Saab 9-5 Wagons
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My brother has spent an inordinate amount of money keeping his 2004 Saab Aero 95 sedan going. He purchased for $15k with 40k miles in 2007.
Blown turbo
head gasket
electrical gremlins
starter
however recently it has turned more reliable with a good indy mechanic in a seedy MA city who knows the car.
He loves the car.
Blown turbo
head gasket
electrical gremlins
starter
however recently it has turned more reliable with a good indy mechanic in a seedy MA city who knows the car.
He loves the car.
I think like many European cars, it's either going to be perfect or an absolute disaster.
I have a 2003 9-5 Aero that I purchased new. It's got 173k on it. It has been quite reliable, maybe not as good as my old '92 Saturn SC (which I ditched at ~175k after the clutch went) but certainly as good as our old 2001 Civic. I've found it to be quite easy to work on and there are great resources online for them. It's a terrific car.
Mine's on the original turbocharger, exhaust, clutch, and rear brakes. Dunno how the latter has lasted so long. I have replaced some engine mounts, the throttle body, AC compressor (which I believe failed due to driving through some deep water), brake booster, rear shocks, and some other relatively minor bits.
jeff
Mine's on the original turbocharger, exhaust, clutch, and rear brakes. Dunno how the latter has lasted so long. I have replaced some engine mounts, the throttle body, AC compressor (which I believe failed due to driving through some deep water), brake booster, rear shocks, and some other relatively minor bits.
jeff
Saab 95's are really nice cars but they don't tolerate neglect very well and even when maintained dilligently they need to have full synth oil used to prevent issues.
The 95 was one of the cars that had oil issues in the UK, specialists reduced OCI to around 5/6k miles or six months with fu synth oil only several months before Saab UK did.
The way they drive more than makes up for these issues, the seats are awesome especially if they are leather.
Bit of torque steer on the Aero models admittedly but there are lots of specialist that produce parts to improve these cars.
I had a '98 95 lpt for a few months and a '95 900i for a few months for the wife a few years ago and I got lots of good info from Saabscene.
The 95 estate is still well thought of but how long this will continue who knows.
The death of Saab was a sad day indeed.
The 95 was one of the cars that had oil issues in the UK, specialists reduced OCI to around 5/6k miles or six months with fu synth oil only several months before Saab UK did.
The way they drive more than makes up for these issues, the seats are awesome especially if they are leather.
Bit of torque steer on the Aero models admittedly but there are lots of specialist that produce parts to improve these cars.
I had a '98 95 lpt for a few months and a '95 900i for a few months for the wife a few years ago and I got lots of good info from Saabscene.
The 95 estate is still well thought of but how long this will continue who knows.
The death of Saab was a sad day indeed.
I bought a 2005 9-5 Aero Wagon almost a year ago. It had 125k miles on it but was in pretty good mechanical shape. I purchased it through a dealer who had gotten it from a sheriff's sale, so I couldn't talk to the owner, which would have been nice.
I had to put some money into it upfront: standard tuneup items (spark plugs, filters, fluid changes, etc.), all the engine mounts were bad (if you notice especially rough vibrations when idling, then this is a likely cause), had to replace some subframe bushings, get a second key made.
Overall, I'd say it's been a good purchase so far. The car is fun to drive and pretty stylish. And it's seems like you can get these cars relatively cheaply nowadays, so for the money, it's probably worth it.
It's good that you're looking at an '05, since it has the final PCV update and doesn't suffer from the same oil-sludge problems that earlier models had. I think '04 and up models had this fix and owners of earlier models were told to update theirs.
Here are some tips if you go ahead and purchase:
- Use only synthetic oil, and change it every 3-5k miles (a lesson from the earlier oil sludge days). M1 is recommended, but any good synthetic is fine.
- Use only premium fuel (though some people say that mid-grade is fine).
- Don't let the fuel level drop much below 1/4 tank as this will make the fuel pump burn out faster. A well-respected Saab mechanic told me this (something about the fuel level having to cover the pump and help with heat dissipation). He said fuel pump failure is a common problem for these cars once they get 100k+ miles on them.
- It's best to use the NGK platinum plugs spec'd for the car.
- It never hurts to have a spare DI cassette because when these things go, you're done, and they often won't give you much warning.
