Saab 95 Estate

obi604

Thoughts on this car :

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-5/2.0-LPT/37113783129956120/

good purchase, run a mile ?
potential turbo problems ?

rocky

Thought you wanted a petrol E60? Don't know much about Saabs, but those lights and interior are shocking

obi604

rocky wrote: »

Thought you wanted a petrol E60? Don't know much about Saabs, but those lights and interior are shocking

toying with the idea of the saab now.
I actually think the front lights look decent.

GTE

I am only going of Top Gear with this, but what is the situation with Saab service and parts since that episode when it closed a few years back?

Wheelio

I recently bought a similar age saloon, same engine. From my research engine very reliable at this stage in its life once serviced regular, interior quality and build gone a little downhill with face lift but drives better.

OldGuysRule

Parts and service are not a problem, there are enough of these cars on the road at this stage.

As for the 9-5 estate, had one for about a year, amongst a couple of other 9-5s, sold last one in 2010, but did not have one of the 'dame edna glasses' era models. Loved the cars so much, but preferred the 2002 to 2005 model range the most, not a huge fan of the interior in the car shown - personal choice.

As a car, it is not the bellding edge of driving experience or whatever, but if you want a mile cruncher that carries you in total comfort at reasonable pace, then they are good. As for reliability, I was never left at the side of the road, keep it maintained and they are grand. Hard enough to find a low mileage one, but there is probably better value around?

My own recommendation would be to try and get one of the models with the sports seats (Vector or Aero) as they are so much better than the (still comfortable) standard seats in the car shown.

OldGuysRule

Either of these cars (slightly higher price but worth it I would reckon), would be a better bet, higher spec.one is an auto the other manual,

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Saab/9-5/2.0-Line/36313808378299730/advert?channel=CARS

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Saab/9-5/....1-OW/37913891779571700/advert?channel=CARS

Of course, will always come down to the deal you can do . . .

biko

Higher spec? They're both Linear as is OPs?

OldGuysRule

The two quoted by me have sports seats, these are considerably better than the basic ones, but am surprised that on close inspection, they are not heated as per the OP car. Also both have bluetooth kits fitted (albeit aftermarket) - I can see that the OP car has a built in cradle, but no mention whether it is just a hard wired system or bluetooth.

Furthermore, the wheels on the two posted are generally seen as a higher spec set than those in the OP (even though both are 17s I think). Would be up to the OP as to whether the extra cost is worth it.

obi604

Wheelio wrote: »

I recently bought a similar age saloon, same engine. From my research engine very reliable at this stage in its life once serviced regular, interior quality and build gone a little downhill with face lift but drives better.

Thats good to hear, so no issues with Turbos blowing etc
Did you buy a manual or an auto ?

Whats a regular service with these Saabs : every 10,000 miles ?

obi604

OldGuysRule wrote: »

Parts and service are not a problem, there are enough of these cars on the road at this stage.

As for the 9-5 estate, had one for about a year, amongst a couple of other 9-5s, sold last one in 2010, but did not have one of the 'dame edna glasses' era models. Loved the cars so much, but preferred the 2002 to 2005 model range the most, not a huge fan of the interior in the car shown - personal choice.

As a car, it is not the bellding edge of driving experience or whatever, but if you want a mile cruncher that carries you in total comfort at reasonable pace, then they are good. As for reliability, I was never left at the side of the road, keep it maintained and they are grand. Hard enough to find a low mileage one, but there is probably better value around?

My own recommendation would be to try and get one of the models with the sports seats (Vector or Aero) as they are so much better than the (still comfortable) standard seats in the car shown.

Thanks,.

Did you have auto or manual ?
Petrol or diesel ?

Ah that one I linked isn't bad in fairness, 64,000 miles for a 2007 is not bad.

obi604

OldGuysRule wrote: »

The two quoted by me have sports seats, these are considerably better than the basic ones, but am surprised that on close inspection, they are not heated as per the OP car. Also both have bluetooth kits fitted (albeit aftermarket) - I can see that the OP car has a built in cradle, but no mention whether it is just a hard wired system or bluetooth.

Furthermore, the wheels on the two posted are generally seen as a higher spec set than those in the OP (even though both are 17s I think). Would be up to the OP as to whether the extra cost is worth it.

