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Car Forum / Saab Cars / January 20062001 95 V6 Wagon beware
I'm considering purchasing this vehicle with 188,000 Km what should I look out for mechanically? > I'm considering purchasing this vehicle with 188,000 Km what should I > look out for mechanically? a different car. One without the V6  Signature-Fred W Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... Did I read that timing belt changes are free at Saab.If so under what conditions?ie Warranty. > Did I read that timing belt changes are free at Saab.If so under what > conditions?ie Warranty. Only the first replacement (under warranty) as I recall. Signature-Fred W > Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... The better engine is the turbocharged I4. Better mileage, better power, lighter, better engine performance all around. Signature-Fred W >> Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... > >The better engine is the turbocharged I4. Better mileage, better power, >lighter, better engine performance all around. The V6 has rather more power than the lpt4, though not as much as the Aero. Of course it does not attract Aero insurance premiums either. And does not suffer from the turbo lag inherent in the Aero, so I would say it is faster at around town speeds if the Aero is an automatic especially. The V6 is FAR smoother and quieter than the 4, gets only a couple MPG lower (Official EPA difference is *1* MPG), and is mostly immune from sludge issues. And the V6 was generally a better equipped car, though I realise there were 4cyl SEs in '99. Kevin Rhodes <Snip> The V6 is FAR > smoother and quieter than the 4, gets only a couple MPG lower (Official EPA > difference is *1* MPG), <Snip> Actually I found the reverse was true. The V6 in my Saab was MUCH rougher than the I4 in my C900. But that would be expected since the I4 is a real Saab engine and the V6 was made by GM. > <Snip> The V6 is FAR > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > rougher than the I4 in my C900. But that would be expected since the I4 > is a real Saab engine and the V6 was made by GM. I think you are talking about different vintages of the V6. Kevin's is a fairly new one and it has been said to be a better design that the old one like in your NG900. I can't really comment on the newer V6's having never driven one... Signature-Fred W > Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... They're just crummy GM engines, do some googling and you'll probably find lots of reasons which have been discussed endlessly here. few Saab fans would prefer it over the Saab 4 cylinder engines. > > Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... > > They're just crummy GM engines, do some googling and you'll probably > find lots of reasons which have been discussed endlessly here. few Saab > fans would prefer it over the Saab 4 cylinder engines. Only 9-5s have 'real' Saab 4 cyls any more. 9-3s have another GM unit. Graham >>> Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... >>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > 9-3s have another GM unit. Maybe even the 9-5 4-cyl are not "real" Saab engines any longer. OK, they are made in Sweden but the quality seems to have dropped drastically (oil sludge problems, balance chain excessive wearout in combination with auto tranny, etc.) compared with the older B202 and B204 engines that were used in the C900 and 9000 models. Signatureth >>>> Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... >>>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > combination with auto tranny, etc.) compared with the older B202 and > B204 engines that were used in the C900 and 9000 models. The oil sludge is only a problem for thiose that choose to observe the GM/SAAB recomended extended oil change intervals. The balance chains were problems going back to the early 90's before GM had any major influence on design. I'd say that was a SAAB design screw-up. But so long as the chains are replaced when they get noisy, the engines will still last quite nicely. Signature-Fred W > The oil sludge is only a problem for thiose that choose to observe the > GM/SAAB recomended extended oil change intervals. Yes, well speaking from direct personal experience, I'd say that following GM's intervals has cost me some money. And the fault remains with GM, regardless of if it's a design problem (it is) or if it's a interval suggestion problem (it is). >>>>> Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > long as the chains are replaced when they get noisy, the engines will > still last quite nicely. Saab has had balance chain/balance shaft problems since the V4 engine in the 96 model, but have gradually improved the quality over the years. The later 9000 models have very few problems. But, as a balance chain change is a 3000$ repair on the B205 at a Saab certified workshop, this is not what you would call ordinary maintenance. There has been no change in oil change