that most people seem to be afraid of them, so they are dirt cheap right now. And lastly, 80's three spoke wheels and whale-tail: (Not my car/picture)

[einhander]

Lamborghini Aventador

[Fusion]

[lambo]

[BobombETA]

You should get a 325ix.

Saab contribution: Old ones have cool windshields and an interesting gauge cluster.

[Andy.B]

Lamborghini Aventador

Haha. Smartass.

[pmat]

audi 90 quattro

[Sea Aych]

audi 90 quattro

Bump for this! At least in my area, there's a bunch for sale, at reasonable prices!

TSI used to have one a few years back and that thing was amazing in the snow and had enough power for sure. Towed a jetta out of a swamp after some 16 y/o shenanigans, if that makes a better case for it too :p

[BobombETA]

Bump for this! At least in my area, there's a bunch for sale, at reasonable prices!

TSI used to have one a few years back and that thing was amazing in the snow and had enough power for sure. Towed a jetta out of a swamp after some 16 y/o shenanigans, if that makes a better case for it too :p

My dad drove an Audi 90 for like 10 years. I learned how to drive manual on it. It was a good car. It eventually started burning oil, but nothing too substantial.

As expected it was a beast in the winter. Rust shouldn't be much of an issue with the galvanized body.

[thatphysicsguy]

Try to find a 900 SPG near by you. the SPG is a great car and it's simple to turn the boost up.