I cant really see from the pics, regarding the tyres on on the one I linked :

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-5/2.0-LPT/37113783129956120/

Are they a higher profile tyre than this one :

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Saab/9-5/2.0-Line/36313808378299730/advert?channel=CARS


i.e. would the ride be more comfortable on the first car ?

Wheelio

I got an automatic, its approaching 130,000km but drives very well, you'd not think it has that mileage, my previus car was an older 93(still on original turbo, but getting a bit smokey) so I'm used to oil changes every 5,000miles. Recommended intervals on the newer ones is longer (not sure exactly I'll check manual later) but Id stick to every 10k max.

obi604

Wheelio wrote: »

I got an automatic, its approaching 130,000km but drives very well, you'd not think it has that mileage, my previus car was an older 93(still on original turbo, but getting a bit smokey) so I'm used to oil changes every 5,000miles. Recommended intervals on the newer ones is longer (not sure exactly I'll check manual later) but Id stick to every 10k max.

Thanks very much .

OldGuysRule

I think that the weels on both are the same size (17")

I had one auto and two manuals, both had their pluses but the auto did seem to fit the driving style of the car more. That was just my own opinion. I, too, would have kept servicing to about 10k miles at most. Preventative rather than reactive would always be my approach to servicing. All my 9-5s went over the 100k miles mark with no major issues.

In the middle, I had the estate which was written off financially in a serious rear ending (of me not by me!) which buckled the floor, put a crease in the roof so much that it was difficult to open the rear door. Strangely the crash had an odd impact on the mileage as I saw it for sale 18 months later with less mileage on it that when the crash happened. I rang the guy selling it and got dog's abuse on the phone. I then left it with the Gardai, do not know what ever happened but the ad was gone a week later.

Glad I was in the 9-5 for that crash though. . . . . still look through the ads every now and then. If I did not have a thing for LR Discos for the past few years, there would still be one on the drive!

galwaytt

+1 on Saab auto's here; mines a diesel admittedly, but gone 200k kms now and suits the lazy nature of the 9-5 well imho.

obi604

galwaytt wrote: »

+1 on Saab auto's here; mines a diesel admittedly, but gone 200k kms now and suits the lazy nature of the 9-5 well imho.

good to hear

obi604

rocky wrote: »

Thought you wanted a petrol E60? Don't know much about Saabs, but those lights and interior are shocking

Would this Sabb 95 Automatic petrol estate be less harsh on juice compared to a 523i Petrol automatic ?

OldGuysRule

When I had an auto 9-5, my average was 28mpg (according to on board computer and checked through brimming), this was based on a mix of driving that was at least 50% of time in traffic. A trip between Dublin and Clare would show up as at least 36mpg. Both of my manuals were slightly higher mpg

I have no idea of mpg for thet BMW, but I think that was a 2.5l engine?

obi604

OldGuysRule wrote: »

When I had an auto 9-5, my average was 28mpg (according to on board computer and checked through brimming), this was based on a mix of driving that was at least 50% of time in traffic. A trip between Dublin and Clare would show up as at least 36mpg. Both of my manuals were slightly higher mpg

I have no idea of mpg for thet BMW, but I think that was a 2.5l engine?

Remind me again, you had a petrol automatic yeah

yep, the 523 im talking of is a 2.5 Litre

galwaytt

OldGuysRule wrote: »

When I had an auto 9-5, my average was 28mpg (according to on board computer and checked through brimming), this was based on a mix of driving that was at least 50% of time in traffic. A trip between Dublin and Clare would show up as at least 36mpg. Both of my manuals were slightly higher mpg

I have no idea of mpg for thet BMW, but I think that was a 2.5l engine?

That tallies with my brothers' experience of 2.0t mileage too.

His wife has a 323ci, and yes that's a 2.5 engine, so tax is €1080 instead of €710 as on the Saab.

obi604

galwaytt wrote: »

That tallies with my brothers' experience of 2.0t mileage too.

