Potential '01 9-5 Aero wagon

I have a slight potential of changing over my beloved '93 9000CSET (owned almost 10 yrs now) to a friend's '01 9-5 Aero wagon. Other than sentimentality, the transaction would rest on the finances on the selling side and the buying side, both sides of which are Saabers I trust highly and very knowledgeable about Saabs.

While I have a good general knowledge of the Mk.I 9-5s I obviously don't know any of the day-to-day details and issues with them. Other than the infamous oil sludge and the CPS (neither are issues with this potential 9-5).

Q1: So going from an early '90s 9000CSET to a '01 9-5 Aero ...... what sort of things do I need to know in advance to put into consideration in my price negotiation ?

Q2: What are some long-term issues I need to know to stay on top of the 9-5 before things break/fail ?

Thanks all. Your inputs will be instrumental in how I decide to move forward.

I started with a list of potential problems on the 9-5 but it's not complete yet. The earlier models have an issue with the ACC blend door. Repair is not that expensive but can be tricky to do. I never had this problem so I don't have any experience with that.

The Aero has the reliable TD04 turbo and issues with those are minimal. How many miles are on the car you're considering? I also started a 9-5 buyers guide but I am sure you checked that out already.

Thanks for the buyers guide. No I haven't looked at it, but it's great to refer back to.

This is from the potential seller on what's been done to date under his ownership of approximately 2 years:

• Waterpump
• Alternator
• Coolant bypass valve
• DIC- spare included
• CPS
• SID display
• ACC box (had one dead pixel)
• Heater flap fix, no codes.
• Rear shocks upgraded to Bilsteins
• Replaced one ball joint
• New brake pads 4,000 ago
• Rears have 30% left
• Coolant flushed in spring
• Rear brake pads in summer
• Just replaced alarm siren batteries, no codes
• Just had the exhaust manifold studs replaced

... not long switched from my beloved 'Orca', the white Classic 900, to a MY2000 9-5 Aero Sedan and I LOVE IT!!! I have fond memories of my Classic 900, but I ain't looking back misty eyed ...

All I've come up with is ... have the sump dropped every couple of years and cleaned out, run on fully synthetic oil and change it frequently, like 3000-5000 miles, be prepared for a small amount of cash to change out the SID units and the rear tyres will go cupped due to the camber. Beyond that, its panning out to be one heck of a good daily car.

Looking at the history of the car, it's had a good service schedule and the only other bills are for brakes and tyres ... and the Hirsch suspension and exhaust :cool:

It sounds like it has a good history with many of potential issues already fixed. If there are no records of transmission fluid being changed, it's probably time to do that. But that's easy and inexpensive (if it's an automatic).

Yes Wulf, I should have noted that it is an automatic. And the seller is planning on changing the ATF before the year is out.

Mileage is around 160K miles or 256K kms IIRC, the bulk of those miles accrued by the 1st owner in Oregon, not by the current seller (2nd owner), hence it is a US car.

I'd keep the 9000 and add the 9-5 to the fleet. My 9000 is 10x's more reliable then the 9-5 - however the 9-5 is a much nicer/newer car for trips with much more cargo room (wagon). I like them both, but I won't sell the 9000, the 9-5 I expect to sell in a few years. If you ever get lost with a diag or anything with the 9-5 or 9000 feel free to ask me, I have LOTS of experiance with both cars.

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Originally Posted by Burnsside42

I'd keep the 9000 and add the 9-5 to the fleet. My 9000 is 10x's more reliable then the 9-5 - however the 9-5 is a much nicer/newer car for trips with much more cargo room (wagon). I like them both, but I won't sell the 9000, the 9-5 I expect to sell in a few years. If you ever get lost with a diag or anything with the 9-5 or 9000 feel free to ask me, I have LOTS of experiance with both cars.

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Thanks for the advice.

If I want the 9-5, keeping the 9000 wouldn't be an option, however it would end up belonging to another local Saaber I know and trust, so it's all good from that standpoint. Wife will be adding a m*nivan to the household next year so we can't keep 3 cars around no matter what.

strange. I didn't know saab made a minvan? :-0

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Originally Posted by niskanem

strange. I didn't know saab made a minvan? :-0

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Thank God for that, right ??

It'll be an Odyssey. And not the 2011 MY neither (fuuuuugly).