The Zohan

Looking at a couple of these, the 2004 model. one has the 5spd 'sensotronic' gearbox and the other the 5 spd manual. anyone got any experience of either gearbox. The cars are pretty much the same price and miles but the one with the sensotronic gearbox has all the toys/options fitted to it which makes it a better buy on paper.

I have googled the sensotronic gearbox and cannot find much about it and its problems (if any)

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Hi paul, hope your recovery is going well, i'm sure your aware of the vauxhall connections, i'd suggest you have a look at reviews on vectra/insignia as they are the same car.

The Zohan

Hi There, Couple of setbacks but nothing too bad, awaiting the results of a Echo cardiogram at the moment.

Having settled on the Aero model (210bhp) i have just found a decent miles and spec 9-3 vector sport with the sports pack suspension (as per the aero - lower ride height uprated springs and struts which makes is a much better handling car) which i can get for the same money, it has only done 53K with full saab service history and whilst is is not as powerful (175bhp) it is much better on fuel so something else to add to the mix. ironically the insurance between the two cars is a massive £1.00 difference however however the road tax is cheaper to the tune of £40.00 per year.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Sounds good, i'd take handling over power.

Do you know why there is a difference in power.

The Zohan

The 175BHP is a low pressure turbo, different turbo and ecu from what ii can gather.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

So it's an oil burner, any possibility for a remap.

The Zohan

No, both are petrol, not interested in a diesel - to any horror stories about injectors/pumps packing up and costing stupid money to replace. my mileage is only 6-8k per annum.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Saab do two different turbos. The chassis etc are Vauxhall/GM but the petrol engines in Sabb are all turbo units.

They do a low pressure turbo and a High Output Turbo (HOT) version for most of their petrol units. You can get them running up to 250bhp so the petrol engines are a bit different to the Vectra.

however the 1.9 and 2.2 diesels are standard Vauxhall/GM

I'm amazed the insurance is so similar though. I'm off to look for one of these myself now!

5t.

WRXrowdy

iTrader: (2)

Try get one with hirsch upgrade suspension, standard springs are reknowned for snapping on these cars.

The Zohan

Bought the Aero (5spd auto/paddlle-shift) in the end - subject to seeing it in the flesh so to speak, after weighing up the pro's and con's it seems like the right car for me. will collect it Friday afternoon 2004 model in what looks like excellent nick and all for 2.5K

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Just sold mine after 5 years, not a bad car all said, get the BSR remap !

StiX

iTrader: (4)

Insurance doesn't seem right? When I swapped from a UK Turbo MY00 to a Saab 9-3 Aero, insurance went from £500 down to £220!

The Zohan

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

They are not the same car, they share the basic architecture but there arent that many common parts, the Saab is shorter for a start, the engines arent interchangeable ont he petrols, different mapping, Saabs own.

My Aero wasnt that fast as standard, needed a remap to give it some agression, it just didnt seem much quicker than my previous LPT, 150 bhp model.

The Zohan

Yup, it has had this done! The handling is really rather good, better than i expected, the struts and springs where changed in 2011 as where the rear links and bushes. It has 5k worth of Saab extras/options including the 9 speaker sound system which is really rather good for a std system.

The car has every receipt for every service - including the original bill of sale - last service was at Abbot Racing. came back from Kent last night averaging 38mpg, my old Honda Accord 2.0l never managed that on a good day!

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Thats a lot of car for 2.5k, better not let my mrs see this thread.

38mpg is not bad for a big petrol, should manage 30mpg around town which is bloody good.

Well done.

The Zohan

I paid £2400.00