Hi all, recently acquired this Saab, as you do, and thought I may as well do it up and see what I can do to turn it round and tart it up a bit before selling it on, as really I think 4 cars is probably a bit too much, proving to be a slight pain in the ass but I cant resist a bargain!
So onto the car
A 1999 Saab 9-3 2.2 Tid with 153000 miles and tax till the end of May and MOT till November. Don't know when it was last washed but it wasnt recently! Got it off my uncle who was the second owner and had it for the last 4 years. He isnt much of a car person and tbh it shows with lots of niggly little things needing done to it. However it was always serviced on time and being the family car for him, his wife and 2 young daughters he made sure it was at least safe so good tyres and new brakes all round is a nice bonus. Mechanically the only thing I'll be doing it to it is a service, runs great so not gonna fix what aint broken!
First thing to do was to clean out the inside, there were mats but they were past being ruined so got them out and was left with this
This was under the back seat, and having seen the rest it was actually better than I expected!
Halfway through the back
And finished
Used a lot of AG interior shampoo with a stiff brush and the hoover but I think its come up very well for its age, mileage and use!
The main issue when I got it was a complete lack of heat, which although it only dropped to -4 did make it a bit uncomfortable to be in!
Having read the saab forums it seemed that the fan motor was the most likely culprit which involved removing the wipers and scuttle panel to get to it. Then I saw the pollen filter. The original pollen filter. So I put gloves on and removed it! I couldn't put it back on in this state!
So anyway, tested the fan and it worked fine, all the wiring was good so then checked the switch which I had seen no mention of being an issue. Of course that was the problem! I managed to bodge it together so I could at least have 2 speeds, on or off!
Before putting the scuttle back together I had to go get a pollen filter but as I was buying a service kit anyway it wasnt much hassle.
Side by side you can really see the difference
and the new one fitted
Quickly chucked the air filter on whilst I was at it
The next niggly thing that also made it feel older and sheddier was the SID (Saab Info Display) that had a lot of missing pixels.
Now a new one is about £350 and a refurb is £50 odd. Or following a guide you've found is free
It might not be perfect but its a s**tload better and cost nothing more than a bit of time and patience
I've also changed the ancient Pioneer tape deck with a dead display for a fairly new JVC Cd player but for some reason didnt take pics. These 2 things, and the cleaning have made the cabin look a lot better and fresher.
So today I went along to the scrappies for the following things that I needed for it.
Silly little things like a new speaker as only 1 worked, a new gearknob for reasons you're about to see, washer cap cos it was missing, fuel cap to replace the temporary thing that was on it, ashtrays etc etc but most importantly a new heater panel which means I know have proper control over the fan, temperature etc etc
So firstly I changed the drivers door handle and you can see why! God knows how he broke it, its metal all the way through!
The gearknob span round at will and could come off in your hand so changed that
and then fitted the speaker, refitted the speaker grills and chucked the ashtrays in front and rear, might not make much difference but I reckon its the wee details that often count to the overall impression of the car.
Also fixed the headlight washers, put on a new boot strut and chucked the new parcel shelf on.
Remaining jobs are to do an oil change, clean out the boot and wash and polish the outside. Probably get new plates too.
Costs so far,
Service kit consisting of oil, oil filter, air & pollen filters and egr cleaner £60
Various parts from the scrappy £24
A months insurance £30
Diesel at 45mpg £40 (still got loads left!)
Time spent would easily be 8+ hours, most of that cleaning the inside!
Cheers
John
So onto the car
A 1999 Saab 9-3 2.2 Tid with 153000 miles and tax till the end of May and MOT till November. Don't know when it was last washed but it wasnt recently! Got it off my uncle who was the second owner and had it for the last 4 years. He isnt much of a car person and tbh it shows with lots of niggly little things needing done to it. However it was always serviced on time and being the family car for him, his wife and 2 young daughters he made sure it was at least safe so good tyres and new brakes all round is a nice bonus. Mechanically the only thing I'll be doing it to it is a service, runs great so not gonna fix what aint broken!
First thing to do was to clean out the inside, there were mats but they were past being ruined so got them out and was left with this
This was under the back seat, and having seen the rest it was actually better than I expected!
Halfway through the back
And finished
Used a lot of AG interior shampoo with a stiff brush and the hoover but I think its come up very well for its age, mileage and use!
The main issue when I got it was a complete lack of heat, which although it only dropped to -4 did make it a bit uncomfortable to be in!
Having read the saab forums it seemed that the fan motor was the most likely culprit which involved removing the wipers and scuttle panel to get to it. Then I saw the pollen filter. The original pollen filter. So I put gloves on and removed it! I couldn't put it back on in this state!
So anyway, tested the fan and it worked fine, all the wiring was good so then checked the switch which I had seen no mention of being an issue. Of course that was the problem! I managed to bodge it together so I could at least have 2 speeds, on or off!
Before putting the scuttle back together I had to go get a pollen filter but as I was buying a service kit anyway it wasnt much hassle.
Side by side you can really see the difference
and the new one fitted
Quickly chucked the air filter on whilst I was at it
The next niggly thing that also made it feel older and sheddier was the SID (Saab Info Display) that had a lot of missing pixels.
Now a new one is about £350 and a refurb is £50 odd. Or following a guide you've found is free
It might not be perfect but its a s**tload better and cost nothing more than a bit of time and patience
I've also changed the ancient Pioneer tape deck with a dead display for a fairly new JVC Cd player but for some reason didnt take pics. These 2 things, and the cleaning have made the cabin look a lot better and fresher.
So today I went along to the scrappies for the following things that I needed for it.
Silly little things like a new speaker as only 1 worked, a new gearknob for reasons you're about to see, washer cap cos it was missing, fuel cap to replace the temporary thing that was on it, ashtrays etc etc but most importantly a new heater panel which means I know have proper control over the fan, temperature etc etc
So firstly I changed the drivers door handle and you can see why! God knows how he broke it, its metal all the way through!
The gearknob span round at will and could come off in your hand so changed that
and then fitted the speaker, refitted the speaker grills and chucked the ashtrays in front and rear, might not make much difference but I reckon its the wee details that often count to the overall impression of the car.
Also fixed the headlight washers, put on a new boot strut and chucked the new parcel shelf on.
Remaining jobs are to do an oil change, clean out the boot and wash and polish the outside. Probably get new plates too.
Costs so far,
Service kit consisting of oil, oil filter, air & pollen filters and egr cleaner £60
Various parts from the scrappy £24
A months insurance £30
Diesel at 45mpg £40 (still got loads left!)
Time spent would easily be 8+ hours, most of that cleaning the inside!
Cheers
John