His wife has a 323ci, and yes that's a 2.5 engine, so tax is €1080 instead of €710 as on the Saab.

what kind of mpg is your brothers wife getting from the 323ci ?

and does she have an auto or a manual

OldGuysRule

Just to confirm, I only ever had petrol Saabs (three 9-5s and one 9000). Gotta say, the 9000 was built like a tank, never felt so safe as when driving it (I am sure it would not score highly on the modern NCAP system, but for its time . . . . )

Wheelio

Just to confirm too, I've averaged 9.3L/100Km in the 2 months I've had my
2.0lpt auto 95 with mixed driving (which is in an around 29/30mpg).

obi604

Wheelio wrote: »

Just to confirm too, I've averaged 9.3L/100Km in the 2 months I've had my
2.0lpt auto 95 with mixed driving (which is in an around 29/30mpg).

thanks, not bad.

obi604

Which of these 2 cars would be heavier on juice -- in around Dublin city centre

1. 2007 Saab 9-5 estate, automatic , 2 litre petrol

2. 2007 BMW 523i, saloon, petrol automatic.

galwaytt

obi604 wrote: »

what kind of mpg is your brothers wife getting from the 323ci ?

and does she have an auto or a manual

Is ans automatic and she's getting about 27mpg iirc

my 9-5 is returning 40-43mpg

toastedpickles

Get the 9-5 Just go through it with a fine tooth comb first, mine is starting to show some classic symptoms of sludging, depending on how far gone it is I could be looking at a new engine

So just a word of warning, make sure the pcv#6 kit has been fitted, and if the sump hasn't been dropped stick a micro camera down the dipstick hole into the sump to see, watch out for lots of white smoke like this Also if the engine sounds like it does in the video, run for the hills

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

Get the 9-5 Just go through it with a fine tooth comb first, mine is starting to show some classic symptoms of sludging, depending on how far gone it is I could be looking at a new engine

So just a word of warning, make sure the pcv#6 kit has been fitted, and if the sump hasn't been dropped stick a micro camera down the dipstick hole into the sump to see, watch out for lots of white smoke like this Also if the engine sounds like it does in the video, run for the hills

Thanks.

Why the 9-5 over the 523 ?

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks.

Why the 9-5 over the 523 ?

Because it's not a bmw :pac:

But no in all seriousness, they are a good car when looked after, they're one of if not the safest car in the class, they have more toys than a play school, plenty of power too, for an estate they can move like nobodys business, also the boot is a car in itself, heaps of space and a loading tray for heavy goods too

unkel

obi604 wrote: »

Which of these 2 cars would be heavier on juice -- in around Dublin city centre

1. 2007 Saab 9-5 estate, automatic , 2 litre petrol

2. 2007 BMW 523i, saloon, petrol automatic.

They're both terrible on juice in around Dublin city centre

Not sure why you are asking. Surely you would know the answer to that question yourself? These cars are very different in nature too. Also, the Saab would cost only a fraction of the BMW to buy

And for the record, my last car was a Saab 9-5, my current car is an E60 BMW 5-series. Both petrol

There's no price on that ad for the 9-5. I guess about €3.5k would buy it?

obi604

unkel wrote: »

They're both terrible on juice in around Dublin city centre

Not sure why you are asking. Surely you would know the answer to that question yourself? These cars are very different in nature too. Also, the Saab would cost only a fraction of the BMW to buy

And for the record, my last car was a Saab 9-5, my current car is an E60 BMW 5-series. Both petrol

There's no price on that ad for the 9-5. I guess about €3.5k would buy it?

Which car do you prefer ? : )

There WAS a price on the Saab in the ad in Baldonnell , I've been monitoring it, the seller has a habit of having a price on a car, then 2 days later it's this "POA" sh1t, that bugs me.

Last price he had was 7,999 which judging by your comment this seems WAY overpriced.

obi604

Im still confused here

The reason im thinking of a 523 over a Saab is as follows, the Saab has a turbo, and that could go, the 523 has no turbo so that would be one less thing to worry about.

toastedpickles

True that, but! if you were to replace the turbo, which is a garret, with a td04, which is a Mitsubishi turbo commonly found in the aero spec saabs, you won't have to worry about turbo trouble td04s can be picked up relatively cheap and it's pretty much a direct swap with them too

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

True that, but! if you were to replace the turbo, which is a garret, with a td04, which is a Mitsubishi turbo commonly found in the aero spec saabs, you won't have to worry about turbo trouble td04s can be picked up relatively cheap and it's pretty much a direct swap with them too

So is the turbo going in a Saab 95 a relatively common thing ?

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

So is the turbo going in a Saab 95 a relatively common thing ?

