Considering Buying A 95 Saab 900s

[EvilDrSomkid]

The wife and I are looking to buy a car. We cannot afford a new car, so we went looking for something in the 250k to 350k range. She said she wanted a 3 series BMW, which I thought was fine. We went to a few tents after having a look on one2car.

The BMWs is that price range are crap. However, at one place there was a nice SAAB 900S coupe for sale. Looked good, just some small dings at the front, 170k KMs on it, and decent interior (the Beamers were rough). They said it been sitting there for about 6 months. They are asking 370k Baht.

I know that the A/C system needs to be filled and that there is always something that needs to be done to an old car.

Anybody know a decent place in BKK with experience with SAAB?

[basjke]

The wife and I are looking to buy a car. We cannot afford a new car, so we went looking for something in the 250k to 350k range. She said she wanted a 3 series BMW, which I thought was fine. We went to a few tents after having a look on one2car.

The BMWs is that price range are crap. However, at one place there was a nice SAAB 900S coupe for sale. Looked good, just some small dings at the front, 170k KMs on it, and decent interior (the Beamers were rough). They said it been sitting there for about 6 months. They are asking 370k Baht.

I know that the A/C system needs to be filled and that there is always something that needs to be done to an old car.

Anybody know a decent place in BKK with experience with SAAB?

EVERY IMPORTED CAR that is sold in that price range is crap.If 300K is your budget buy a japanese car made in thailand or buy the imported car and expect to spend another 300K before the year ends on all kind of repair's.

[jcon]

The wife and I are looking to buy a car. We cannot afford a new car, so we went looking for something in the 250k to 350k range. She said she wanted a 3 series BMW, which I thought was fine. We went to a few tents after having a look on one2car.

The BMWs is that price range are crap. However, at one place there was a nice SAAB 900S coupe for sale. Looked good, just some small dings at the front, 170k KMs on it, and decent interior (the Beamers were rough). They said it been sitting there for about 6 months. They are asking 370k Baht.

I know that the A/C system needs to be filled and that there is always something that needs to be done to an old car.

Anybody know a decent place in BKK with experience with SAAB?

If it's not a turbo (of which there are only a handful, ok two handfulls - of real ones), then you're getting ripped off - by at least 100k THB.

SAABs in Thailand are priced a bit strangely according to the desirability amongst the small group of enthusiasts. For example, the NG900S you mentioned will go for 200k (because nobody wants it) but the SE can go for 400K, and an even older classic 3-door can go for 550K and a classic vert will go for 900K. Doesn't seem to make sense, but it does

The best place to fix a SAAB is at Autotechnic Petchburi rd... the dealer, yes. But until you get to know a mechanic there, that's where you need to start.

(A/C system doesn't need to 'be filled' (that's tent horse malarky and they know it - if it needed to be filled they'd do it for 400 baht at B-Quick for R134A refrigerant), most likely the evaporator is leaking (which happens on *every* NG900) - new evaporator at SAAB, 30,000 baht.)

P.S. If it's a SAAB and it's not a turbo, why buy it... turbos and SAABs go together like... well, they just go together. Period!

[steelepulse]

Have a look at taladrod.com where there are private sellers along with the tent people. I see a number of saabs there.

[EvilDrSomkid]

The wife and I are looking to buy a car. We cannot afford a new car, so we went looking for something in the 250k to 350k range. She said she wanted a 3 series BMW, which I thought was fine. We went to a few tents after having a look on one2car.

The BMWs is that price range are crap. However, at one place there was a nice SAAB 900S coupe for sale. Looked good, just some small dings at the front, 170k KMs on it, and decent interior (the Beamers were rough). They said it been sitting there for about 6 months. They are asking 370k Baht.

I know that the A/C system needs to be filled and that there is always something that needs to be done to an old car.

Anybody know a decent place in BKK with experience with SAAB?

If it's not a turbo (of which there are only a handful, ok two handfulls - of real ones), then you're getting ripped off - by at least 100k THB.

SAABs in Thailand are priced a bit strangely according to the desirability amongst the small group of enthusiasts. For example, the NG900S you mentioned will go for 200k (because nobody wants it) but the SE can go for 400K, and an even older classic 3-door can go for 550K and a classic vert will go for 900K. Doesn't seem to make sense, but it does

The best place to fix a SAAB is at Autotechnic Petchburi rd... the dealer, yes. But until you get to know a mechanic there, that's where you need to start.

(A/C system doesn't need to 'be filled' (that's tent horse malarky and they know it - if it needed to be filled they'd do it for 400 baht at B-Quick for R134A refrigerant), most likely the evaporator is leaking (which happens on *every* NG900) - new evaporator at SAAB, 30,000 baht.)

P.S. If it's a SAAB and it's not a turbo, why buy it... turbos and SAABs go together like... well, they just go together. Period!

