Terminal diagnosis but car still running, and due MOT - any advice?

"...it might go on for several years with no more problem than being noisy, and it might pack up tomorrow. It also has a cracked windscreen (definite MOT failure) and is due four new tyres and who knows what else."

Hey Jez Tricky .. you don't want to throw good money after bad.. but you don't want to junk your new car either...

I remember when we bought our 9000CS just over a year ago. I *really* wanted the car, but I was paranoid about impossibly problems. So before we bought it, I took it to the local Saab dealer for a once-over. It cost £70 and the only thing they could fault was "slightly too much oil in the engine"! (so we bought it).

So - maybe you could take it a bona-fide Saab dealer for a pre-MOT checkover (£100)??? You'll get a full report and an estimate, which you could then take to a trusted local grease monkey without the scary labour rates....

If there's nothing really wrong with it, you could then get it throught its MOT for 4 tyres (£150) and windscreen (isn't that on your insurance.. £50 excess)?? With 1year's MOT it would be easier to sell, or you could hang on to it while you save up for the gear box pump repair ...

Good luck whatever...

Scrapping it and buying another car will cost you a lot more than having it fixed. And you'll still have no guarantees then.

Then again, money spent on tires isn't wasted if you're going to buy another Saab that those wheels will fit...

Agreed, good idea.

Dave Hinz

I cannot advise on your odds. But there are two intangibles you might factor in: (1) how much is peace of mind worth (ie, that it won't suddenly let you down at a really bad moment); and (2) any money you spend sooner will have longer in which to be amortised.

-- Andrew Stephenson

When buying a 9000T about 7 years ago, the Auckland Saab dealers inspected it and said the turbo was blowing smoke and on its way out. I factored that in when I bought it; my son now has the car and the same turbo is as strong as an ox!! Fingers crossed. If that is all that's wrong with it you could have a nice car there.

Thanks guys, all advice greatly appreciated - same for all other posters. One thing, though; wouldn't it achieve the same results at a cheaper price to actually take it through an MOT, which costs around £30? The garage would give me an estimate of the works needed.

Cheers,

Jez

wouldn't it achieve the same results at a cheaper price to actually take it through an MOT, which costs around £30? The garage would give me an estimate of the works needed.

Could do, but a standard MOT doesn't cover things like failing gear boxes... Personally I'd rather be re-assured there weren't other / worse things wrong before spending more money. And although a bit more expensive, your local Saab dealer should give you an honest, comprehensive report on the state of the car / engine - not just for the MOT.

Get the work done, then you'll have luxury transport for years to come. Use a proper workshop that know what they're doing. 70,000 miles is nothing much for this car, but you can expect that it need some attention which the previous owner didn't bother with for obvious reasons; that's why you only paid £2,500.

Slightly OT, but just to put your cost in perspective:

Bought a 1995 9000 CSE 2.3 LPT in excellent condition with 150,000 km on it two years ago for [insert breath-holding pause here] the equivalent of around £15,000 - and was fairly happy (not a bargain, but considering the state of the car - ok). Spent on a brand new car, that would have bought me a KIA something. Poor KIA.

Here in overtaxed DK we pay for 2.8 cars, but get only one....

Personally, I would happily pour anything less than £1000 a year into it to keep it running (hasn't happened yet, though).

regards Per

Hmm... did I mention that as soon as I bought it it went wrong and I had to replace the aic valve and the ecu?

Thanks for all the advice, though, everyone. I've booked it in for an MOT and will make a judgement based on that. Neo Brothers have given me a price of about £485 for a recon gearbox when the time comes, and I reckon the fitting shouldn't be too much more than that if I stay away from Saab accredited garages.

Cheers,

Jez

Hmm, thanks for the advice, but I'm afraid I'm not so optimistic. The car came with a full Saab service history and just one owner, but as I bought it it went wrong and I had to replace the aic valve and the ecu. Also, it was diagnosed as an aic fault by a Saab accredited garage and another Saab accredited garage replaced the it. It was still faulty, hence an immediate ecu replacement, so I suspect the aic was a mis-diagnosis, but when I asked for the old one back just a day later I was told "the cleaner took it away".

Also, my last car was a Saab, also low mileage and fssh, and it was always in the (Saab accredited) repair shop - fuel pump, air con, gearbox, radiator...

Anyway, I've got it booked in for its MOT in a couple of weeks and I'll take it from there.

Cheers,

Jez

The aic can sometimes get contaminated, but replacing the ecu is far more expensive and sounds drastic to me. I bought my 93' CSE LPT in 97 with

50k miles on it. Soon a number of issues came up since the previous owner obviously left any concerns to the new owner (me). I did replace the aic and the DI, but the real trouble was the head gasket, possibly related to manufacturing problems as we've heard. Later on I had gearbox overhauled, new radiator, timing chain and CAT (auch). However, once fixed the car was marvelous. It has now 103k miles on and spinning like new.

If its just the noise that the trans is making more worst when it is cold. Then that is the pump, not that bad to do as Saab sells a kit that includes new pump and gasket and very easy to fit with gearbox removed. Very common problem in Australia