2011 Saab 9-5

PaulieC

Any Saab knowledgeable folk out there ? I'd love to buy one of these and there seems to be a decent selection in the UK with low enough mileage (i.e. under 50k). The spec looks good and I love the shape.
Obviously, they are not manufactured any more and that's going to put a big dent in the resale value, but looking at the prices, I think that's already factored in. I reckon I'll be keeping it for about 8 years anyway, so if I spend 18k now, I wouldn't expect much in resale (on any car for that matter). I live very close to a Saab main dealer (or former) who still moves a lot them and have been assured by a friend of mine who doe the bodywork for said dealer that parts are not an issue.

If I can't be talked out of buying one, what should I be looking out for mechanically ??

bazz26

The 9-5 borrows heavily from the Opel Insignia, even the steering wheel is from the Insignia but that is not necessarily a bad thing. No personal experience but from reading on the net the one thing that would concern me is that the 9-5 was under development when Saab started getting into serious financial difficulty. Apparently Saab then rushed through the 9-5 to production as kind of the last effort at saving the company but it was too late at that stage. My concern would be what short cuts did they take in getting it production ready.

fmcg_scribe

Lots of buyers guides out there, for example:
http://www.serioussaab.co.uk/guide_pages/9600_p1.html
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/saab-9-5-used-buying-guide
http://saabworld.net/f9/saab-9-5-buyers-guide-693/

Parts might not be an issue right now but Saab is not trading at the moment, so unless some other organisation decides to manufacture replacement parts for loyal Saab owners, you'll probably to have end up using eBay and parts breakers to source certain parts.

PaulieC

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Lots of buyers guides out there, for example:
http://www.serioussaab.co.uk/guide_pages/9600_p1.html
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/saab-9-5-used-buying-guide
http://saabworld.net/f9/saab-9-5-buyers-guide-693/

Parts might not be an issue right now but Saab is not trading at the moment, so unless some other organisation decides to manufacture replacement parts for loyal Saab owners, you'll probably to have end up using eBay and parts breakers to source certain parts.

I had looked at these previously, but they are for the old model.

I hear ya on the parts issue, it would worry me moderately. I spoke to a couple of 9-3 owners who whole-heartedly recommended them and are not worried about parts. Same for the dealer (but I would always be somewhat sceptical there as they are trying to sell me something)

fmcg_scribe

PaulieC wrote: »

I had looked at these previously, but they are for the old model.

I hear ya on the parts issue, it would worry me moderately. I spoke to a couple of 9-3 owners who whole-heartedly recommended them and are not worried about parts. Same for the dealer (but I would always be somewhat sceptical there as they are trying to sell me something)

New model:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/saab/9-5-2010/?section=good
http://www.rac.co.uk/buying-a-car/car-reviews/saab/9-5/209691

Previous model:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/saab/9-5-1997/?section=good

toastedpickles

Owning a first gen 9-5, even I'd be a bit wary of parts availability, also to shadow what bazz said, shortcuts were taken and i personally wouldn't like to be the one to find out what they are, for as much dislike for saab asthere is I'd rather an older one any day, at least you know there's a few around the shop and you know they were built properly

fmcg_scribe

toastedpickles wrote: »

Owning a first gen 9-5, even I'd be a bit wary of parts availability, also to shadow what bazz said, shortcuts were taken and i personally wouldn't like to be the one to find out what they are, for as much dislike for saab asthere is I'd rather an older one any day, at least you know there's a few around the shop and you know they were built properly

Indeed. I remember seeing the "new" 9-5 at a motor show three or four years ago. I sat into it and examined the cabin and boot very carefully. Overall, it did not have the feel of a premium car - there was too much use of cheap plastic and other materials.

Choice of car can be a personal decision and it would be boring if we all liked the same cars. However, bearing in mind all that has happened to Saab in recent years, anyone who buys one at the moment could be hit on a number of fronts:

• Lack of a dealer network.
• No guaranteed supply of new parts (over the long term).
• Heavy depreciation at resale time (unless selling to a fellow Saab enthusiast).

If a person wanted to buy a car that is no longer in production, I can think of lots of examples from the last 50 years of cars that were more celebrated than latter day Saabs and they might even appreciate unlike a Saab.

toastedpickles

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Indeed. I remember seeing the "new" 9-5 at a motor show three or four years ago. I sat into it and examined the cabin and boot very carefully. Overall, it did not have the feel of a premium car - there was too much use of cheap plastic and other materials.

Choice of car can be a personal decision and it would be boring if we all liked the same cars. However, bearing in mind all that has happened to Saab in recent years, anyone who buys one at the moment could be hit on a number of fronts:

• Lack of a dealer network.
• No guaranteed supply of new parts (over the long term).
• Heavy depreciation at resale time (unless selling to a fellow Saab enthusiast).

If a person wanted to buy a car that is no longer in production, I can think of lots of examples from the last 50 years of cars that were more celebrated than latter day Saabs and they might even appreciate unlike a Saab.

Ah yeah, like I've seen the inside of one and thought it looked rather...thrown together? As for parts for the newer ones, again, any site i get parts off for mine have nothing for them, even the main dealer i go to has had trouble getting things in, even from trollhattan themselves, the only thing i have a small bit of trouble for getting parts for is my 900, and that's because its old, the depreciation thing you kinda have to accept, although I've been offered twice what i paid for mine a few times now, so it depends on how its looked after

Anyways, I know yourself and i see from opposing sides of the fence on that matter but I do agree on the parts and dealer network being fecked

fmcg_scribe

toastedpickles wrote: »

Ah yeah, like I've seen the inside of one and thought it looked rather...thrown together? As for parts for the newer ones, again, any site i get parts off for mine have nothing for them, even the main dealer i go to has had trouble getting things in, even from trollhattan themselves, the only thing i have a small bit of trouble for getting parts for is my 900, and that's because its old, the depreciation thing you kinda have to accept, although I've been offered twice what i paid for mine a few times now, so it depends on how its looked after

Anyways, I know yourself and i see from opposing sides of the fence on that matter but I do agree on the parts and dealer network being fecked

Indeed. Just get used to stopping off a car scrap yards when you see them - you never know what you might find.

Two of my uncles had to do that after both of them brought MG Midgets from the UK back to Ireland after the car went out of production - they were always on the hunt for spare parts just in cased they needed them.

PaulieC

Any details of what these shortcuts were ? I looked at two cars yesterday and they looked pretty good to me. I've been assured that parts won't be an issue, by two different people in the trade (admittedly one of these was trying to sell me a car so a pinch of salt was duly taken)