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  1. #26
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    Thanks for all the advice. I will likely give up on the Saab and go for a non-euro vehicle, preferably a wagon, cheap to own. Thinking about Odyssey or Accord, possibly Element. Sienna? Prius? Matrix feels a bit small and my sixteen year old is a giant and still growing. I am curious about Ford Freestyle (lame name) but initial research has indicated reliability issues, related to presence or absence of shared Volvo parts. Could go as small as a Focus Wagon. Not feeling the Subie love as I don't need AWD, reliability issues (compared to Toyota or Honda) and they are over priced used.

  2. #27
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    Acura TSX wagon would be high on my list for a FWD wagon. They came in manual or automatic transmission.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  3. #28
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    Feb 2016
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    37

    Blown head gasket on near vintage saab 9-5. Fix it or what?

    Quote Originally Posted by charlesj View Post
    Thanks for all the advice. I will likely give up on the Saab and go for a non-euro vehicle, preferably a wagon, cheap to own. Thinking about Odyssey or Accord, possibly Element. Sienna? Prius? Matrix feels a bit small and my sixteen year old is a giant and still growing. I am curious about Ford Freestyle (lame name) but initial research has indicated reliability issues, related to presence or absence of shared Volvo parts. Could go as small as a Focus Wagon. Not feeling the Subie love as I don't need AWD, reliability issues (compared to Toyota or Honda) and they are over priced used.
    I would avoid the Ford. If you want to go the mini van route you can’t go wrong with an odyssey or sienna. Honda CR-V/element are very expensive used, as are Toyota RAV4, with good reason- very useful, cheap to own and maintain. The accord crosstour wagon is neat. Check out a used Acura TSX wagon. Or if you’re willing to buy new, I have to hots for the Buick crosstour

  4. #29
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    Oct 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by charlesj View Post
    my sixteen year old is a giant and still growing.
    and you don’t already own a mini-van...

    I think it’s time.

  5. #30
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    Blown head gasket on near vintage saab 9-5. Fix it or what?

    Odyssey or Sienna. There are well over 100,000 of each manufactured each year during the years that you’re probably looking at. Not only that, but both Honda and Toyota use those same engines in many other cars, so parts are easy to find, cheap, and can be easily upgraded if needed.
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
    I'm not a part of a redneck agenda

  6. #31
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    Dec 2005
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    "vintage"
    Name:  inconcievable.jpg
Views: 427
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    what's orange and looks good on hippies?
    fire

    rails are for trains
    If I had a dollar for every time capitalism was blamed for problems caused by the government I'd be a rich fat film maker in a baseball hat.

    www.theguideshut.ca

  7. #32
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    Jan 2009
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    2000 saab 9-5 owner here just to chime in that the original clutch is at 215k and going strong but the previous owner had 15 of the things so he knew how to drive it.

    i guess my point is the bottom end of your car was built for the aero models but never saw aero pressures and is in great shape.

    after doing the water pump last month the slight smell of coolant when driven hard is leading me to believe the hg has a slow leak that SO FAR doesnt affect driveability, but it will.

    parts are dirt cheap right now because everyone is scrapping them, but they dont rust except for the one spot behind the pass door called the dog leg

  8. #33
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    It’s possible that the clutch will go another 20k or even 30k miles but I wouldn’t bet on it. That said What really would scare me is undercarriage-steering, struts, springs, wheel bearings etc. I wrench on a bunch of older New England cars with more than 150k miles on them and the breakdowns are almost always under the car not under the hood. Fixing that shit is dirty, time consuming and/or expensive.

    Here’s a thought. You might consider picking up a similar Saab in decent running condition and keeping your current ride as a parts donor if you’ve got the room.
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  9. #34
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    Was considering using it as a parts car for a similar wagon (since I have 8 good tires etc) As for undercarriage this car spent the first 13 years around Philly, after that mostly near Chicago. Minivan sounds like the sensible way to go, probably FWD

    Sent from my Pixel using TGR Forums mobile app

  10. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    578
    Quote Originally Posted by charlesj View Post
    then a couple of Lancias.
    I remember my school friend father's Lancia Beta. Had rust holes through the bodywork before it was a year old. Got Lancia such a bad reputation in the UK that Fiat pulled the entire Lancia brand from the market - couldn't give them away.

    I think the car I most enjoyed driving was my Peugeot 305. Their suspension engineers really knew how to make a compliant suspension that handled. Ended up replacing the 1300 cc engine with a 1500 cc one from a junk yard after a piston broke up. Went to the scrap yard in the sky when I found out that it needed a special tool for a clutch change - it wasn't worth paying a main dealer to do it and they were the only ones with the tool (of course they wouldn't lend it out).

