Buying an old (1980-1983) Saab good idea?

Edmund (Edmund ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

If you only do a very small mileage in it as a second/weekend car, the cost of fuel will be irrelevant.

If you do a decent mileage in it as a main car, the cost of fuel will be nothing compared to the cost and hassle of constant maintenance.

Not a good idea at all. Do yourself a really big favor and don't do it. There are plenty of reliable cheap Japanese cars out there.

It depends on what the car is for. There are probably easier cars to live with on a small budget, but maybe it is for historical interests in the marque. OP using a hotmail address makes it possible that it could be a troll? But there is not much else in the group at this time.

Probably not a troll but naive sounding. These are cars to avoid if you have a low budget and need reliability. The chances are that most cars of that vintage will need a shit load of money spent just to get back to good running order. There can be a multitude of stuff which needs replacing/repair and unless you have access to a pick and pull and your own workshop it could end up being a savaging loss.

On the other hand, you never know your luck. You can buy an absolute dunger and be surprised by having it run for a long time without trouble.

Conversion to LPG wouldn't be cheap. I don't know which country the OP is in but here in Australia an LPG conversion would cost more than the care is worth.

Much better idea to buy a cheap Japanese car (anything but a Mitsubish or Mazdai).

Lots of work probably.

Why as old as 80-83 ? I'm thinking there might be issues with using unleaded petrol too.

Graham

Ah, I understand your reticence!! In Europe spares are pretty simple to source, as these are European Cars. In Australia it's far easier, (I imagine) due to Geography to get parts for an old Japanese car than an old European one.

However, I would agree that running a car of that age is a risk regarding repair costs, depending on useage. I certainly wouldn't entertain putting an LPG system in one.

Al

It could be exempt from UK Road Fund Tax if the car is over 25 years old.

It is for our tax scheme, at this moment we don't have to pay tax ( kind of road tax ) for it if the car is more then 25 years old. I am not sure but I guess our taxes are the highest in the world. ( Netherland ). After reading these reactions, I think I buy something else :-)

Edmund

Hi Edmund - Good choice with a SAAB.

For the period you are looking at, there were three SAAB mdoels available on the market: the 96, the 99 and the 900. Of those models, the 99 and 900 are more popular, but there is nothing wrong with the 96 of the day. Of the 99 and 900, there were carburetted and turbo-charged variants for the 99 and the 900 and a fuel-injected model for the 900.

It comes down to personal choice over the model and the engine, but the turbo cars were pretty awesome, even then - the 99 was the turbo- classic of the day. Black, two door. Lovely. That said, the 900 is more plentiful for parts (although that might depend on where you live), but both the 99 and 900 shared the Bosch CIS/K-Jet system (on the FI & turbo cars) that was used on VW & Audi back then; a lot of parts are still available new from Bosch.

Why specifically 1980-1983? Pre-APC? 1983 was the year SAAB launced APC for the turbo cars and that engine configuration was a stunner. One year I would steer clear of is 1980 - there was a steel strike in Sweden that year and cheaper imported steel was used, but was not as well treated. Cars from that year seem more prone to rust, if they are still around. 1979 was the launch year of the 900, 1980, the final year for the 96 and 1984 the final year for the 99. By 1982, SAAB had got over the complicated GL, GLS, GLi, GLSi and EMS models (in most markets) and fuel injection was very much commonplace.

Me? I'd go for either a fuel-injected or turbo-charged 900. Both are very good cars, but the turbo was quite a stunner. Fuel mileage? 10 Km/L shouldn't be a problem, but I just ran 25 MPG through google conversion, so I don't know it that is proper gallons or those little US gallons :)

Pop over to

True. It would still be a pain finding leaded petrol though.

The OP seesm to be from the Netherlands btw.

Graham

Do you mean "road taxes" are highest in the world? What sort of taxes do you pay?

I can;t imagine anything being higher than the tax burden in the USA :-)

Uh ? About 30% of your US income goes in taxes.

In mainland Europe it's about 50%.

Graham

ITYM "pre-1973". The 25-year rule was frozen at pre-'73 a few years ago. In SAAB terms, that probably means a 95 or 96 V4 (the 99 was around, but I've not seen one that old in many years - by contrast, there still seem to be a few of the V4 cars around).

A 95 or 96 would make a reasonable daily driver, given care and attention. I see one around locally that's used like that - but it will need more looking after than a modern car, and things will occasionally break.

Dear me... In Denmark you pay for 3 cars and get 1.

That 30% would have to be an average... which in a country as diverse as the USA is really misleading.

In most industrialized states, we pay 20-30% in income taxes to the Federal Gov't on income, then another 5-10% in State income tax, a sales tax on all sales, and major property tax on any real estate owned. On vehicles, most states have an initial sales tax in addition to a yearly excise tax or a registration fee that is value related.

It's hard to compare, because so many services and such are or are not wrapped into a country's economic model. For example, health care in the USA is privately paid for to the tune of $10-12K/year for most. Roads are paid for by federal, state, and direct gasoline taxes that you pay in addition. Pretty much everything else is taxed in some way too, with a sales tax, an excise tax - sometimes both!

So, just curious as to what the "rate" in .nl, even though it's totally uncomparable :-)

Hi, it doesnt really matter much ow much tax you pay. In the end, it all goes round in circles, and whatever you pay you are likely to get back at some point.

The only difference is that countries spread the tax "burden/profits" over the population in different ways.

Wikipedia has some info.

Richard.

Hi Edmund, find one that does not have ANY rust, and is well maintained. You can simply have the engine swapped for 1000 EURO if necessary, restoring a badly rusted car can easily cost thousands...

Expect to pay anything from 1500 EURO for an ok one, and 2000 and up for a good one. Parts are really easy to find for the 900, for the 99 its getting a bit more difficult. Engine maintenance of the Saab is easy, especially the non-turbo versions. Try to find one with electronic ignition.

LPG conversion is around 1100 EURO. Taxes are zero for over 25 year old cars in NL.

LPG is 0,60 per liter / 98 gasoline is 1,55 per liter

Good luck, Richard.

For the record: Road tax for 900 gasoline is 40 EURO per month, road tax for 900 LPG is 95 EURO per month.

R.