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This article is © BBC Top Gear and is reproduced here in good faith only in order to share information with other enthusiasts.
Fancy some of that Swedish solidity but haven't the wedge for a new 9-3? Easy, you need one of these! [revving 900 T16S exiting aircraft hangar] A car with an image so immaculate it could hold confession and communion. The Saab 900, the car that nice people drive. You think I'm generalising, don't you, but it's true 900s are driven by upright, decent, professional types who cherish them, service their Saabs on the dot and don't drive like psychopaths... which is why they make stonking secondhand buys.
Like this spotless J-reg [1992] 900i 16 valve, just run in at 120,000 miles. It will do the same again without even pausing for breath. Instant respectability for three grand. For a bit of discreet mischief go for the turbo. The 16 valve 900 turbo often comes with air, leather and heated seats. Group 17 means high insurance but used prices are lower than you think. This 89-F cost gbp 3,500.00. Dearer, but much more desirable, is the 900 convertible. You can have a normal 16 valve or the 175bhp turbo rag-top. Best bet is the blown 16 valve "S". Batting starts at around seven grand. This is the slowest depreciating 900 of them all. You get brilliant heater, cavernous boot, crisp front wheel drive handling and the sort of build quality that would give a British shop steward a heart attack, which is why the trade call the Saab 900 the "rock of ages".
David Taylor, Saab dealer on 1984 B-reg 4 door 900: "This is the vehicle we actually sold 14 years ago. It's now done 232,000 miles and has had two owners. We see three or four a year like this. The 100,000 mile plus car is very common, they are very well put together, build quality is extremely high. I've never seen one with structural rust and the components that go into these cars, the gearboxes, the engines, are quite literally bombproof."
Jason Burke, driver of 1992 J-reg 5 door 900i:
"I've had this car for about two years. It's done 226,000 miles. I paid just over gbp 1,500.00 for it and spent gbp 300.00 on it except for the services."
Ian Howell, driver of a 1982 Y-reg 900 turbo: "I've owned the car for ten years and it's now done 254,000 miles, and I get a great deal of pleasure out of the car. It does a lot of things well, it can carry a great deal, it goes well, it's a car that stands out from the masses. I took the car down to Goodwood, the car had done 190,000 miles at the time and spent the whole day racing around goodwood circuit using all the revs and I had a great deal of fun!"
Neville Fanibanda, driver of 1989 F-reg 900 T16S: "Three years ago I bought this for gbp 3,500.00, it's done 129,000 miles, its got leather seats, cruise control, its got all the luxuries I need. Its just built like a tank and I love it!"
900s may be built like concrete bunkers, but after ten trips around the world even a Saab is entitled to little bit of wear and tear. Gearboxes can give up the unequal struggle at about 200,000 miles - listen for a whining noise like dying dogs in third and fifth. And if your handbrake reaches for the roof it could mean neglected rear brakes and you could be letting yourself in for a couple of new calipers. Power steering is standard on all 900s, but the rack goes out to lunch every 100,000 miles or so. And engines will need a timing chain every 70,000 miles - listen for the tell-tale death rattle from the top end. And if you fancy a turbo, and why not, here's a nice [1983] A-reg for just fifteen hundred quid, you need to give it the Willson wallop test. To check if your turbo is fit, get the engine running hot then boot the throttle as hard as you can and if it spews out white smoke then you know your turbo is kippered!
A 900 can easily cover 400,000 miles as long as it's been cossetted. Make sure you've got one of these nestling in the glovebox, a full service history is worth an easy five hundred quid extra. So what's the catch? Well, 900s are a bit hard riding, the rear legroom is not terribly generous but the most serios black mark against the car is pricey main agent servicing. Which is why you need to come to an independent, like this, because your garage bills will be a lot easier to bear. Around gbp 40.00 for the 6,000 mile service; gbp 110.00 for the 12,000 and for the big 24,000 mile service it will be two hundred and fifteen quid.
And it's an urban myth that Saab parts are visciously expensive. Let me demonstrate. This is a genuine Saab airfilter for your 900. That will cost you gbp 13.00. If you wanted one for your Cavalier 1.8L it would cost gbp 12.00. A genuine Saab oil filter, here gbp 4.98, for your Vauxhall Cavalier, gbp 4.74. A set of genuine Saab brakepads gbp 47.00, for your Cavalier gbp 48.00. Saab have actually reduced the prices of parts for older cars so running a 900 does not mean that you will be committing the financial equivalent of hari-kiri.
And if you think Saabs are far too sensible and driven by people who wear hats, then think again. Not only can a good turbo muster 125mph and give you the best fun ride since the first prototype rollercoaster, it quietly exudes an image of taste, restraint, discrimination and new-age niceness. The Saab 900: Built like a Merc, safe as a Volvo and sooo much cooler than a BMW!
