Saab 93 1.8T

Griff77

I'm currently looking at a few Saab 93 1.8T from around 2007 - 2008 with about 40k on the clock. I was just wondering about their reliability as I've heard a few stories about them being unreliable. Also anything that I should look out for such as timing belts typical wear etc. I intend to get a full pre-purchase inspection done by a mechanic before I part with my cash but any pointers from you guys would be great. Also are they owned by Opel now or GM and has their general build quality suffered as a result? Is a typical service and spare parts cheap?

One other thing, the majority of the Saab's seem to be leather which is fine by me but they often seem to be light colours such as ivory etc. I would like black/grey leather if possible but as I have never owned a leather upholstered car is their any pros and cons with leather colour such as dirt, cleaning etc...

Sorry loads of questions but your help with any of the above would be great!

Cheers

PADRAIC.M

First off,both the 2.0t and 1.8t are a 2 litre engine ( both of them have the tax of 2 litre pre July 2008) just the 1.8t power output is reduced with software in engine ecu, but both these are pretty reliable engines and gearbox all round

biko

About the leather, it depends on the car. Usually I agree with going with darker colours but I must say a nice classy cream colour really does look good.
Keep after it with various detailing options and the leather should last the life of the car.

R.O.R

Delivered a new car to a driver on Friday and picked up his 07 9-3 1.8t with 220,000km on the clock.

Engine was missing a bit at idle, but apart from that the engine seemed to be working perfectly - still pulled well in all gears. Suspension felt like it was shot to pieces though, crashing on all small bumps in the road and really didn't feel like it was going to hold the road around bends.

Interior was in very good condition. Don't worry about Ivory leather seats - they wipe clean. It's the carpets, seatbelts and dash you have to worry about. If they are beige, forget it - it will mark and stain very easily, but I think the Saab's have Black dash/carpets/belts (this one did anyway) and they'll clean up fine.

RobAMerc

I've heard they can be a bit unreliable but I have advised 2 people here at work towards buying them and they seem happy enough with them and have had no trouble.

The only thing I think I wouldn't be keen on is the fact they are based on a platform which is a fairly old design now ( GM Epsilon platform ) and never renowned for handling or ride quality - a Mondeo or something based on a newer design would be a far more modern car I think.

Griff77

Cheers for the replies, so basically the petrol engines are good and solid and not to stress to much about the keeping the leather clean Padraic. That's good to know.

R.O.R. you're right I had a look at the photos and the cream/ivory leather seats appear to come with black dash and carpets so that's one less thing to worry about. I still think aestheically I prefer a darker leather for your seats.

Anyone have any first hand experience of circa 07/08 Saab's and their reliabilty? This is my biggest concern as I had heard that they were prone to issues and were also expensive to fix i.e. parts etc. Also any info on comfort and peformance would be great.

I must admit I hadn't thought of a Mondeo but will line one up for a spin. I have driven the Accord Diesel which is a nice car but alot of the cars have high mileages in my price range of max 15k ish.

biko

From review sites like www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/saab/ and www.carsurvey.org/reviews/saab/9-3/ it seems pretty good.
I used to have a '90s Saab and can say "great to own, expensive to fix"

grudgebringer

I had older 9-3's, the 98-03 Models, must say they were generally great cars, also very east to maintain yourself, the only thing I ever had to replace which 'went' on the Saab was an alternator belt, cost about 40 quid supplied and fitted. No worries either with timing as it was chain driven, not sure if the newer models come with TB's though or chain. I would recommend them, I loved to drive mine, very comfortable, always rode better on the steel wheels I had for it rather than the Alloys (had 16 inch steels, 15 inch alloys, harder ride on the alloys) Lots of space in them too especially the old 9-3's which were considered a HAtchback but would nearly fit some other hatchbacks in their boot!! If you go with one I do not think you'd be disappointed

Griff77

Thanks for the replies, I've driven a couple now and they are nice to drive and vey comfortable. Will hopefully be in the position to get one in the next week.

unkel

Griff77 wrote: »

I'm currently looking at a few Saab 93 1.8T from around 2007 - 2008 with about 40k on the clock. I was just wondering about their reliability

That one uses the Opel 2l turbo petrol engine, which is alright. It is no worse than average for reliability. Much better than the engine Saab used before that.

Tragedy

unkel wrote: »

That one uses the Opel 2l turbo petrol engine, which is alright. It is no worse than average for reliability. Much better than the engine Saab used before that.

Was there a problem with the Saab I4 engines in the 95/93 other than the oil sludge issue?

godtabh

I've an 05 93 1.8i

Runs great and is reliable.

Only major concern I have is the suspension but I think that is a long term problem rather a problem for now

Griff77

What's the issue with the Saab's suspension? Is it an issue with the 07/08 models or was it sorted?

I did a bit more research and the petrol engines do appear to be alot more reliable than the diesel 1.9's.

r1_2010

ok...
the 93 petrol range comes with the 1.8t, 2.0t and 2.0t aero.
All are based off the same 2 liter block which as someone else here already pointed out is a general motors block. However it is not the same engine as found in the opel. Saab provide their own cylinder heads, injectors, tuning, turbo etc... the basic block is the same however.
The main difference between the 1.8t, 2.0t and 2.0t aero is the type of turbo and intercooler used.
The 1.8t uses a low pressure turbo from garrett. The 2.0t uses a mid pressure turbo (again from garrett and uses the same intercooler as the 2.0t aero but different to the 1.8t) and the 2.0t aero uses a mitsubishi high pressure turbo. The injectors on the 1.8t and 2.0t (i think... not 100% sure... but *think* are the same). The injectors on all three engines are different.
I got all this info from neobrothers in the UK ( a saab specialist ) when I was researching turbo upgrade options...
As for the platform... again it is a GM platform used by opel, chysler etc.. . Saab again provide their own suspension / damping etc... , same with steering setup. So overall they drive very different to an opel / chrysler and have their own characteristic which is quite different. The 93 also comes with the Reaxs (passive rear wheel steering) for better cornering (ok that sounds like i lifted it from a magazine) but it corners nicely and whether it works or not I've had no complaints.

The engine itself is supposed to be fairly bulletproof. Things to watch for are earlier year saab 93's have a problem with secondary air intake valve and pump ( an emissions thing). The sludging issue was found in pre 02 saabs so you should be fine.

Personally I own one and love it. The best thing about them is that the depreciate like boat anchors so you can get a LOT of car for the money. They look (to me anyway) fairly premium inside and out and definitely have their own quirky look/interior which saab fans go for.

Things I'm not quite so gone on is that on the aero model the torque steer is fairly noticable (that said the one I drove had been remapped to give 250bhp so that might explain that).
The radio reception is not great (but you can get an option retro fit 'diversity antenna to fix that'. I'm looking into this myself).

The only other thing to be aware of is that Saab parts are expensive.

Again I love mine and reckon they are worth owning