beg paron it's a CDE...

I'm currently running 2 Saab 9000s and both are proving to be excellent cheap barges.

1994 2.0 CSE has 170,000 on the clock and runs fine. Everything works and it has all the toys including cruise control, aircon, heated seats cd player, trip computer etc etc.

Just picked up an F reg 9000i hatch with 110,000 and in perfect nick.

NB both cars have full service history from new and had very fussy previous owners who had them looked after with no expense spared. The local Saab dealer has just closed down but the owner is a friend nof mine so he can give me the full details of any car for sale locally which helps. I had never considered a Saab before but I love them now. Looking for a nice Turbo for a bit more power.

If you go for an Omega, factor in a cam belt change. Use it as a bargaining tool unless documentary evidence of a recent belt change can be provided. V6 will cost about £200 to do (getting the belt kit trade form Vauxhall and having Vauxhall do the work). V6 petrols are prone to leaking rocker cover gaskets (the covers are plastic and warp so new covers required at £54 each). V6 petrols are also prone to exhaust manifold studs shearing causing the gasket to leak.

Oscar99. How was the saab that you went to see? Any good?

Crapaud62: Get the turbo mate, you won't regret it. Make sure it's a 2.3, if not an Aero :D

You can get a Pug 406 V6 for that kind of money. Mines was £2k with 72k miles, fsh, and it has lots of toys including electric everything, leather, cruise control, computer, climate control, etc, etc.

The bonus is that it has very real straight line punch and from 60 onwards can hold onto standard classic shape scoobys. They can return 30mpg if you use the cruise on the motorway or if you go nuts they can drop to low 20s. I love mines for the money but they don't do corners :eek:

Just the other day a guy I had just met asked me if I didn't fancy anything 'faster' and his face was a picture when I told him it performance stats and the fact it'll do 150mph!!

Saab was nice.. pick it up over the weekend.. Reams and reams of history.. full service book and all the receipts.. All the MOT's.. It has all the toys, leather, heated seats, air con, climate control, cruise control, leccy sunroof, cd player.. 3 months parts and labour warranty, full service before collection including a new battery and a bit of paint to the bottom edge of the driver's door. The rear looks like no one has ever sat in it.. 2 previous owners..It has an hpi certificate... 1500 notes..

fingers crossed.. thanks for all your feedback guys

Pah, my 406 had excellent lift-off oversteer in the wet!

Oscar99: Sounds like you've got yourself a nice car there! Whats the mileage?

132k.. which is high.. but you have to re-adjust your mindset and think these things are good for 200k.. or so I'm told!

That's true but I'm never too comfortable with 1.5 tones of bouncy barge going sideways :eek::D

I did a 180 on a wet roundabout in your 406 Kenny :p

Vicious and scary in the extreme, the Scooby with a similar small lift at similar speeds just tucks in.

Oscar99: 132k. Thats not high. Also, I defintinetly don't need to change my mind set on saabs especially concerning high mileages, (see previous posts on this thread!) I am on saab number 7! :)

My current saab on 129k is the lowest mileage saab that ive had. :)

I hope you enjoy it.

Didn't you blow the engine on yours though :eek:

Performance looks pretty similar to the Omega 3.0 V6, bit quicker to 60 and bit slower at the top end. Seems like good value though for 2k, as long as you don't end up throwing money at it ;). One thing that really appeals to me about the Omega though is that HID lights are standard on the MV6 which is pretty unusual for cars at this price. Was never too fussed on them before but after a few years of driving a Scooby and an Audi with absolutely dreadful lights, I'd do almost anything to be able to see where I'm going at night :)

If you want a 'cheap' motorway car, then why not get a diesel?? A mate of mine had a vauxhall astra mk3 td estate. Had a look at it for him because of some engine noise and the fact that the 'Bigs ends' had gone due to an oil leak on the turbo. He isn't the sort of guy to check the oil regulary, so hey presto, a new engine was needed. I ended up with the car in return for the 3-4 hours I spent on it getting to the problem. Put a new engine in it and had the turbo re-conditioned, cost me around 1300 squid. It is the cheapest car I've owned. OK, compared to the scoob, its abit wallowy, but it can still do 120mph. Plus it just makes me appreciate the scoob that bit more. Fill it up for 40 quid and I get around 500miles to a tank on the motorway and not alot less around town, parts are cheap if you maintain it yourself, costs me 300 a year to insure it even though i'm only 22. :D
Get a cheap derv m8, then u'll have even more money to spend on the finer things in life.

Lol, got to remember to get BACK on the gas john ;):p

Yes, yes I did :D As you can see from John's quote and my posts it didn't have an 'easy' life compared to most luxo-barges! I've still to dig about in the engine and find out what went wrong but I suspect slamming it into 4th gear (not lifting from the gas and only half depressing the clutch) 10rpm from the limiter at 90mph at Crail had something to do with it ;) It certainly didn't put me off as I went straight back out and bought another. For £2k if it blows up after 10,000 miles its not the end of the world and if you drive it with a little respect it won't happen anyway :)

The Omega is a bigger car than a 406 and probably heavier as well. If you are at all ar5sed about performance I'd bet 12 bucks and my left nut the 406 would be faster. That said I'm told the laguna v6 is faster still as it has cloth and weighs less. I gave my lass a fun-fangled digi-cam from xmas so will no doubt bugger around with the record function and may post the 406 speedo piling on the speed - its quite impressive the way it just keeps going and going and going.

This attitude* is so very typical of many average Joe or Josephine Punters nowadays. Then when their car finally objects and lets them down, the car is blamed and so some tell everyone don't buy one of these they're rubbish.

For this I blame the ever increasing huge mileage intervals between services now spouted by many manufacturers which far to many ordinary and lazy punters take to mean you never have to have a look under the bonnet.

Those huge mileage intervals are designed for genuine high mileage 'company car' fleet user types where the services come round very much quicker than they do with your average Jo punter who never bothers to check anything.

*In my experience, provided they are checked and maintained reasonably, most medium sized cars built during the past two decades will reach 200,000 miles without much problem. Several of mine have and a glance at odo readings in local breakers' yards shows my cars were not exceptional.

Moral use it and care for it - or lose it!

well the barge got me 150 miles to MK this morning down the motorway. With an auto box and cruise control I felt surplus to requirements.. Only fault is that the engine hunts for its idle position.. Can be a pain in the ass but that's what warrenty is for I guess... Anyone know if this is an easy fix or a biggy?

cheers