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[Broomies Mate]

Looking at buying one of these tomorrow.

2004, Saloon, 250BHP, Leather, 122,000miles. It's a 5speed Auto.

Unsure of Service History until I actually go and see the car - It's on a dealers forecourt, and I don't tend to ask those sort of questions over the phone as they tend to exaggerate.... I prefer to see the paperwork for myself.

Priced at £1,995 which is about £500 over book, BUT it has been converted to LPG.  Again, unsure of the system and/or certification etc until I go and see it tomorrow.

So, whatdoyafink?  Anyone had real world experience of these?

I've read the horror stories about poor oil servicing and sludge in the sump, although I am hoping this particular car was manufactured with the later breather setup.  I'm pretty sure I know what to look for (squeezing the pipes and checking for 'squiggyness').

Anything to know?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

You need to be an architect, or similar, and wear thin steel-rimmed glasses to own a Saab. It's the law.

I like Saab. They tend to suit people who don't follow the herd.

If the price can be neutered a little then I say go for it.

Saab....like Alfa Romeo, are  a 'left field' choice.

[henryd]

Looking at buying one of these tomorrow.

2004, Saloon, 250BHP, Leather, 122,000miles. It's a 5speed Auto.

Unsure of Service History until I actually go and see the car - It's on a dealers forecourt, and I don't tend to ask those sort of questions over the phone as they tend to exaggerate.... I prefer to see the paperwork for myself.

Priced at £1,995 which is about £500 over book, BUT it has been converted to LPG.  Again, unsure of the system and/or certification etc until I go and see it tomorrow.

So, whatdoyafink?  Anyone had real world experience of these?

I've read the horror stories about poor oil servicing and sludge in the sump, although I am hoping this particular car was manufactured with the later breather setup.  I'm pretty sure I know what to look for (squeezing the pipes and checking for 'squiggyness').

Anything to know?

Nice car,just hold the wheel tight when you boot it ,seriously though I like them,as Opti says nice to be different to the herd

[The Sheriff]

Looking at buying one of these tomorrow.

2004, Saloon, 250BHP, Leather, 122,000miles. It's a 5speed Auto.

Unsure of Service History until I actually go and see the car - It's on a dealers forecourt, and I don't tend to ask those sort of questions over the phone as they tend to exaggerate.... I prefer to see the paperwork for myself.

Priced at £1,995 which is about £500 over book, BUT it has been converted to LPG.  Again, unsure of the system and/or certification etc until I go and see it tomorrow.

So, whatdoyafink?  Anyone had real world experience of these?

I've read the horror stories about poor oil servicing and sludge in the sump, although I am hoping this particular car was manufactured with the later breather setup.  I'm pretty sure I know what to look for (squeezing the pipes and checking for 'squiggyness').

Anything to know?

Nice car,just hold the wheel tight when you boot it ,seriously though I like them,as Opti says nice to be different to the herd

Yep. The torque steer can be pretty scary with 250 horses under your right foot.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Looking at buying one of these tomorrow.

2004, Saloon, 250BHP, Leather, 122,000miles. It's a 5speed Auto.

Unsure of Service History until I actually go and see the car - It's on a dealers forecourt, and I don't tend to ask those sort of questions over the phone as they tend to exaggerate.... I prefer to see the paperwork for myself.

Priced at £1,995 which is about £500 over book, BUT it has been converted to LPG.  Again, unsure of the system and/or certification etc until I go and see it tomorrow.

So, whatdoyafink?  Anyone had real world experience of these?

I've read the horror stories about poor oil servicing and sludge in the sump, although I am hoping this particular car was manufactured with the later breather setup.  I'm pretty sure I know what to look for (squeezing the pipes and checking for 'squiggyness').

Anything to know?

Nice car,just hold the wheel tight when you boot it ,seriously though I like them,as Opti says nice to be different to the herd

Yep. The torque steer can be pretty scary with 250 horses under your right foot.

Not a problem with your Daewoo, I imagine.

[humbucker]

I've owned a 2.3t Saab 95 Aero HOT estate for the past two or three years. Excellent cars, amazing value for money.

As you'd expect, it's an incredibly well engineered car. Ignore those that say 'oh, it's just a Vectra C with another badge'. That is nonsense.

Mine is a facelift 2001/2 model, manual gearbox. It had 60k miles on the clock when I bought it, full Saab service history, one owner from new, 12 months MOT and a couple of months road tax. I paid £1200. Since that time, we've used it as a proper workhorse, and we've chucked another 60k miles on it. The only things I've had to fork out for are a set of tyres, front discs and pads, a brake line and the usual service items. Oh, and a crank sensor last week.

Things you MUST check:

These cars have to be run on fully synthetic oil from new. Running semi will cause oil sludge to build up in the sump, clogging pickup pipe and starving the engine. Check the service records to see what oil has been used. If 10w-40 at any point (or anything that isn't fully synthetic), then you'll need to drop the sump, clean it out and refit. If you can find no evidence of oil used, then you'll need to do this anyway.

The crankshaft sensor tends to give up at around the 100k mile mark. £70 for a new part, half hour job. See if yours has been replaced. If not, factor it into your offer. Worth replacing anyway.

Fuel pump relays can give up at around this mileage.

The direct ignition cassette is much more advanced than the coilpacks of similar cars. Sadly, they can also give up for fun around 100k. It's an expensive part (£250ish iirc), but mine has been fine, touch wood. Plenty of other owners have had failures. Check to see if it's been replaced in the recent past.

SID (information display on the dash) pixels frequently give up the ghost. Again, mine appears to be the only one in existence with a full complement of digits, haha!

