Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (January 2007, week 5)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Wed, 31 Jan 2007 12:58:10 -0500
Reply-To:     Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Geza Polony <gezapolony@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: NVC 2000 saab 9-3
Comments: To: Dave Milo <dellaone@GMAIL.COM>

I've been driving Saab 9000's for the past 10 years and can tell you a bit about those. First, though, the 9-3's are not true Saab's as they were all made after GM bought Saab in 1994. The 9000 is a great car--it's the only one on the market that combines BMW handling, etc., with the roominess of a station wagon. You can put refrigerators in the back of them. My advice to you is stay away from the 9-3 and get a good 9000. The Aero in particular, if you can find a good one, has a 2.1 FI Turbo that puts out 230 horsepower stock from the factory! Drives like it's on rails with power rack and pinion steering, lowering package, stiffer suspension, and the like--and you can get three bicycles in the back with the hatch lid down! If you're into more power, you can tweak the ECU's, exhaust, and turbo for over 300 HP. Why you would need that I don't know, but people do it. You can also get the 9K's cheap now if you look araound.

The down side to Saabs (if it is one) is that they need lots of preventive maintenance. The DI cassettes fail without warning, as do the serpentine belts. The heater cores and blower motors are weak points and will need replacement if you own the car any length of time. And, as they say, it's as if Saab started with the heater core and built the car around it--much, much more difficult to do than in a Vanagon. The engines themselves are bulletproof and will go 300,000 miles easily with nothing more than oil and coolant changes.

Best site around is saabnet.com.

For parts, see Tod Morin at eeuroparts.com. Excellent.

Again, the 9-3 and 9-5's are not real Saabs; they haven't been made in Trollhatten for a decade now. They also don't have the hauling capacity of the 9K's. For just a transportation module, you're better off with a Japanese car. The late model convertibles are nice looking but again, they're GM, not Saab.

Pmail if there's anything else I can help with.


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.