  11. #36
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    Other than Columbo's 403 Peugeot's are rare in the states. I had a 404 in the late 80s in LA. It had a steel dash, sunroof, miles of suspension and a hint of fin. My half century perspective des autos de la France is that Citroën was innovative, edgy engineering. Renault was cheap and Peugeot was more about la qualité. Lancias did suck four decades ago. My parents had some interesting cars: original T-bird, Mercedes 220S, Renault, Austin, Alfa, a few Citroen DS21 and a Mehari, the Lancias. a real Mini, Saabs, Taco and a modern mini

    These cars remind me of the old joke about the difference between heaven and hell. In Heaven the chefs are French, the mechanics are German, the police are English, the lovers are Italian and it's all organized by the Swiss. In Hell the cops are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and it's all organized by the Italians.

    but I digress
    Last edited by charlesj; 11-17-2019 at 11:45 AM.

  12. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    Acura TSX wagon would be high on my list for a FWD wagon. They came in manual or automatic transmission.
    Been looking for a decent one for a while. Acura really fucked up when they terminated that car.

  13. #38
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    Dec 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest View Post
    Been looking for a decent one for a while. Acura really fucked up when they terminated that car.
    Unfortunately no one makes wagons anymore, they just don't sell in the dealerships. I'd get a wagon, but my wife won't. She likes to sit up higher.
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timberridge View Post
    Unfortunately no one makes wagons anymore, they just don't sell in the dealerships. I'd get a wagon, but my wife won't. She likes to sit up higher.
    Buick Regal TourX is most definitely a wagon. And since they don't sell that well, massive discounts are available. I think they look great on the outside, insides are a bit cheap.

    VW has its smaller Golf wagon, and there's Subaru. Otherwise not much unless you go to crossovers that are basically tall wagons.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  15. #40
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    Mar 2007
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    On the smaller end, don't forget about the Scion/Toyota iM = Corolla Wagon.

  16. #41
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    You could go buy this "new" Saab:

    https://jalopnik.com/the-last-new-sa...-is-1835331052
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  17. #42
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    Mar 2009
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    3,269
    You can buy a MUCH newer and nicer Saab 9-5 for about $4K or an older 9-5 Aero for a few bucks less. Find a 06 or newer with around 120K and keep rolling around in a car you like for a few more bucks than the head gasket job. If you are handy you can fix most things on that car with a little from from Saab forums. Contrary to popular belief parts easy to find and no more than other cars. I have an 08 9-5 and it's been a great car.

  18. #43
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    Oct 2016
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    They made 420 SAABs.
    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post

  19. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by skaredshtles View Post
    The rebuilt engine and transmission seem... odd for an Accord.
    Uuh,99-05 Hondas and Acuras eat transmissions like a fat chick at a Chinese buffet.

  20. #45
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    Once you put 2500 into fixing the Saab you will have a 180,000 car that will last ? how long.
    Unless you are willing to spend substantially more than that for a car with substantially less miles on it, you will wind up with the same situation as your Saab--a high mileage car with an uncertain future.
    From an economic standpoint the time to replace an old car is when the cost of repairs exceeds what a comparable used car would cost you. Factor in the cost of a rental if you need one while the car is being fixed.

  21. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by fatnslow View Post
    Uuh,99-05 Hondas and Acuras eat transmissions like a fat chick at a Chinese buffet.
    Truth.
    Damn, we're in a tight spot!

  22. #47
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    I've had Saabs since the mid-80's. 2 900T's and now on a '97 9K Aero with 175k which I've had for 15 years. It's modded for handling and speed without looking any different than stock. Needs a clutch and some other small shit which will probably end up approaching half the market value. Gonna do it anyway.

    To replace it with a car of equal style, performance, and comfort would easily cost me $25k+ so spending $4k getting it up to full bore again seems to make a lot of sense. If you're just looking for basic transportation who cares, but if you have a car you love and it does what you want it to do it's always made sense to me to fix it.

    I'm also fortunate to have had a very long relationship with a good shop with a good parts collection. If not for that I might have bailed on the marque, but for now going to keep the ol' girl rolling. She's a blast to drive and I love leaving boy-racers in their beamers in the dust once in a while.

    Basic transportation is great, and I could have saved a lot of money over the years driving a generic car. But I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun.
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles View Post
    If I lived in WA, Oft would be my realtor. Seriously.

  23. #48
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    Dec 2010
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    A new Toyota Corolla would beat your modded 97 Saab. And it has better headlights.

  24. #49
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    Still trying to figure out car replacement, preferably a wagon. Using an old civic loaner for now while I ponder possibilities. I appreciate all the wisdom, thoughts, humor and near-humor. A limited edition 420 Saab writes its own jokes. Was not aware of transmission issues with 99-05 Hondas. Thanks especially to Saab drivers who walked away and those who persevered.

    What should be an easy decision (choosing between a Honda or Toyota product) has me considering all sorts of counter intuitive options (expensive repair vehicles from Sweden). A 9-5 Wagon would be fine and I have a parts car. My brother (euro-snob taste but owns Tacoma and Prius) suggested Volvo V70. One of these weeks I'll choose between sensible and less than sensible but seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time.

  25. #50
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    Unlikely. And headlights are upgraded too.

    Quote Originally Posted by simple View Post
    A new Toyota Corolla would beat your modded 97 Saab. And it has better headlights.
    Quote Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles View Post
    If I lived in WA, Oft would be my realtor. Seriously.

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