The turbos on these cars are pretty big (Mitsubishi units afaik) and can be quite laggy. That's actually good news if you don't want to be stopping at the filling station every five minutes, as you can keep your foot off of boost and only use the power when you 'need' to. Surprisingly, my normally aspirated Astra Coupe 2.2 was way more expensive to run than the 2.3t Saab.

These are great cars. The estate offers bags of room in the back. I don't know how we did without it tbh. Masses of comfort, luxury etc too. Typical Swedish over-engineering of everything, giving you German barge quality at Vectra prices. "The posh Vauxhall".

Manual transmission can be a bit 'notchy', but it's the one to go for.

Your quote of £2k for an example with 122k on the clock is well overpriced, but you might argue that you're paying for the fact that it's an '04 plate. A quick look on eBay threw up an estate with 80k on the clock for £1600. There's another for £1200 on there too. Facelifts, I mean (post 2001, pre-'Dame Edna' models).

I would buy another in a heartbeat if I had to replace mine.

Let me know if you have any specific questions that I can help with.

[humbucker]

Oh, and spare parts are readily available. Genuine parts do not cost the earth. Neo Bros is a useful place for a Saab owner to familiarise him or herself with.

[humbucker]

Incidentally, B235R engines are good to tune on standard internals to around 300bhp 

[Broomies Mate]

Ahhhh, Thank you all for the input.

Especially Humbucker.  Everything you have taken the time to write I've read in reviews on AutoTrader, Honest John, et al.

I've had the pleasure of driving a friends 93 2.3 which had been breathed on by a tuning company and he reckoned it was 340BHP.  It was an animal, and although I am only a young'un, all that torque steer and wheelspin would annoy the hell out of me........ This is where the RWD Omega firmly places itself as a decent car.  My BMW will serve me well when the Omega goes.

Back to the 95, Unless it has a full wallet of service history, drives like a peach and is cleaner than a Nun's debt book, I will walk away.  There are many for sale, this one is very local, and LPG'd (hence the £500 price hike).

As above, I wouldn't be interested in tuning it...... 250BHP is plenty for a FWD car.

CPS is an easy job on these.... I'd have no worries on that front.

SID - Read many horror stories, and also the ACC.... blend flap issues.  Again, not too bothered as these parts will be readily available.

Well, I'll pop down and see it tomorrow morning.  If the paperwork is not extensive, I'll walk away.

Thanks again for the advice.

[humbucker]

Best of luck with it. My review makes it sound like a bag of horror stories, but the reality is that these cars provide the exact opposite. I was just pointing out the model-specific quirks to look out for when buying. Tick all the boxes and it should provide you with hassle-free motoring for not a lotta dosh.

There are plenty about (at the moment) though, so do shop around.

[Vamps]

Commented yesterday to swmbo how nice the estate looks...........

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Have you been to view it yet?

[Broomies Mate]

Have you been to view it yet?

Yep, and bought it. 

Stag 300 LPG kit with a little doughnut tank where the spare wheel used to live.

Car is literally immaculate with FSSH.

As with everything, there is a slight catch.

The car was taken in as part exchange on Friday.  It's not on the forecourt but in their lockup awaiting preparation.  The fuel tank is next to empty, as is the LPG tank, so a proper test drive wasn't possible.  I drove it about a mile on a country lane.

I've given a £250 deposit which (as it states on the receipt) is totally refundable IF I'm not 100% happy with the car on a proper test drive next Saturday (The earliest I can get back there).

The garage is situated about 3 miles from the M5, so I'll get a chance for some A Road and Motorway driving before I fully commit the screen price.

The previous owner is a local guy, and as it happens, my Out-Laws know of him so in the week they are going to get some info from him regarding the car and if he had any issues with it.

It's a dark metallic red, very odd colour (but pleasing), with sand Leather.

Anyone want to buy an Omega? 

[ronnyd]

Have you been to view it yet?

Yep, and bought it. 

Stag 300 LPG kit with a little doughnut tank where the spare wheel used to live.

Car is literally immaculate with FSSH.

As with everything, there is a slight catch.

The car was taken in as part exchange on Friday.  It's not on the forecourt but in their lockup awaiting preparation.  The fuel tank is next to empty, as is the LPG tank, so a proper test drive wasn't possible.  I drove it about a mile on a country lane.

I've given a £250 deposit which (as it states on the receipt) is totally refundable IF I'm not 100% happy with the car on a proper test drive next Saturday (The earliest I can get back there).

The garage is situated about 3 miles from the M5, so I'll get a chance for some A Road and Motorway driving before I fully commit the screen price.

The previous owner is a local guy, and as it happens, my Out-Laws know of him so in the week they are going to get some info from him regarding the car and if he had any issues with it.

It's a dark metallic red, very odd colour (but pleasing), with sand Leather.

Anyone want to buy an Omega? 

At least it,s a local trade in and not an auction buy from God knows where.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Have you been to view it yet?

Yep, and bought it. 

Stag 300 LPG kit with a little doughnut tank where the spare wheel used to live.

Car is literally immaculate with FSSH.

As with everything, there is a slight catch.

The car was taken in as part exchange on Friday.  It's not on the forecourt but in their lockup awaiting preparation.  The fuel tank is next to empty, as is the LPG tank, so a proper test drive wasn't possible.  I drove it about a mile on a country lane.

I've given a £250 deposit which (as it states on the receipt) is totally refundable IF I'm not 100% happy with the car on a proper test drive next Saturday (The earliest I can get back there).

The garage is situated about 3 miles from the M5, so I'll get a chance for some A Road and Motorway driving before I fully commit the screen price.

The previous owner is a local guy, and as it happens, my Out-Laws know of him so in the week they are going to get some info from him regarding the car and if he had any issues with it.

It's a dark metallic red, very odd colour (but pleasing), with sand Leather.

Anyone want to buy an Omega? 

Good news.

What price did you agree on?