2005 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon - nordwulf

[rpiereck]

Tail of the Dragon is lots of fun in a small, light car. I did the road back in 2003 on a Mazda Miata I borrowed from my cousin's boyfriend. They live in Atlanta, I was there for a week, and borrowed his car for two days of exploring the back roads. I got pretty close to a couple of speeding or reckless driving tickets but saved my license.

[psymon]

Congrats on the new addition Frank. It is tough to keep up with what new to you saab wagon you have :-)

Looks like a good find for sure. My aero sedan came from Florida as well.

[nordwulf]

I have had it 3 months already but it feels so much longer. Possibly has to do with the fact this is not my first 9-5 wagon. It almost has 50K miles on it now and I need to start planning the next road trip.

I can't wait until some nice spring weather and put on the new wheels, detail the entire car, have the front lower spoiler paint fixed, do major maintenance, install a trailer hitch for a bike rack, remove some small dents and so on.

[nordwulf]

5 months of ownership and still not thinking of getting a different Saab. This is a good sign..! I renamed the thread and I'll keep updated with experiences, repairs, maintenance and other useful info. And there will be lots of pictures, of course.

The car has 51K miles now so still barely broken in. As expected, there haven't been any major problems or other issues. The only thing was an outside temperature sensor that needed to be replaced, a leaking coolant line seal and faulty thermostat.

I changed the dash panel from carbon fiber to the lighter walnut wood dash and am happy with the change. Not sure if I'll keep it forever but it is is easy to change.

I added the aux-in and it works very well with an MP3 player. I still may replace the stock head unit with an aftermarket nav system but my Garmin worked fine on road trips so far. And I like the stock look of the dash.

I sold the stock 5-spoke wheels and tires and am waiting for some nicer weather to put the new 17" double-spoke wheels on with new Pirelli Cinturato P7 tires.

I have a new Drawtite hitch that will be installed in the next few weeks. 12 quarts of ATF are in so I can change in the next few weeks as well. I did the major maintenance items like fuel and air filters, spark plugs, serpentine belt and so on so no need to do any major maintenance soon.

The carpet could use some cleaning and shampooing and still waiting for some nicer weather as well. The outside could use some detailing and I am having some door dings and hood dents removed in the next few weeks. Other than that, everything else is fine and she runs great. I am getting an average of 26 MPG which is slightly less than my 2004 Arc 2.3T. But the Aero invites to more spirited driving so I blame it on that. Still great for a 250hp performance car.

New (used) walnut dash



Touring the South, making a stop in Memphis






New Orleans



Touring the UP of Michigan near Whitefish point. More here: https://plus.google.com/photos/11357...artnerid=gplp0



A few weeks ago at the Packard Plant in Detroit

[nordwulf]

The ATF has been changed 3 times so the transmission is happy again. It was quite dark and smelled a bit burned after 50K miles so it was about time. The trailer hitch has been installed and I also had to replace the engine splash guard underneath the car. Nothing major.

And... I got my new Pirelli P7 tires mounted on my new wheels I bought from a seller in the UK. The local tire place did a great job and not a scratch anywhere. I have only driven about 30 miles with the new tires so it is hard to review them already. First impression is they are quiet and comfortable, exactly what I was looking for. No vibrations at all.

There were about 4 small dents in the hood and two large door dings. There was also a larger scratch / dent on the hood. A guy that does paint-less dent repairs that worked on my previous Saabs before did a great job in removing all the dents. You can't even see where they were. $200 well spent.

The car still needs a good detail job and some paint / spoiler rash repair and that's about it. I think this 9-5 is a keeper.

It was a nice sunny evening with great light so I couldn't help myself to take a few pictures of the 9-5 with its new shoes. I really like the look of the wheels so far and something different than most 9-5 Aero's.

A few more pictures here: https://plus.google.com/photos/11357...72882056122225

[bullet]

Great photos !

[tunnanxwd]

The wheels are spectacular. Well, perhaps not a spectacle but damned nice!

Very nice shot of the Boyne Mountain lodge entry where Norway's legendary Stein Eriksen kicked off his management career here in the US. Or was it Sugarbush to Boyne?

He was my teen years hero. It was refreshing to read his books. Very little about money back then and you weren't allowed to make a dime as a pro to compete in the Olympics, nor could you show the brand of your skis or other equipment. He constantly refers in the book to what motivated him ... "For the glory of Norway" .... meeting him was thankfully one of my "bucket" items that happened.

[Burnsside42]

I want first dibs on your car Frank when you decide to move onto the next one.

[nordwulf]

The Boyne Mountain picture is actually the airport terminal building. Well, it is more like an airstrip but still a nice building for a picture background. Interesting history about Stein Eriksen after reading some more about it. You know more about Boyne Mountain than I do. and I live only a few miles away..!

Sorry but I don't think I'll sell it anytime soon. I was actually thinking I should get an inexpensive winter car if I stay in Michigan or other northern place with severe winters. It would be nice to keep this one nice for a long time and just use it as a 3-seasons car. And have all the Saab enthusiasts drooling over it at SOC 2025. I don't think I'll ever find another 04-05 Aero wagon with low miles like this.

[nordwulf]

On the road in Ontario this weekend. North and East of Lake Huron where there are so many lakes and waterways. And a perfect spot for a lunch break.