A Swedish bit on the Side - Saab 9-3 Cabrio

[Alex225]

Well at some point the Shogun will be leaving me. I had a plan for it, go do some off-roading etc etc. Sadly time and money haven't enabled me to get out and do just that so the Shogun has become a runabout. I love it and it's fun but it's not an easy drive, it's hugely slow and it does about 20mpg.

So I went on the hunt for something else, something I'd enjoy being, that had four seats and made my two eldest kids smile like the Shogun. It seemed a convertible was the thing to go for. I was thinking CLK or a Saab, I'd had a 9-3 some time back and loved it's quirks, comfort and it's overall feel. I'd seen this car come up on Autotrader but it was over £3k and I only wanted to spend £2-2500. Then it came up again at £2,500. The reason being they'd changed the expensive headunit back to standard and removed the amp in the the boot. So I had to go see it.

This is a 2008 Saab 9-3, 1.9ttid Aero. It has a full service history and was in fantastic condition. The owner's husband is a mechanic who reeled off a list of all the things it's had done in the 6 years they've owned it. New clutch, flywheel, turbos etc. It drives really well and has been mapped by a firm called Nordic so came with a print out of 225bhp. I'll let the pictures do some talking now....

As you can probably tell, I've been detailing it somewhat. Outside has been hand polished and protected, glass sealed. Interior has been cleaned and protected too.

I have done a few bits and pieces on it. It didn't come with mats, apparently it had some but they had no idea where they'd ended up so off to Carmats4U who gave me a free upgrade to the diamond rubber mats.

Not sure what was going on with the aerial but that went.

In favour of a far better black stubby aerial I got off Amazon.

Also it annoyed me that there was no cover over the foot rest, so I contacted Carmats4U and asked for an extra bit of material to make one. It's not perfect but some cutting and Velcro and it'll do the job.

So there you have it. I think it's a pretty car, it's surprisingly small from the outside but then I am used to a CL and my old S Class which are massive. It should give me almost double the MPG of the Shogun and yet it's pleasingly quick.

 

[Dippo]

I had many happy summers in Saab convertibles - working for the company made that easier.

 

[alabbasi]

I bought a 92 Saab 900S convertible when I first moved to the US. I picked it up in Jacksonville Florida and drove it to Atlanta, GA and finally to Dallas TX before I sold it. It was a pretty nice car but it was horribly slow. I drove a turbo a couple of times and it was a lot more fun.

It's a pity they met such a demize

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Great cars. We had a 2006 9-3 convertible for six years from new as a Mum’s taxi. Smooth ride, turn of speed and plenty of space. Have owned half a dozen 900’s, 9000, 9-3 and 9-5 over 25 years. All usually biggest turbo or Aero.

There are enough specialists around and don’t believe there are any issues with sourcing spares.

It’s a SAAB convertible rather than cabrio. Cabrio cars have a pram support structure. (Think earliest, horrible XJS.)

Be wary of traction on a FWD mapped Aero. Even the LpT and Aero struggle to get that energy to the floor, especially in winter or on flakey surfaces. Not a real problem day to day, and not an issue on the straight but can result in a lot of front end wheel spin on corners.

As usual, keep the roof clean and mould free and it’ll last for decades. Cleaning and proofing is far cheaper than replacing.

Can’t tell you about what goes wrong. Never had to repair any SAAB, ever.



.

 

[baxlin]

Been following this on DW, it’s looking good, Alex. I had an 06 reg vert in Lime Yellow, loved it, but it was a diesel, and I had quite a bit of trouble with it, mostly engine related.

What softened the blow of it going was it was replaced with a new C220!

 

[SmartAmg]

Well at some point the Shogun will be leaving me. I had a plan for it, go do some off-roading etc etc. Sadly time and money haven't enabled me to get out and do just that so the Shogun has become a runabout. I love it and it's fun but it's not an easy drive, it's hugely slow and it does about 20mpg.

So I went on the hunt for something else, something I'd enjoy being, that had four seats and made my two eldest kids smile like the Shogun. It seemed a convertible was the thing to go for. I was thinking CLK or a Saab, I'd had a 9-3 some time back and loved it's quirks, comfort and it's overall feel. I'd seen this car come up on Autotrader but it was over £3k and I only wanted to spend £2-2500. Then it came up again at £2,500. The reason being they'd changed the expensive headunit back to standard and removed the amp in the the boot. So I had to go see it.

