Some of you guys may remember my 'First Car' thread a few months ago. I still haven't made the big buy, but I'm starting to think that I might want to hold out on buying a nicer car for a while (till university?) and put a few grand into a 1994 Saab 9000 Aero that my Dad hasn't driven for 2 1/2 years and is just sitting in our driveway. He loved the car, but it was getting old and wasn't worth it to maintain.

Other than the battery being completely dead, my Dad says it would be 'okay' to drive, but it could certainly use some work. It's got 300K kilometers (186k miles!) and the transmission is pretty beat up (tough to get into reverse) as well as some relatively minor things, like the power locks/air conditioning. There might be something else, as I haven't gotten a battery yet and may have some surprises waiting for me.

I'd be willing to put $2-5K into it to get it running well and maybe fix some aesthetics. Any leftover would go into some mods. Based on what I've said, do you guys think it's worth it? Or would I be better off just buying a well running car and not waiting for Uni. Also, would it be possible to get the transmission fixed? Or is replacing it the only option.

If you need any more info feel free to ask, and I'll tell you what I can.

Thanks.

 

To be honest 5k will buy you a nicer car to learn how to drive in IMO. The only reason to fix this one is sentimental attachment.

 

That's part of it. I always loved the car when I was younger, and that's why he hung on to it. If I'm going to buy a car I'm gonna spend more than 5k, but I was thinking that if I could make this a decent car to use for the next year and a half I would be able to hold out, haha.

 

It will probably be cheaper to buy a rebuilt tranny rather then rebuild the old one. It would definatly be a unique first car.

 

I can think of about a hundred cars that would be a better source of transportation for a first car, but if it's got sentimental value none of that matters. Go for it man.

 

Exactly

 

I've owned 4 Saabs and 3 3-series. The Saabs have some very endearing qualities: turbo torque (esp an Aero!), nice interiors, solid build quality, and very competent handling (esp an Aero!!). There are some fabulous web forums for Saabs (saabnet.com) that have offered some of the best information and advice that I have ever seen. The Saab owners community is friendly and down-to-earth.

 

For some reason I've always liked the way those cars looked, however I wouldn't put much into it.

If it has been sitting for 2.5 years you'll need to do all of the fluids, likely pads and rotors, tires may be dry rotted, etc. You're talking about quite a bit of money in parts alone. It's probably only worth it if you can (or plan to learn how to) do the work yourself. It's probably worth it for the experience of working on your own car.

If you want to fix it up yourself, buy a shop manual and some tools, then check amazon for parts. Amazon actually has a ton of car parts, free shipping, etc. Rockauto is also good in terms of online parts (and you may have difficulty finding saab parts locally at reasonable prices).

 

I bought an RX8 a few weeks ago, but thanks for the advice guys! It's still sitting here and me and my Dad are trying to figure out what to do with it.