Hi jcon,

Yeah, 370k is too much. We know this. We are not going to pay it. Max 300k.

We are well aware that the tent boys will tell you almost all kinds of BS to sell. We know a well respected mechanic that gave us some good advice. He also mentioned the name of a mechanic at Petchburi Rd. A turbo would be cool, but these run at double the price. So the A/C needs a new evaporator, OK, I know that there needs to be some (preventive) maintenance to be done. Oil, filters, possibly distribution belt etc.

Thanks.

BTW, it is a sweet looking car. It has a certain "P'Tamruat pai sii" factor. We will obtain a certain type of sticker on the windshield to improve this. hehe.

[jcon]

I had a non-turbo 1996 900S Draken 4 years ago. Bought it for 300k - back then. Fell asleep waiting for it to get to 120kph. Tried pulling the floormat out to see if there was some more pedal-range, but to no avail lol... 300K 4 years ago and it was owned by a celeb, so that carries a bit of a premium (for whatever reason, but it does). So 300K now is still over-priced IMO.

The best mechanic at Autec is P'Bo. Pracha is his real first name. He knows EVERYTHING about the classics and also the NG900 series (and the 9-5, not so much the 9-3SS)... he is the main mechanic for the guys in the SAAB club of Thailand. He is my personal mechanic and he is a genius. Ask for him if you buy and go to Autec. Big large dark man. Very nice, though. But I'm not sure he'll work on a non-turbo car.... I have the only white SE in Thailand parked there now, you can find it and say you're a friend of that car's owner.

Distributors run around 30,000 THB too.... so if that's totally gone and then 30k for the evap that's 60k.... but you can get 2nd hand distributors and I know a shop that does the evap for much cheaper (I've heard Autec even sends them here to do them...)

Even if you're not a speed demon, the N/A SAABs are slooow, the only thing that can help is if you have a manual tranny... you have been warned!!! I had that Draken (black on black) for a few months, and couldn't handle it, so I got a 9000CSE Strosek, then a 900SE, then a Classic 4-door, then a Classic 3-door... now... waiting on a 'vert... If you've got questions, pm me. I know pretty much ALL of the SAAB guys in Thailand.

[lingnoi34]

If the AC needs refilled it needs a repair first.

L

[INTJ]

Have a look at the classifieds over at the Saab Community of Thailand website - try to buy one direct from the owner with a good verifiable service history. Last year I picked up a lovely 1993 Saab 900S Turbo 16v (classic shape, one of only 45 sold new in Thailand) for 175,000 baht in amazing condition. The owner was a professor at a university and a member of the extended royal family. That car has since been sold to a collector but there are some nice cars out there (not in the tents though).

Edited June 11, 2009 by INTJ

[EvilDrSomkid]

I had a non-turbo 1996 900S Draken 4 years ago. Bought it for 300k - back then. Fell asleep waiting for it to get to 120kph. Tried pulling the floormat out to see if there was some more pedal-range, but to no avail lol... 300K 4 years ago and it was owned by a celeb, so that carries a bit of a premium (for whatever reason, but it does). So 300K now is still over-priced IMO.

The best mechanic at Autec is P'Bo. Pracha is his real first name. He knows EVERYTHING about the classics and also the NG900 series (and the 9-5, not so much the 9-3SS)... he is the main mechanic for the guys in the SAAB club of Thailand. He is my personal mechanic and he is a genius. Ask for him if you buy and go to Autec. Big large dark man. Very nice, though. But I'm not sure he'll work on a non-turbo car.... I have the only white SE in Thailand parked there now, you can find it and say you're a friend of that car's owner.

Distributors run around 30,000 THB too.... so if that's totally gone and then 30k for the evap that's 60k.... but you can get 2nd hand distributors and I know a shop that does the evap for much cheaper (I've heard Autec even sends them here to do them...)

Even if you're not a speed demon, the N/A SAABs are slooow, the only thing that can help is if you have a manual tranny... you have been warned!!! I had that Draken (black on black) for a few months, and couldn't handle it, so I got a 9000CSE Strosek, then a 900SE, then a Classic 4-door, then a Classic 3-door... now... waiting on a 'vert... If you've got questions, pm me. I know pretty much ALL of the SAAB guys in Thailand.

Sawat dii khap K'Ton!

55555.

We talked with P'Bo today at Autec. We were checking out your white 900turbo for while. P'Bo is a very nice man. He actually looks like a classic SAAB 900, prev version. Your ride looks sweet. Bo said it is the only white 900SE manual in Thailand. But why do you have 850R wheels on it? Looks good though. My wife put a post looking for you on SCOT because we were interested in buying it. Anyway, we have found out from P'Bo that the asking price of the black 900S draken we looked at the tent in Taling Chan was ridiculous.