This is a 2008 Saab 9-3, 1.9ttid Aero. It has a full service history and was in fantastic condition. The owner's husband is a mechanic who reeled off a list of all the things it's had done in the 6 years they've owned it. New clutch, flywheel, turbos etc. It drives really well and has been mapped by a firm called Nordic so came with a print out of 225bhp. I'll let the pictures do some talking now....

As you can probably tell, I've been detailing it somewhat. Outside has been hand polished and protected, glass sealed. Interior has been cleaned and protected too.

I have done a few bits and pieces on it. It didn't come with mats, apparently it had some but they had no idea where they'd ended up so off to Carmats4U who gave me a free upgrade to the diamond rubber mats.

Not sure what was going on with the aerial but that went.

In favour of a far better black stubby aerial I got off Amazon.

Also it annoyed me that there was no cover over the foot rest, so I contacted Carmats4U and asked for an extra bit of material to make one. It's not perfect but some cutting and Velcro and it'll do the job.

So there you have it. I think it's a pretty car, it's surprisingly small from the outside but then I am used to a CL and my old S Class which are massive. It should give me almost double the MPG of the Shogun and yet it's pleasingly quick.

Lovely motor, Alex, always liked these meself.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Lovely car, it looks fantastic

Enjoy

 

[Alex225]

Great cars. We had a 2006 9-3 convertible for six years from new as a Mum’s taxi. Smooth ride, turn of speed and plenty of space. Have owned half a dozen 900’s, 9000, 9-3 and 9-5 over 25 years. All usually biggest turbo or Aero.

There are enough specialists around and don’t believe there are any issues with sourcing spares.

It’s a SAAB convertible rather than cabrio. Cabrio cars have a pram support structure. (Think earliest, horrible XJS.)

Be wary of traction on a FWD mapped Aero. Even the LpT and Aero struggle to get that energy to the floor, especially in winter or on flakey surfaces. Not a real problem day to day, and not an issue on the straight but can result in a lot of front end wheel spin on corners.

As usual, keep the roof clean and mould free and it’ll last for decades. Cleaning and proofing is far cheaper than replacing.

Can’t tell you about what goes wrong. Never had to repair any SAAB, ever.



.

I actually had a 9-3 around the same time I bought my CLS so end of 2015. Didn't seem servicing and that kind of thing were problematic, only thing that was a pain was a leaking steering rack but I got a refurbished unit fitted by a specialist in Bristol and they took my old one to refurbish that. Engine wise a lot of it is Vaxhall so not too bad, plus like you say there are some specialists around too.

I can't change my title on here now but convertible it is haha

Yeah it's a bit spinny in the wet and damp due to the re-map, despite having Pirellis all round. Just have to drive with a light foot really but then prior to Merc ownership I had many a hot hatch, the last being a mapped Megane 225 and that was the same. 265bhp with no LSD so it used to be very similar.

I'm planning to get a kit for the roof so I can give it a thorough clean and waterproof.

Been following this on DW, it’s looking good, Alex. I had an 06 reg vert in Lime Yellow, loved it, but it was a diesel, and I had quite a bit of trouble with it, mostly engine related.

What softened the blow of it going was it was replaced with a new C220!

I'm hoping the previous owner has ironed out some of the main issues I could experience. Clutch/flywheel were done 3 years ago, one turbo was playing up so the owner had both replaced to be sure etc. Seems they didn't hold back on fixes so there's no bodges (that I'm aware of!) haha.

This was my old 9-3 estate. It was a lovely drive but despite only having 10k more in the clock than this one, it felt like that mileage. The gearbox especially and I suspected the DPF or EGR valve was an issue as at times it would really chug on start up. Once it was warmed up it was a great drive and 55mpg+ was always nice. This new one feels genuinely quick but also feels far newer, I guess the new clutch and re-map help that feel.

 

[Darrell]

Lovely car.
My sister has had a few and I almost bought her last one before she chopped it in for her E Class convertible.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Very nice. Always liked Saabs since a family member had a 900 Turbo many years ago.
One question: are the purple calipers staying?

 

[grober]

93 Convertibles were built by Magna Steyr in Austria IIRC-- NICE CAR!

 

[Alex225]

Very nice. Always liked Saabs since a family member had a 900 Turbo many years ago.
One question: are the purple calipers staying?

The older Saabs were very cool, especially the early 90s and 80s models.

