With the story of Saab pretty much sealed – as a matter of fact, they may never reappear as a passenger car brand since Saab AB reminded the Chinese electric car company building the 9-3 they have no rights to the name – the 900 seems to be guaranteed a place as one of the iconic models produced by the company. And there are very few modern cars that will duplicate the experience of a turbo car of the 1980s-1990s, with that kick in the pants midway through the rev range (other than a couple of high output fours made by Toyota, Honda, and Subaru). Let’s take a look at this 1990 Saab 900 Turbo for sale for $3950 in Seattle, WA.
First of all, top marks to the seller for a well-done listing. The car’s nicely photographed, in nice lighting, and well-described. Paint looks glossy, though is said to be failing in some spots, and the subtle spoiler at the bottom of the rear window is a masterstroke on this car. The seller has owned the car for 5 years, and is selling because he’s moved to a 1985 900 Turbo, so he’s a dedicated fan. The car also comes with a full service history.
As you can see, there’s some failing trim, and the hood is likely to need adjustment since it’s tricky to close. All power accessories are said to work well, though there are a couple of service items the seller will handle before the hand-off – an airbag light that comes on and a tire rotation. Bumpers seem to have suffered the indignities of city life, and the passenger headlight is cloudy, but otherwise things look pretty good.
The interior looks quite tidy, given the car’s 282,000 miles, but the driver’s seat has given in to that much entry and exit time, so you’ll want to redo the seating surface and probably rebuild the seat at the same time, since these are prone to collapse. Interior repairs include an aftermarket stereo, new seat heaters and switches, and a new sunroof motor. Saab always had a great gauge layout, including the hooliganism-inciting boost/APC gauge, and a handy arrow to point out the 55mph limit when national polls were finding Saab drivers averaged around 80mph on our highways.
Mechanically speaking, the car’s had plenty of attention, including new CV joints and boots, alternator bushings and belt, distributor & o-ring, ignition switch, front and side motor mounts, kill switch, radiator, oil pressure switch, and clutch master/slave/disc/release bearing and flywheel surfacing. Unfortunately, the seller doesn’t speak to the overall runing condition of the car – does it smoke, burn oil, rattle, or anything like that? Nonetheless, with good classic 900s in this configuration getting thinner on the ground, this one’s worth a look, and the seller signals his willingness to negotiate.
Rusty But Trusty 
February 7, 2016 at 10:21 am |
I still remember when I saw my first Saab.
It was a beige-ish 900 of this generation, maybe a bit earlier, parked near my school, and it was the oddest thing car I had ever seen.
It disappeared a few years ago, and wonder what happened to it…