- Make sure you have a second key. If you lose your only key, then you're screwed and have to get whole new transmitter system (which is well over $1000).
- USE A RESPECTED, EXPERIENCED SAAB MECHANIC. Go out of your way to find one. It will save you time and money (I had to learn this lesson the hard way). I found it best to ask a co-worker who has a Saab. The place he recommended is really great.
- As others have noted, there is a lot of good info in the various Saab forums. If you are DIY inclined, then I would suggest starting here.
I had to put some money into it upfront: standard tuneup items (spark plugs, filters, fluid changes, etc.), all the engine mounts were bad (if you notice especially rough vibrations when idling, then this is a likely cause), had to replace some subframe bushings, get a second key made.
Overall, I'd say it's been a good purchase so far. The car is fun to drive and pretty stylish. And it's seems like you can get these cars relatively cheaply nowadays, so for the money, it's probably worth it.
It's good that you're looking at an '05, since it has the final PCV update and doesn't suffer from the same oil-sludge problems that earlier models had. I think '04 and up models had this fix and owners of earlier models were told to update theirs.
Here are some tips if you go ahead and purchase:
- Use only synthetic oil, and change it every 3-5k miles (a lesson from the earlier oil sludge days). M1 is recommended, but any good synthetic is fine.
- Use only premium fuel (though some people say that mid-grade is fine).
- Don't let the fuel level drop much below 1/4 tank as this will make the fuel pump burn out faster. A well-respected Saab mechanic told me this (something about the fuel level having to cover the pump and help with heat dissipation). He said fuel pump failure is a common problem for these cars once they get 100k+ miles on them.
- It's best to use the NGK platinum plugs spec'd for the car.
- It never hurts to have a spare DI cassette because when these things go, you're done, and they often won't give you much warning.
- Make sure you have a second key. If you lose your only key, then you're screwed and have to get whole new transmitter system (which is well over $1000).
- USE A RESPECTED, EXPERIENCED SAAB MECHANIC. Go out of your way to find one. It will save you time and money (I had to learn this lesson the hard way). I found it best to ask a co-worker who has a Saab. The place he recommended is really great.
- As others have noted, there is a lot of good info in the various Saab forums. If you are DIY inclined, then I would suggest starting here.
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So it sounds like a lot of the quirks are sort of hidden. If it runs, it's a runner in other words? there are quite a few for sale in my area as I casually browsed after seeing this post.
Yes, I'd say that sums it up pretty well.
I think a lot of the "quirks" are related to the turbo. You can find endless threads about boost, etc.
The turbo is also a major contributor to the infamous oil-sludge problem--the one major issue with pre '04 Saab 9-5s. Turbos are notoriously hard on oil, so that combined with the poorly-designed PCV system (in the earlier models as I noted previously) and long OCIs that Saab first recommended contributed to the oil sludging.
As with any car, if it was well maintained, then it will (usually) last. If the previous owner didn't use synthetic oil and went well over 5k with the OCI, then you'll probably have oil problems. If the previous owner was always driving around near empty, then you'll probably have fuel-pump issues. There's no reason, though, that these cars can't make it to 300k+ miles.
I think a lot of the "quirks" are related to the turbo. You can find endless threads about boost, etc.
The turbo is also a major contributor to the infamous oil-sludge problem--the one major issue with pre '04 Saab 9-5s. Turbos are notoriously hard on oil, so that combined with the poorly-designed PCV system (in the earlier models as I noted previously) and long OCIs that Saab first recommended contributed to the oil sludging.
As with any car, if it was well maintained, then it will (usually) last. If the previous owner didn't use synthetic oil and went well over 5k with the OCI, then you'll probably have oil problems. If the previous owner was always driving around near empty, then you'll probably have fuel-pump issues. There's no reason, though, that these cars can't make it to 300k+ miles.
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My brother had an oil pump failure. Unfortunately the apologetic mechanic broke the timing case while removing something so its out of commission for a few days locating a junk yard part.
Also motor mounts failed too. See above for more of his woes and sob story.
150k miles on this car.
Also motor mounts failed too. See above for more of his woes and sob story.
150k miles on this car.
Yes, it seems that your brother has had more than his fair share of problems with his car. Though, given the mileage, replacing engine mounts is pretty normal. Turbo replacement and his host of other issues aren't so normal, so it looks like he just got stuck with a vehicle with more issues than most.
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