recommendation intervals between the B202/204 engines and the B205 engine, the recommendation of 20000 km or at lest once per year has been there since the end of the eighties IIRC. Before that it was 150000 km or one year. With the new B207 usd in the 9-3SS the distance has been extended to 30000 km but I believe the one year recommendation is still there. Signatureth >>>Thanks Fred. Why's that? Also mileage is actually 118K... >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Graham We are talking about 9-5s Signature-Fred W > a different car. One without the V6 Different year too, 95 V4 more likely. SignatureMH '72 97 '77 96 '78 95 '79 96 '91 900i >I'm considering purchasing this vehicle with 188,000 Km what should I >look out for mechanically? At that mileage, it is coming due for its second timing belt change soon, that will cost $600 or so to do properly with the tensioner at a good independant shop. Saab only pays for the first one at 60K miles. Otherwise, a quite bulletproof engine. Very much immune to the oil sludge problems afflicting 4cyl 9-5s.Otherwise, look out for the same things as for any car this age - oil leaks, brake wear, that sort of thing. There is an endemic issue with a part breaking in the heating system that the dealer will want $2000 to fix that you can fix yourself for pennies. See www.saabnet.com and do a search for "code 08". At that age and mileage it is likely to go through the typical European car "midlife crisis" where you will spend all sorts of money on various things, then it will be good to go for another 100K miles. The 01 is subject to the DIC recall, so that is one thing you won't have to worry about. 9-5s are great cars, and since they depreciate like a bulldozer falling off a cliff they are even better as a used car. Just don't forget that when all is said and done, it is a $35-$40K car, and will be still be a $35-$40K car to fix, even if you only paid $5K for it.The more you can do yourself the more you will like it. Kevin Rhodes Westbrook, Maine '00 9-5 V6 Wagon 59.5K miles - timing belt next week >>I'm considering purchasing this vehicle with 188,000 Km what should I >>look out for mechanically? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > 4cyl 9-5s.Otherwise, look out for the same things as for any car this age - > oil leaks, brake wear, that sort of thing. Yes look for oil leaks, especially at the top of engine. Leaks right down into the spark plugs. Check for cracks in the flexible exhaust Y pipe - poor implementation and/or design. See previous posts about the oil cooler - very expensive to fix due to it very unique placement :-) The timing belt is very important. If not done properply or it fails you will be looking at a new head - not cheap. This engine has two DI cassettes - twice the fun at twice the price. This is not what I would call a "bullet proof" engine. I personally had the pleasure of most of these problems and I am sticking with my C900. There is an endemic issue with a > part breaking in the heating system that the dealer will want $2000 to fix > that you can fix yourself for pennies. See www.saabnet.com and do a search for [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Westbrook, Maine > '00 9-5 V6 Wagon 59.5K miles - timing belt next week >Yes look for oil leaks, especially at the top of engine. Leaks right >down into the spark plugs. Check for cracks in the flexible exhaust Y [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >call a "bullet proof" engine. I personally had the pleasure of most of >these problems and I am sticking with my C900. So far, at 60K I have just the beginnings of the typical cover plate O-ring leak to deal with. That will cost $2 and 30 minutes of my time. Gasket replacement at high mileage is a fact of life - nothing lasts forever. I spend lots of time on the Saabnet 9-5 BBS, have not seen any complaints about the exhaust system. I think that is a large enough forum that all the typical problems are well represented. Pretty much every comparable V6 engined car uses a timing belt with a replacement interval. It is part of required maintenance. Yes, some engines have a chain instead - ask all the owners of 2.3l 9000s how much it cost to have those replaced when they wore out at early ages thanks to a bad batch. Or the several people I personally know with 4cyl 9-5s with sludge issues. DI cassettes now cost $150 each, and the car in question will get free new ones in the recall. Given that the plain old plug wires in my 91 BMW 318is are $155, and need replacing every 50K I fail to see DI cassettes as a major expense. I keep a spare in the trunk. At $150 each I could almost consider them a maintenance item - I will likely replace mine at 100K miles. Did you have a 9-5 V6 or a 9K/NG900 V6? - very different engines. The earlier V6 was certainly problematical, the newer is not. YMMV. Kevin Rhodes Which one is the newer of those two different engines? |
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