Over on the saab forums the standard turbo has the nickname the 100k turbo, partly because the majority of them tend to give out at, or around 100k, so they get replaced with the td04 which is just better all around, I'm not trying to put you off one but it's good to know these things so you know what your getting into, the garret is a gt17, heres what they look like
td04 on the left and gt17 on the right






They are literally identical but one is stronger

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

Over on the saab forums the standard turbo has the nickname the 100k turbo, partly because the majority of them tend to give out at, or around 100k, so they get replaced with the td04 which is just better all around, I'm not trying to put you off one but it's good to know these things so you know what your getting into, the garret is a gt17, heres what they look like
td04 on the left and gt17 on the right






They are literally identical but one is stronger

Thanks, that Saab I first linked had 64,000 miles, so hopefuly should be good for another bit.

But then again with the 523 , I wouldn't have these worries

rocky

Make sure the 523 is pre-facelift and you're laughing. No comparison to a Saab...

obi604

Thoughts on this 523 :

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/BMW/5-Series/523I-SE/201349220169831/


My concern is that it has 100,000 Miles and its a 8 year old car.
Its had 8 services so far.

Am i just asking for trouble buying an 8 year old car with 100,000 miles

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks, that Saab I first linked had 64,000 miles, so hopefuly should be good for another bit.

But then again with the 523 , I wouldn't have these worries

True that, but you'd have other problems with them I have no idea what they'd be but a bit of looking around and you'l find them, just noticed its an 07, all them problems are sorted out by that time, i'd say go for it

Mines a 00 so i'm in the thick of all them, so it's always good to know what the past was like

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

True that, but you'd have other problems with them I have no idea what they'd be but a bit of looking around and you'l find them, just noticed its an 07, all them problems are sorted out by that time, i'd say go for it

Mines a 00 so i'm in the thick of all them, so it's always good to know what the past was like

So the turbo issues are ironed out by 2007 ?

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

So the turbo issues are ironed out by 2007 ?

From having a bit of a poke around there, yeah they're all sorted, oil issued and all, you just have to change the oil every 5k miles with fully synthetic oil and you're singing, I noticed it has an s button on the auto box, that makes for fun times!

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

From having a bit of a poke around there, yeah they're all sorted, oil issued and all, you just have to change the oil every 5k miles with fully synthetic oil and you're singing, I noticed it has an s button on the auto box, that makes for fun times!

So on the 2007 - the oil should be changed every 5,000 miles. What's the chances of an Irish owner doing this !! And with fully synthetic too.

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

So on the 2007 - the oil should be changed every 5,000 miles. What's the chances of an Irish owner doing this !! And with fully synthetic too.

Well it has a history so take a look at that, also the chances are probably not very often, but if you do it yourself, you're saving yourself a blown engine which costs in the region of 2K it's all about the oil in these cars

obi604

toastedpickles wrote: »

Well it has a history so take a look at that, also the chances are probably not very often, but if you do it yourself, you're saving yourself a blown engine which costs in the region of 2K it's all about the oil in these cars

Yeah, but the the history only cover the kinda big services, wont have any entries in there for oil changes I would think

toastedpickles

obi604 wrote: »

Yeah, but the the history only cover the kinda big services, wont have any entries in there for oil changes I would think

Ring them up and ask was it documented at all, I found out loads about mine when i did

obi604

obi604 wrote: »

Thoughts on this 523 :

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/BMW/5-Series/523I-SE/201349220169831/


My concern is that it has 100,000 Miles and its a 8 year old car.
Its had 8 services so far.

Am i just asking for trouble buying an 8 year old car with 100,000 miles

Any thoughts on this ?

obi604

obi604 wrote: »

Any thoughts on this ?

Anyone

rocky

obi604 wrote: »

Anyone

The good:
pre-facelift N52 engine
ok-ish price

The not so good:
not msport
no extras (except leather?)

I would get an MSport, and I wouldn't differentiate between years, i.e. 05, 06, 07 would be the same to me, choose on condition and spec of the individual car.

obi604

rocky wrote: »

The good:
pre-facelift N52 engine
ok-ish price

The not so good:
not msport
no extras (except leather?)

I would get an MSport, and I wouldn't differentiate between years, i.e. 05, 06, 07 would be the same to me, choose on condition and spec of the individual car.

Thanks, it has BMW bluetooth also.

but is 100,000 miles a lot on this car ? like is it asking for trouble going forward

rocky

Another 5k to 100

Mine is around the same mileage and no probs after a year.
Depends on service history and pre-purchase check.