Saab 93 vector Advice

viper006

Hi every1, any advice from any1 whose owed or knows about these would be greatly appreciated.

im very close to buying a 2003 saab 93 vector 1.8T with a 3 month guarantee, 77k miles on the clock. Its been from a car dealer in cashel (not simi approved) but Having test driven it i am very impressed i was hoping whether any1 could offer advice on this car's reliability and performance as well as service costs, the car comes with a 3 month warranty.

The timing belt was about 7k ago as well been fully serviced so just wondering is there anything else i should be noting before buying. There a Peugeot 407 with same mileage 2004 for a grand less and wondering would this be a safer bet?

Thanks for any advice on this

PADRAIC.M

Well first off the 1.8t doesn't have a timing belt, it has a chain,on the 1.8i (non turbo) is the only one with a tbelt

smcgiff

My last car was a Saab 93 2.0t Vector and loved it.

btw, the 1.8t and the 2.0t are the same engines, but the 1.8t (a 2 litre engine) is detuned. So, get that sucker tuned asap.

Check to see if there is any flecking of the plastics on the dash and door handles.

viper006

thanks for heads on both counts there lads... im going to have to check out the issue with the timing chain.. makes me think something is up to be honest.

ive noticed how the flecking alright can occur on the door handles and dash on afew other models ive driven.. can ruin the look of the dash.

any other tips or words of wisdom smc? how did you find MPG and mainteance costs?

Nonoperational

I wouldn't think the 407 would be a safer bet at all anyway.

Ardennes1944

As said, really think you'd regret a 407

smcgiff

viper006 wrote: »

thanks for heads on both counts there lads... im going to have to check out the issue with the timing chain.. makes me think something is up to be honest.

ive noticed how the flecking alright can occur on the door handles and dash on afew other models ive driven.. can ruin the look of the dash.

any other tips or words of wisdom smc? how did you find MPG and mainteance costs?

Ah the fuel economy mmm - probably not the best. I'd a tuned 2.0t automatic and was averaging 25 mpg, but that's with an admittedly heavy foot. Don't remember the maintenance costs being anything special.

I had mine for two years - can't remember any issues.

I also really like the look of this car.

viper006

ya looking into the 407, ive had nothing but warnings to stay away so thats that one gone.thanks for heads up on that.

really like the look of the saab vector inside and out and but the fuel economy worries me abit. Do you mind me asing smc hwy you sold your 2.0t in the end?

smcgiff

viper006 wrote: »

really like the look of the saab vector inside and out and but the fuel economy worries me abit. Do you mind me asing smc hwy you sold your 2.0t in the end?

Just wanted a change after 2 years - bought a 159.

The Recliner

viper006 wrote: »

ya looking into the 407, ive had nothing but warnings to stay away so thats that one gone.thanks for heads up on that.

really like the look of the saab vector inside and out and but the fuel economy worries me abit. Do you mind me asing smc hwy you sold your 2.0t in the end?

I have an 03 93 Arc 1.8t and am getting 35-38mpg out of it, I reckon I could get it over 40 handy enough with less of a heavy foot on the motorway

stringbean

Speaking from personal experience DO NOT BUY a 407!!!!!

r1_2010

Hi,

I was in the exact same boat recently. I looked around high and low to get a good / price perf on a Saab 93. I ended up with the vector sport model (it has same bumpers as the aero but doesnt have the high pressure turbo).
As someone else here already mentioned they use the same 2.0 liter engine in all turbocharged engines. However they use a low pressure garret turbo in the 1.8t, a mid pressure in the 2.0t and a high pressure one from mitsubishi in the aero.

The 93 is a gorgeous lookin car (still is IMHO today) and I prefer the model year 2002 - 2008 to the facelifts they have done personally.

As someone else pointed out you can get a tiny bit of flaking around the door handles.... but nothing major. I've seen nothing else to show any signs of wear or tear in the cabin.

Only mechanical thing I would look at is to check that the secondary air intake valve and pump has been done (together) on this car at some point. I have the mech light on mine at the mo, dealer agreed to replace when I bought so no worry and its common only to the 2003 model year. I believe it typically needs to be done around 80k. But some saab dealers replaced this long ago. Just checked it out in the service history because it affected the 2003 version of this car.

BTW i would not let that put you off it. Its a bloody great car. Lots of power, drives nice too and lovely inside and out.

Only other thing I can think of is the radio reception is kinda crap compared to other cars i've had. But i have another thread about this already

BTW when your ready... check out neobrothers website in the uk. They have tonnes of extra stuff and parts you can get for your car.

Also im getting around 26.5 mpg from my sensonic box (2.0 t)

Ferris

4cyl saab petrol engines in the 9-3 and 9-5 need oil changes with fully synthetic oil every 6k. This is due to them sludging their oil. Not a problem really but you need to make sure that any saab you buy has a good service history. Apart from the short service interval they seem like a great car for the money, nice seats/interior when leather too. I wouldn't mind a 9-3 aero.

r1_2010

I didn't know that about the saab. I do know that the computer has a readout that tells you about the quality of oil in the engine which I thought was fairly smart and wasn't used to seeing in a car.

smcgiff

r1_2010 wrote: »

I didn't know that about the saab. I do know that the computer has a readout that tells you about the quality of oil in the engine which I thought was fairly smart and wasn't used to seeing in a car.

Think this is a basic timing estimate. i.e. it's 6 months since your last service update, and so your oil quality is x%. There's no device to actually measure the quality of the oil IIRC.

PADRAIC.M

Ferris wrote: »

4cyl saab petrol engines in the 9-3 and 9-5 need oil changes with fully synthetic oil every 6k. This is due to them sludging their oil. Not a problem really but you need to make sure that any saab you buy has a good service history. Apart from the short service interval they seem like a great car for the money, nice seats/interior when leather too. I wouldn't mind a 9-3 aero.

That's only pre 2003 9-3s with the oil slugging problem

PADRAIC.M

smcgiff wrote: »

Think this is a basic timing estimate. i.e. it's 6 months since your last service update, and so your oil quality is x%. There's no device to actually measure the quality of the oil IIRC.

Actually the Sid unit uses logic from the engine ecu to determine engine running time/ idle and driving/ load and cold revolutions to determine oil quality

godtabh

I've a 2005 Saab 93 1.8i. Love the car. Great spec for the money

I,ve had the car 2 years and do a lot of driving in it. Good city drive. Good long distance drive. Rid quality can suffer if you don't look after tyre pressure.

I get detween 6.9-8l/100km depending on trip.

There is a very good mechanic I use to service it. Based in Celbridge

r1_2010

Is your mechanic a saab specialist ? I would like to find a good saab specialist for my maintenance needs. I have a bunch of parts I want to get from neobrothers in the uk and would prefer to get them fitted by someone who has the diagnostic equip need to update ecu software etc.. without having to go to the saab maindealer.

godtabh

r1_2010 wrote: »

Is your mechanic a saab specialist ? I would like to find a good saab specialist for my maintenance needs. I have a bunch of parts I want to get from neobrothers in the uk and would prefer to get them fitted by someone who has the diagnostic equip need to update ecu software etc.. without having to go to the saab maindealer.

He's not a Saab specialist but does have access to diagnostic equipment he has sorted out a few software issues for me