SeatBelt Replacement for 1996 SAAB 2.0L Convertable

I would not buy a used seat belt. MHO.

What's MHO stand for?

Where would I get a new one?

Why? Are you saying that you wouldn't use a used one? That because you don't know its history it might be "stressed"? Do you also replace them when you buy a used car?

You should be able to see if it is good or bad shape just by eye-balling it. MHO

"My humble opinion", I expect.

Well. I'm with Fred on this one - in the rigging & crane safety classes I've taken, the inspection process for webbed straps is pretty much "inspect for visible damage and replace if there's a problem". Sure, they stress test them once a year to recertify them but on a daily basis, if it doesn't look like there's a problem, it's not going to suddenly fall to pieces in a crash.

Also - every seat belt I have, is used. Every one of 'em. They become used along with the rest of the car. I don't see a functional difference between a used seatbelt in my car, or the used seatbelt in another car just like it.

But, if you want a new one, the dealer should be a source. I wouldn't go aftermarket or home-made (for seatbelts, or for lifting straps).

My Humble Opinion.

Dealership would probably be your best bet. Alternatively they are available from this web site:

If those guys are getting nearly $400 for one belt, you can bet the stealership will be getting even more.

At that price I'd be thinking real hard about finding one at a salvage yard...

The reason you don't want a "used" seat belt is because the nylon can weaken under the stress of a accident - assuming the person was wearing it. If you buy a used car, you should be able to tell from the body if it was in an accident bad enough to stress the seat belt. You don't want to find out the hard way if the "used" seat belt you purchased fails. That could be the last mistake you make.

A point of clairification:

The strap itself is not at issue. It the mechanism the rolls the belt in and out. The roller in that mechanism is broken. The seatbelt assembly is the combination of the strap, roller, housing, and some type of sensor which, I believe is a saftey switch that works in conjunction with the anti-lock breaks and/or airbags.

Truth be told the only reason I care about the belt is to not get cited by the Po Po.

What I was really hoping for was three or four quality sources for mail ordering used SAAB replacement parts.

That is an interesting theory, but I can not ever recall anyone having their seatbelts replaced after an accident unless there was actual damage to them.

Oh, and the scare tactic you just used there makes it all the more compelling (not). Kind of like those chain emails that say you will have really bad luck (maybe even die!) if you don't forward the message to 10 of your closest friends... ;-)

Agreed. I'll say it again - if the belt has been "stressed", you'll see it as visible damage to the webbing or stitching. Further, if you're in a crash that's so intense that the seat belts are damaged as a result of it, you'll have much more to worry about than the condition of the webbing. I've been to a lot of accidents (dozen years or so as an EMT), and I can't think of a single case where a seatbelt failed - tons of cases where the driver failed to _use_ it, but that's a different problem.

Ja, "last mistake you make" is a bit over the top, and just weakens his overall point.

Yes, every one I strap on is "used" :-)

My objection is that every salvage yard I have been to leaves the cars out in the yard with stuff like seat belts still in the cars. Typically much os the glass is broken and large parts of the car are open to the environment. They get rain, snow, raw ultraviolet, etc day after day - all the factors that lead to thread and plastic deterioration. When you buy one used, you don't know what conditions it has been kept in.

An exception would be if you went to the yard yourself an pulled it from a car where you can see/judge that it was protected from the environment.

Check with the insurance companies on the repair list for cars in accidents -

it is not an urban legend or "chain mail" rumor. As for the "last mistake you make"

line, I worked over 20 years in an OR. I got handson/hands in experience with the

poor decisions that driver made. More than one lingered on to a painful death.

Not sure what point you're answering there?

Yeah, I was the guy bringing those patients to you for the last 15 years. And the ones injured the worst, weren't wearing a seatbelt at all, so "out of a used car" vs "from the dealer" doesn't enter into those, does it.

Can you cite me anything showing failure of a seatbelt causing a worse outcome for a patient? I'd be interested in reading something showing that that has ever been the case. In the meantime, I reiterate and stand by my statement that if you're in a crash so severe that it breaks a seatbelt which passes a visual inspection, you've got way more to worry about. I'll also stand by my statement that the seat belt in my used car that I drive every day, is just as used as the seat belt that comes out of a parts car of equivalent use.

Dave Hinz

I totally agree, the driver of the wrecked car could care less about the seatbelts. But the buyer of the used parts salvaged from the wrecked car is the one that does not know the history of the parts and the one that will pay the consequences if the used part fails :-) The original poster could be a buyer of used seatbelt parts - not the driver of a wrecked car.

I'll also stand by my statement that the seat belt in my

You continue to miss my point. Can you show me one instance, ever, of a seat belt failing, which then caused a worse outcome for the patient?

Yes. We've established that. Can you show me any evidence showing that a used seatbelt, ever, has caused a worse outcome in any accident? Can you show me any case where a seatbelt has failed, at all?

Not especially. I'm waiting for a slow process to finish, and can't move on until that's done. So it's a timekiller kind of thing.

You have way more patience (and patients) with this sort of discussion than I do, Dave. ;-)

To answer your question, Google "seatbelt failure", read some of the cases. There are plenty of cases.

Whether or not buying a used seatbelt increases the odds of seatbelt failure is a different discussion.

Well, that's not exactly a "cite", but that's a start.

It's part of the same point, but whatever.

All I see from googling that is a bunch of lawyers shilling for cases...