Saab 9-3 Bulkhead Crack

Sleepy

I've been offered a 1999 Saab 9-3 2.0i for free that's after suffering from the known weakness in the Bulkhead.

The car has a FSH and everything I know about the owner tells me that she'd have been very well minded and maintained over the years.

His local mechanic quoted him €700 for the repair, wondering if anyone's had the same issue resolved in the past and how much it costs?

Under no time pressure to get it on the road so if it was something I would repair myself (though I'm guessing it requires welding) or get done as a nixer that'd be great. I believe it was something that Saab would have done on a recall basis when they still had a dealer network!

toastedpickles

http://www.abbottracing.net/product.php?id_product=429

Get that, and go to kellets in ringsend or somewhere and they should sort it for you! It's not a cheap job as a lot of things have to come out, actually i'll pm you a number of a guy i know who might be able to give you a better price than 700

Sleepy

I was hoping this might catch your eye!

I get that it's a big enough job but hoping that since I'm not in any rush I might find someone who could tackle it in their evenings over a week or two for nixer rates. Maybe I'm being a bit optimistic but that no. Would definitely be appreciated!

Henry Ford III

Major surgery. You can also fit a bracing kit to prevent in recurring. I recall Wheeler Dealers doing so.

unkel

Do you really like the car and plan to be driving it yourself for the next few years? If no to either of these questions, I'd scrap it.

Sleepy

I love the look of the car, like driving it and know it's been taken very good care of throughout it's life. Mrs. Sleepy is head over heels in love with it.

I'm confident once I get this sorted it can easily give years of reliable, comfortable motoring. It'd be criminal to scrap such a well kept car imo.

My biggest worry tbh are the running costs, it's a 2.0 so a big jump in tax and fuel costs from the 1.4 Civic I only bought a few weeks back. Ideally, I'd run the Civic for the daily commute and save the Saab for the weekends but our tax system makes that a non-runner of an idea. I can afford the higher running costs but I am asking myself what the opportunity costs of them might be... Were she an older 900, I'd garage it until it hit 30 but 14 years is a bit too long of a wait for the vintage tax!