So we went and bought an Audi S6 today.

Its a sweet car. '96, Midnight blue, 1st owner, 101,000km, and runs perfect. 350k baht. I do know something about Audis.

Man, that turbo spooling up put a BIG smile on my face. The wife loves it, too. Actually, she will be driving it most of the time.

It's a small car world around here....

Hope you are well in the US

[jcon]

I had been looking for an s4, s6, or and s8 for quite some time in Thailand but gave up because I could not find one that had been treated as well as I had wanted it to be. Glad you found a nice s6. It's very difficult for any car to pull up on an s6, as the boost comes on very evenly and the car pulls hard in all gears. I've always been a fan of the S/RS series of Audi, I think they are under-rated or maybe just over-shadowed by BMWs Ms and to a lesser extent, Merc's AMGs.

I stick with SAAB in Thailand because of my mechanic and all of the SAAB guys are top-notch stand-up guys - made friends all around the world just talking about SAABs, and most owners are at least very cordial - and on the same kind of wave-length - 'lagom' is a very Swedish term, something like "just enough." (go to any SAAB forum and you'll see names like "Mike900s" and "ILuvmySAAB" vs. another forum where you'll see names like "RiceKillah" and "12foot-schlong")

Best of luck with your new German gal Give her a honk when I pass ya' on the freeway!

p.s. I guess I'd have to thank you for not buying my car, othewise I'd surely rationalize buying that 850CSI here in the US I was drooling over in the "imported car" thread...

[jcon]

Too late to edit my last post:

Koenigsegg is buying SAAB... incredible...

After years in shame under GM, now SAAB can finally be Swedish again (with the help of some Norwegian money)... jaaaaa!~~@##@$#$@@#$$^^%$&$

[EvilDrSomkid]

I had been looking for an s4, s6, or and s8 for quite some time in Thailand but gave up because I could not find one that had been treated as well as I had wanted it to be. Glad you found a nice s6. It's very difficult for any car to pull up on an s6, as the boost comes on very evenly and the car pulls hard in all gears. I've always been a fan of the S/RS series of Audi, I think they are under-rated or maybe just over-shadowed by BMWs Ms and to a lesser extent, Merc's AMGs.

I stick with SAAB in Thailand because of my mechanic and all of the SAAB guys are top-notch stand-up guys - made friends all around the world just talking about SAABs, and most owners are at least very cordial - and on the same kind of wave-length - 'lagom' is a very Swedish term, something like "just enough." (go to any SAAB forum and you'll see names like "Mike900s" and "ILuvmySAAB" vs. another forum where you'll see names like "RiceKillah" and "12foot-schlong")

Best of luck with your new German gal Give her a honk when I pass ya' on the freeway!

p.s. I guess I'd have to thank you for not buying my car, othewise I'd surely rationalize buying that 850CSI here in the US I was drooling over in the "imported car" thread...

You are welcome.

If you really are interested in an S4 or S6, check out the audiclubthailand.com forum. These guys have the same mentality as the SAAB guys. My wife and I went to one of their meetings last year and the guys are very friendly, welcoming and very enthusiastic. They know a lot about Audis.

Did they ever sell the S8 in Thailand? My dream car is the B7 RS4. I have seen an R8 on Phahonyothin a few month ago.

Pass me on the freeway? Hardly... Not in the corners anyway. An 850CSI huh? Very heavy cars. Have you considered the 335i? Twin turbo...

See you around.

[jcon]

One of the SAAB guys has a good Audi friend and I think he has an S4 or an S6 IIRC. I'm not sure if they ever sold an S8, sorry I meant A8. I had a hard time finding one, so I bought a 7-series at the time. But the A8 would have smoked the 7.

I've seen a white R8 at Bangkok Hospital Petchburi Road on more than one occasion, parked on the side of the hospital... awesome.

Yes the 850CSI is over 2 tonnes, but it's just a torque monster... only ~1500 ever made (out of 33,000 regular 8-series cars), and god knows how few are left in good condition... my guess is a few hundred good ones... LivinLOS sold his for 10K Euro, I still can't believe that Shame. A mint-ish CSI in the USA should pull 50k USD. And while the twin-turbo 335i does have some power, for me it's still a chick car (ala Plarex )... and nothing beats the V-12 in the CSI (with the 6-speed), developed by the M-division and ultimately the engine (modified, of course) ended up in the MacLaren F1, so that engine is a monster (the CSI is the only 8-series with that M-developed engine). It's heavy, yes, but it's one of my all-time favorite cars... and the Euro-version had the AHK 4-wheel steering which helped a lot... So much technology in a car conceived in the mid-late 80s!!!!

This is an old video but it's legendary in the E31 (8-series) circles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUSmr8DvZEM

Have fun in your S6!