As for the calipers, I'm not too fussed by them really. They're not overly offensive although I would prefer them in silver so may get round to sorting them. Apparently it was the owners favourite colour so her husband painted them for her. At least it's not pink! haha

 

[SpikyMikey]

The older Saabs were very cool, especially the early 90s and 80s models.

As for the calipers, I'm not too fussed by them really. They're not overly offensive although I would prefer them in silver so may get round to sorting them. Apparently it was the owners favourite colour so her husband painted them for her. At least it's not pink! haha

The thing about the 900 Turbo (and probably the 99 Turbo also) was the lag.
It was all a bit flat until 3000rpm. A case of wait for it, wait for it.................WOOOOOOSH

 

[del320]

The thing about the 900 Turbo (and probably the 99 Turbo also) was the lag.
It was all a bit flat until 3000rpm. A case of wait for it, wait for it.................WOOOOOOSH

Ain't that the truth!


I owned the 99 Turbo for 7 years from 1980, doing around 56k and very few cars ever passed me except for Fiesta vans up to 25 mph. As you say - nothing - then WOOOSH!

Torque-steer was exciting/frightening, even in third gear up to 60 mph, but it was the ever-faster top gear 20 mph increments 40 - 60 up to 80 - 100 that left everything for dead - including some Porsches! 140 miles in two hours up the A9 between Edinburgh and beyond Inverness, remains a record that would be hard to beat nowadays.

The 900T-16 which followed was far more refined and, frankly, far less dangerous.

 

[Alex225]

Old school turbos were cool but like you say, nothing, nothing nothing.....POWER!!!! haha

I took the 9-3 for a proper run, 480 miles to be precise and I have to same I'm slightly staggered. It drove perfectly, smooth, sits at a cruise perfectly and the fuel economy....

So I did the maths and this is a bit overzealous but it did a genuine 55mpg! Which for something as quick as it is, really impressed me.

Also got a proper keyring for it so it's definitely mine now haha

Stopping off for a sip of fuel!

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I’ve always liked SAABs. That one looks excellent.

I’ve had a couple of 95s which were great but strangely, the only cars that I’ve been involved in (50+ years of driving), in proper accidents (neither my fault) and 1 in each car.

2nd one had a LPG conversion and so MPG was out of this world. . Purchased it with 115,000 miles on it (needed a short term car while waiting to move to Japan), full house with heated sets etc, etc put on one new tyre on & sold it 9 months later for more than it cost me.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , had a 1970 Saab 96 V4 and a 1993 Saab 99 with the 1.85 litre engine.

Both excellent cars but my favourite was the 96.

I have both cars from new and the supplying dealer told me to change the engine oil on a regular basis ( between regular services ) and no real issues.

On the 99 had to put the car into reverse before you could take out the ignition key out , gear change became stiff on a long trip.

Heavy on front pads until Saab UK suggested to install TAXI pads , problem solved.

The 96 had a free wheel and strange gear ratios.

I was given the chance to have a 900 HP Turbo as a company car and declined , reason , a real licence buster.

 

[Alex225]

Well today was quite chilly but productive. It warmed up at about 10:30 this morning and since I was off work it was car washing time. Nice simple wash, and topped up the sealant with some Seal n Shine.

One criticism I had of the 9-3 is the arm rest. I'm 6'1 so not mega tall but the arm rest is far too low and I'd find myself leaning over to make use of it. My Shogun had the same issue so I'd already ordered this memory foam cushion from AliExpress, it's ideal, very comfy and doesn't look awful.

Baby Groot keeping things in order. My eldest loved him being the mascot in the Shogun so he's been moved to here:

 

[fabes]

Had a 93 petrol Aero (noobed!) for 5 years. It's photos and review are still on Auto Express. Only swapped it for a CLK as I got the itch for a V6

Would recommend a wind deflector if you have the roof down and only two of you in it (eBay or UKSaabs forum)

Milton's blue and Fabsil for the roof.

Lovely car you have there (and of course, very shiny!)

Seats on, roof down and wind deflector up on a sunny winters day will put a smile on your face!

 

[Alex225]

It's funny as I did consider the CLK but having had a 9-3 the Saabs get under your skin a bit. My first was a bit leggy and felt everyone of it's 140k where this one just doesn't. I think the relatively new clutch makes that big difference plus it being the twin turbo.

I was looking at the wind deflector. It's very likely I'll be driving with the roof down either alone or with one of the kids up front so had looked at the wind breaks. I'd be happy with a non-OEM one as the originals are quite expensive.

I've heard Fabsil recommended for the roof from multiple people so thank you for the advice.