Now what?

[Theresa]

Did I make a mistake? Everyone I spoke to before buying my Saab warned me. Saab? "You will be saabing". They kept repeating. But it was a great deal so I thought and it drove incredible. For one month. Yep. Now I'm looking at repairs I don't know if I can keep up with them. I'm not saabing yet. I bought it knowing it may not last the summer. But only one month. Wow what did I get myself into? I would love to prove everyone wrong. I did my research. Even browsed this website to see what every one else had to say. But I must have bought the only lemon Saab out there.

[nordwulf]

Your car is 12 years old so some things need attention sooner or later. It helps when you're mechanically inclined and can repair and service the car yourself. If there are any specific problems, you can open a new thread in the Workshop forum and hopefully someone will be able to help.

Welcome and good luck!

[Theresa]

Thanks for responding wulf. I do have mechanic know how on most things. The Saab is new to me but I like getting in an fixing things I can. And thankfully I have 2 brothers and a nephew that are mechanics. But as I said before. They were not happy I bought the Saab. So I'm trying to go it alone.
Seems I need to replace the abs module. So that's what I'm looking into now. Thanks for your advice I'm new to this sight and am hopeful I will get the connections I need to keep my Saab running. I'm not giving up. Will check the workshop forum.
Thanks again.

[Dave T]

A different kind of "now what?"

I sold my Saab. For the first time in my driving life, I either don't have a Saab or don't have a clear plan to buy a Saab.

When I got my first car, a dinosaur, I had my sights on a Volvo, but maybe a Saab. After 3 months of working, I got my first Saab after visiting a dealer that sold both brands. There were two years that I had a temporary car that wasn't a Saab.

The buyer seems to be unhappy a day after buying the Saab, thinking it isn't in as good condition as she wanted it to be. She had a Saab mechanic look at the car. He said the car is old and decent. He cautioned that a car is not an investment but decreases in value and eventually needs repair. He said one has to weigh between what the price is and what you are willing to pay.

With that advice, he said that nothing needs repair now. He did point out things that I didn't know. The head gasket is seeping a little. Very common, may not cause problems for years but could. The engine mounts are old. There's a some power steering fluid stains but it's unclear whether that was after the repair a few years ago or recent. However, I've checked and never had to add power steering fluid in the more than two years that I've had the Saab. The muffler is getting rusty but no holes. The upper radiator holes is slightly swollen.

I think that maybe the buyer didn't inspect the car herself more than a few seconds. If that is the case, that's a lesson to be learned. I pointed out what I knew, like the pixels in the SID, fog light, loose ashtray, alarm message on the SID, and driver's door key hole becoming more worn.

Thinking about if there's a Saab in my future. Possibilities include a 1982 Saab 900 3 door, 1990 Saab 900 3 door, 2005-2007 Saab 9-3. I thought about putting a Saab emblem on a car that is not a Saab , but a badge doesn't make a Saab.

[Theresa]

Well after encountering some pretty incredibly challenging repairs. (Replaced abs module finally) and just replaced the left front strut mount and bearing. Fuses are finally holding their own and got all the lighting inside and out functioning properly. I am very happy with the end result.
I put a lot of leg work into buying this saab I walked away and went right back. I knew it was in good shape but would take money to keep her looking good and running as well as possible. We r there. Hope it last for a while before the next repair. Fingers crossed. This little red convertible is going to the beach.

[Gepe]

WELL DONE! I must have one of the last SAABs built (2012) and even now is feeling old with 28,000 miles (perhaps its me).
Hope you can cope with the repairs and are able to ENJOY a lovely car.
TTFN

[Theresa]

The beach trip was awesome with my convertible. No regrets buying this car.
However I didn't get to use the convertible after day 4. Why? Not sure yet. I was doing the usual sequence of putting to top up and it got stuck. Yep. A few hours of my vacation was working on the soft top. Getting it closed so I will be able to use the car even if I couldn't get the top down again once I got it closed.oh yes it took getting into the manual procedure. Messing with the hydraulic etc behind the back seat. Upset I couldn't get it to go back down while still on vacation but thankful for the 4 days it worked. Knowing I wouldn't try to use it or fix it til I got back home
yep. Here we go again. Now what? Spend tomorrow trying to figure out what the deal is. All I get is soft top failure and I assume since I had to put it up manually I will have to repeat the manual operations to get it back down.
Any recommendations on where I should start this?

[Gepe]

Sorry but I have a tin-top! My last soft-top was an MG!

[Theresa]

Getting ready to start troubleshooting the soft top problem. The one question I have is about the hydraulic valve. I can't remember if I need to close it or have it open IF THE SOFTOP WHERE WORKING CORRECTLY.
could this be as simple as being out of hydrolic fluid?
Please anyone with an idea on where to start? Anything would be appreciated

[Gepe]

Wish I could help you. Sorry