Looking at a C900 in the morning...

Will probably just be cosmetic, the arches tend to rust due to the arch trims, door bottoms may be rusty too. The rest of the car is normally OK.

However, you may do better, even living in the North East I can find cheap rust free saabs.

How much?

£295, so it's probably a complete shitbox. But you never know.

I've had 4 now, they've all had rust to some extent on the wheelarches and door bottoms. Not usually a problem with rust elsewhere though.

£295 - for which model? Could be expensive, could be cheap depending on what year/model it is?

Cheers Mike

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My T16 which was shabby but solid had one or two bubbles on one rear arch, and a 1inch patch infront of the arch on the front drivers wing.

Worst place they go is on the bonnet sides right above the wing, or below the rubbing strip (or aero kit if fitted). They are weld on wings too, so can be a pig if they are too far gone to be properly patched.

I know a good welder if it needs doing. Are the seams horribly difficult to get at or anything?

I've read there's 80-odd spot welds needs to be drilled out to remove each wing. I got offered a free mint s/h wing providing I removed it myself. Says it all really :-(

I'd say if it's that bad it can't be patched, walk away!

Mike

Ahh right. I hoped it would be rather more simple than that. And that it's better to bung in a new panel than patch up and old one.

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A proper butt welded, ground back and skimmed patch will look like original metal.

What you don't want is a quick bodge on lap welded plate like gets slapped on Sills for MOT time.

Funnily enough, I've never seen rusty sills on a C900. Arches, bootlids, bonnets, door bottom yes, but never sills..

You can buy ready made repair sections for the arches if they are that bad, or your welder should be able to cut out the rust and weld new metal in.

Mike

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Best thing about them is, that arround the doors, the sills are overlapped underneath by the doors. Means that the rear of the sills can rot out, but rarely do, I think the extra mudflaps underneath help with that too. Oh yeah, and the extra thick high quality swedish steel.

Been and looked at the car. Twas a shed. Needed new wings really, oil leaking down the side of the block from the head, all fluids looked like they'd been there since the car was made, needed two new doors and the sills looked sketchy too. And the turbo didn't seem to be making full boost - only getting to the middle of the orange section on the gauge, and it needed a new exhaust, and it was popping on the overrun, and the headlining needed replacing, and I'm sure I could carry on all day.

Er, that's why it was £300 !

Didn't you buy it ?

It doesn't matter about rust etc. - it's only gotta last you till the next MOT.

What year was it? Did it have leather/air con/e-windows? What was the mileage, did the box have lots of slack or pop out of gear?

That isn't a good sign, but new metal can be welded in easy and resprayed.

If it was from the back of the rocker cover, it is quite normal when the rocker gasket goes.

Slightly worrying. But the turbo oil goes black in about 300 miles.

If by sills you mean the bottom of the outer panels, that isn't the sills. Sills are actually nearly under the car. Rare for them to actually rot. Almost all C900's will have rot inside the door bottoms, and some outside, especially if it has an aero kit on.

Exhausts aren't that dear if you get the car cheap enough.

Not stainless but good pipes for the money. Middle of the orange is a little low (What Saab guys refer to as bas boost). Should be about 2/3->3/4 orange for normal. Good thing about that is, it is normally a vacu pipe problem and a few quid of pipes will sort that.

Malbrad in huddersfield are very good with 900's

and they have lockup upon lockup of engine/chassis/body panels for 900's available. Ring, don't email, they rarely answer email. If you can replace any really knackered panels, cheap. Do it, and then get it all sprayed together if you really like the car.

Remember, mine was £325, nowhere near as sheddy as that, and in a year and a half of owning, including buying, I only spent £1700 including new tyres, brake overhaul, new shocks (because they were original, and whether passing MOT or not they should have been knackered), ball joints, and front wheel bearings.

FWIW, the turbo problem on the one you went to see sounds like an APC problem, duff wiring or something - it's only making base boost. Usually not hard to fix. Was it an 8V or 16V?

Shame. Sounds expensive too - mine

was £69 but hadno MOT or tax. Needed a brake caliper and a tyre for it's MOT.. got 9 monthsMOT left, might sell if you are interested - £225 or thereabouts covers whatI've spent on it and the tax.. it's a bit sheddy, but the headlining is OKand the rust you see on the pics has been dealt with.. last owner put arecon 'box and turbo in a couple of years ago, it's got 3 almost new tyres..missus is nagging me like f*ck to get rid of it though :-( Mike

Can buy repair sections ready made

Mine leaks a little from exactly this place.

I had this problem, it was a duff connection on the knock sensor on the block. Bit of contact cleaner and wiggling it on and off a few times sorted it.. it could also be a vac hose problem, but again, easy to sort.

There's another couple of indy s/h spares dealers down here I use - very good prices eg distributor £25 including postage, seatbelts a fiver a piece inc postage. Not an expensive car to run if you know where to get bits, loads of enthusiast sites..

They are one of those cars that whatever you buy next, you'll probably want another C900 (am I right Carl?) -O:

Mike

Top advice all the way through from Carl there

I'd much sooner spend £300 on something that will last a couple of MOTs, or not spend £300 at all and keep tooling around in the Mondeo until I find something better at a decent price. I was looking at it so that I'd have something to compare other 900s with, and because it was bloody cheap. If it wasn't too untidy, I'd have had it.

Bought it then ? ;)

Amazing value for money.

If I were looking for a s**te old barge at the moment, I'd rip your arm off for that.