Considering a '90 900T

" but I don't want to get ripped off or buy into a headache."

Welcome! I understand exactly how you feel. I HATE buying new (old) cars for exactly the same reasons. Others will tell you anything to look out for on that particular model. You see a lot of posts warning about auto boxes, but I think that's just because they're just so expensive to fix if something does go wrong and not because they are especially unreliable. But having bought 2 old high mileage Saab 9000's myself, I always take comfort from a full service history showing that it has been well maintained. Old Saabs are in general well built, not so prone to rusting and the engines are legendary for lasting if they've been looked after. Hopefully the previous owner will have been an enthusiast & taken care of things when they needed done. If it's not practical to have it checked over by your local Saab dealer, then apply the same common sense you would to any other make.

Good luck - I hope it's the one you've been looking for :)

Funny, a 900 Turbo with an automatic transmission would be a giveaway car in Europe... practically unsellable.

Very true, but if it's rust free, I'd still look at it - converting to manual isn't hard, and even if you paid someone to do it for you it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive.

Rust/dent free C900s are getting very thin on the ground.

Most of the C900's which come up for sale here have auto tranny's. All three of my running C900's have them. Sort of strange how the T37-equipped

900's have gone out of favour. I wonder if the auto-trans NG900's have seem the same fall in resale value compared to their manual-trans cousins...

Craig.

Because almost anyone wanting a turbo will want it for the performance. An auto tranny doesn't really go with great performance, especially not an aging 3sp which takes an age to shift up/down.

It's a cultural thing more than a technical one. But a 900T is much more fun with the 5-speed if you can find it that way. Worth holding out for (or traveling for), IMHO.

Dave Hinz

I drove a Volvo Turbo once with an automatic and a T3 turbo and it was awful. The lag of the turbo added to the lag of the transmission made it downright scary to pull out into traffic. Once up to speed it was fine, but a manual is the way to go with a turbo IMO, but then I'm biased and like a manual with anything.

I have a US spec 1990 900 Turbo Edwardian Grey but mine's a 5-speed...

I'm a bit surprised at this really. Given that the Garrett T3's have a longer spool-up time that the Mitsubishi TE-05's, how it is really a problem when coupled with a T37 auto trans? Isn't the fact that the transmission will shift gear by itself and maintain an almost continuous power output from the engine to the wheels which also keeps engine revs within a tighter range better for keeping a turbo spooled and operating efficiently?

Craig.

Drive one and see :-)

The transmission has a tendency to be very reluctant to let the engine go up into its power band. Most of the time it's pretty sluggish, with lag lag lag.

when it shifts it drops out of the rev band that keeps the turbo spooled. And because it has only 3 gears, it drops a long way between shifts.

Ah ok thanks Carl. I wouldn't have thought the rev drop would be enough to upset the turbo's spooling but since it's based on pressure changes, it makes sense.

Craig.