Hi,new here and need opinions.

Please do not insult hamsters. They are actually very creative, innovative, and somewhat engineering/mechanicly inclined. My daughter's learned how to engineer an escape plan, pack supplies, and develop a new home site.

Kuel. I have one just like it.

Sounds great. Is he Saab familiar ? If not, I'll list some specific things you might want to check on this model year and/or review the maintenance documents for.

Again, sounds great. Check closely to see if there has been any body work done. Sight down the panels and look for non factory type ripples or waves. Look very closely at the rubber seals and see if there is any overspray on them. Look at the car from various angles in the sun for paint mismatch. If the body work is so good you can't find it, then it's a really professional job and you probably don't need to worry about it. They may have fixed some door dings with a dent-wizard paintless approach, that's cool too.

That sounds like a serious bargain if the car is what you say. It's below trade-in value and the car appears to be a rare find. Buy it fast before someone else does. Is it a Saab dealer ?

BTW - be aware that Saab maintenance is a little more costly in the USA (than say Japanese cars) - mostly because of fewer parts sources and/or mechanics, IMHO. But, we can point you (or your mechanic) to a place where you can get most factory parts almost overnight for 2/3 of the dealer price. A good mechanic is stiffing everyone equally on labor price, so that's not an issue.

Assuming these things have not been done: Expect to put a clutch in before 120K miles. Cost ~ $1000. That's the only biggie. You will also need an Ignition Cassette before 100K miles for about $400 dealer price but you can get it for $240. Even the hamster can do the replacement of it. Really. It's a 10 minute job and Saab already put the tools in your trunk. I can also list some smaller jobs that are on the *must do* list if they have not yet been done. Small parts, small labor.

It really sounds like you are stealing a cream puff of a car. I can't see how you can lose. (Did I mention that all polished up with the top down, it's also a chick magnet ? :-)

Bob

in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, 'nuther Bob at snipped-for-privacy@thisaddress.com wrote on 08/07/2003 18:21:

Firstly, I hope you enjoy whichever Saab you buy. If you still need opinions, I'm sure there are plenty of folk here who will give theirs, but it looks like you've made your mind up.

Secondly, and I'm not taking the piss here, but are US miles different to other miles. I know other measurements are different, such as US vs Imperial gallons. I thought that the US predominantly used kilometres as a measure of distance where cars are concerned. I've just not seen "85K (US) miles" before and wondered if there was a difference.

Inquiring minds need to know ...

Paul

The U.S. uses miles to measure distance, not kilometers. In this case, 85K is shorthand for 85,000 U.S. miles. That's almost 137,000 kilometers.

Yeah, I think the point is what a U.S. mile is?

Isn't it the same as everyone else's mile?

We know your gallons aren't as big as ours, nor your pints but miles? :)

David.

Ridicilous discussion. First should anyone know that US-citizens use miles to measure distance and not kilometers. Since second a lot of those fellows do not know a lot about the rest of the world, they specify "US-miles" (basically a good idea to receive an useful answer). That third he is talking about landmiles versa nautical miles is obviously (even for a british landsman, aren´t you?). So it is not necessary to offend someone and furthermore counter productive for a newsgroup. If poeple like you are using such wording it is not very amazing, that most of the worlds population find brits arrogant!

Piet

"David Taylor" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@news.cis.dfn.de...

in article snipped-for-privacy@news.cis.dfn.de, David Taylor at snipped-for-privacy@bigfoot.com wrote on 08/07/2003 21:41:

Nor their brass bands, passion for the simple things in life or appreciation of a good cup of (hot) tea on a hot day :)

Paulo

You miss the point. A mile is a mile. I don't think anyone anywhere would ever consider measuring vehicle driven miles in nautical units!

There's no need to add the US bit, it implies that theres a difference between a US mile and an Imperial mile. However, there is a difference between a US pint and an imperial one and also a US gallon. *That's* where the clarity should be.

No, you missed the humour element but FYI, most of the 140+ countries of the world find the Americans arrogant!

After all, they only have 4% of the worlds population but cause 25% of the pollution and whinge about "gas" prices and couldn't give a shit about changing attitudes but then with such a statement, I'd be lumping all US citizens in the same boat, just as you have missed the plot completely and have lumped all Brits in with the "arrogance" claim because you don't get my sense of humour!

:-)

David.

"David Taylor" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@news.cis.dfn.de...

Sorry, but here you missed my irony about americans. And even disregarding that you have to consider all the folks not having a lot of experience in technical work. Better they write a bit more than too less. It is sadly enough that someone does not know about the "unique landmile" but with this kind of discussion you make the average "spare time mechanic" afraid of maybe writing too much.

Thank you for the lesson. But if Sven simply does not know about this difference you can´t blame him for his education. A simple hint would have been enough.

Good point. And this is only one example. I agree. But again you can´t blame Sven neither for the training system nor for the average attitude in the States. And with these comments you won´t reach the Americans. It´s just the wrong forum.

Aren´t Brits and Americans - political seen - the biggest friends in the world?!! ...

Nobody is perfect! ;-)

Greetings and always a good trip

Piet

Just like our president ;>)

and me................

Maybe that's why they get along so well... you know, birds of a feather. Sort of like two mental patients who understand each other, while no one else has a clue why they behave the way they do.

Bob

Simply not true....

Ah denial!

David.

And keep in mind that Al Gore actually got more votes.

Bob

So when are you selling your Saab and turning off your air conditioner? How many trees did you plant this week? It's easy to point to this side of the Atlantic and say "that way lies madness" when all of us who live amid the comforts of a technological civilization share of the blame. One link from the article you cite shows the European Union second with a bullet on the evil polluters list.

Might also want to follow the link to this gem:

A Danish environmentalist and former Greenpeace member says "the Kyoto treaty would cost $4 trillion to adopt, but only postpone a 2C temperature rise by a mere six years," and "It's sensible not to trust industry, but we should be equally wary of the green movement."

I'd gladly vote for a ban on SUVs myself, but there are too many deluded soccer moms out there who think they can only be safe in ponderous gas slurpers with a high rollover rate.

Meanwhile I'l ltry to do my bit by keeping my lawn-mowing to an absolute minimum. Remember, beer is a renewable resource.

The money spent on "pollution reduction" doesn't go away. It just goes into companies that manufacture pollution reduction equipment and more efficient equipment. It costs the _polluters_ more money.

I think it's fair that those who pollute pay for the pollution they produce. Some will argue "but that means I'll pay more for electricity when the costs get passed through". Well, the fact is, if you use a product, you need to pay for all its costs. This in itself will help finance alternative and less polluting sources of energy.

He, he, he. Me too. You left out "egos". It belongs in there somewhere.

I use an electric mower so there's no pollution :-)

Bob

No need to worry about my Saab, it has been off the road for 2 months : ( I'm planning on getting the Volvo converted to run on gas.

Yes we do but it doesn't help when a major contributor which doesn't make up much of the population refuses to sign up to help out and then whinges about the cost of fuel when it's actually very cheap compared with the rest of Europe for example.

Quite and I was only providing the reference to illustrate my earlier comment which was slated as "simply not true!".

Quit the farting afterwards too! ;)

David.

Ah but how was that electricity generated? :)

And not to get TOO off-topic, but a mere 30 or 40 million years ago the average temperature was significantly higher than a measley few degrees... try well over 20 degrees farenheit. And animals and plants lived just fine... Mind you there was a lot more ocean and a lot less land. :)

Mike