The Saab 900 is a model that often comes to mind when picturing the perfect summer cruiser. Yes, I know, many of us think of the Fox body Mustang or similar American muscle car as the drop-top of choice, but the 900 has impressive staying power as a preferred summer cruiser. Even with the brand effectively going out of business in the U.S., people who have never driven a 900 will still connect the convertible model to summers by the sea. This is a final year model of the original 900 and it features the naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder with the preferred 5-speed manual. Find it here on eBay where bids sit at $5,100 with no reserve.
One of the biggest selling points of this Saab is that it is a stick. I know that sometimes goes without saying, but it’s really a must-have for both die-hard Saab owners and even just non-car people who want a convertible. When I had my Saab 900 Turbo in rare Monte Carlo Yellow, I actually bought an automatic car and paid to have a shop swap it. To date, that is still the car I made the most money on selling, and the pandemic bubble certainly helped with that. But Saab people really do associate three pedals with their brand loyalty more than most, and it still holds true today (it also helps that the 3-speed automatic is a garbage transmission). The interior of this final-year, naturally-aspirated model is in outstanding condition, with beautiful seats and what looks like a crack-free dash, which is impossible to find.
The lack of a turbocharger is a bit of a bummer here; the turbo really does add to the fun of a Saab. However, the N/A engine choice is far from a deal breaker, especially considering it helps cut down on some of the front wheel hop that happens with the more powerful boosted cars. You got 140 horsepower and 131 lb.-ft. of torque, which when paired with the stick, is more than enough to get to the beach in a sleepy seaside town (where else would you own one of these?) Of course, if you’re a hearty New Englander like I claim to be, you’d be fine driving this up into the mountains of Vermont, which the second ancestral home of the Saab after Sweden.
The bodywork looks clean and the same goes for the top. The standard alloy wheels are a disappointment; swap them out for the larger and iconic 16-inch wheels from the 9000 Turbo Aero; you’ll thank me later. A slight suspension drop wouldn’t be the worst idea, either, as 900s look absolutely fantastic with a little less room in the fender wells and the aforementioned wheels swapped on. With under 80,000 miles, this 900 has likely just been used as a weekend car, and the condition looks as nice as the seller is describing. With no reserve, someone is walking away with a fantastic summer cruiser.
So, in addition to the third pedal, it’s fun to watch the uninitiated parking jockeys figure out where the key goes…
This looks great! Neighbors had an identical one, though theirs was sieve-like in a rainstorm…
As a former SAAB dealer employee. I can tell you what goes “where the key goes” mostly, cokes and Pepsi. This usually is the end of the key lock and switch gears. Yes, there are a set of gears at the key switch.
The key, and the manual transmission. Valet jockeys that have the skills are a dying breed; and most have never even seen a Saab.
I will always associate these with gentrification in Chicago. In the early 1990s, if you saw one parked on the street, you knew some kind of rehab was going on nearby!
Why not leave it alone and enjoy it the way it is? A desirable car that has survived 32 years in original condition should probably stay in original condition.
I’ll vouch for the 3 pedals. My son had a 2006 93 Aero sedan then a 2008 93 Kombi. Both were a blast to drive, especially the Aero sedan, even though they GM-ifacations at that point.
My late friend was a Saab guy and had several, including a convertible, all with the stick. He could have vouched for the turbo lag in the one boosted example he drove. Nothing much happens at first, then, we have lift off. Born from jets indeed. RIP John.
We were a Saab family for a number of years (the daily drivers anyway)… graduated from VWs. Had two of the classic 900s in the string of Saabs… his and hers. I had the 3 door with a 5 speed, the wife had a 4 door with the auto. Fantastic cars… but the auto was a mistake. Terrible transmission that somewhat spoiled the driving experience, sucked up about 5 mpg and seemed to add an eternity to the 0 to 60. They both lasted in excess of 150k miles with little issue (except for the already mentioned auto trans)… until they started to rust.
The automatic trans in these was a front-drive variant of the venerable Borg-Warner type 35. That trans was more at home in a Rambler or Studebaker than a Saab.
Very nice example. No cracks in the dash either, which I suspect supports the garaging. I have two ( down from 3) and favor the 3 door for performance but it is really great to put that top down when the weather is nice and these cars love cruising at 80 down the highway. GLWTA.
I have a ’90 Turbo ‘vert that was born a slushbox. The Borg-Warner box is absolutely dreadful…..usually around the 100,000 mile mark, the torque converter starts to whine and then it’s a short hop to the side of the road when the converter fails, which is exactly what happened to my Saab. The former owner did not have the cash to repair the gearbox, so he left her at the shop where I found her. I cajoled the owner of the shop into swapping out the dead autobox for a five speed, and about two months later, Fiona rolled out of the shop like a brand new Saab. That was 18 years ago, and Fio is alive and living here in the barn next to Ruby Blixt the Viggen.
The 900S may not be the rocket that is the Turbo, but it’s no slouch, either. I also have an ’86 900S three door. Astrid may not be fast off of the line, but the engine has gobs of torque and the gearing is very tall to take advantage of that torque. She could pull stumps if I wanted her to.
There is nothing like driving a C900 convertible on a warm summer night with the top down……….
Saab story. what else can you say.
6K and climbing with 7 days left for a real Saab!
If only I liked Saabs . . .
Then this would be the one.
Although a Sonett would look nice in my driveway anytime.
Always wondered why the transmission was also the oil pan for the engine…
It wasn’t fun changing out the trans for obvious reasons…
Still cool cars though!!
But the easiest clutch change ever.
I so wish I had kept my 85 900 Turbo 5speed. I put 250,000 miles on it. Bought new.
Origina clutch, A/C. Only replaced water pump, batteries, brakes and that small coolant hose. I did put a new headliner in the car, had the manual sunroof too!
Such a blast to drive! Never got tired of driving this car.
Served me well for 10 years!
Wow.. this is a really nice car. I wish I was in the market for one, you don’t see them in this condition very often. I’ve owned three Saabs starting in the late 70s and the last was a ’94 Turbo convertible, green with the same tan leather interior. I drove that car all over the country from FL to Seattle and points in between and it was an absolute blast to cruise down the road with the top down in the summer.
An interesting side note, (at least to me) the convertible variant of the first 900 was not expected to sell nearly as well as it did. I was the topstack engineer on the second 900/9-3 convertible. My program manager (at ASC) was the topstack engineer on the first generation 900 convertible. He told me that SAAB expected to sell 2000 convertibles per year for 3 years – the convertible was intended to be eye candy in the showroom – people would come in to look at the convertible and buy a coupe or sedan. The tooling, especially the mold for the die cast 1-bow that mates with the windshield header, was made for low volume production. Approximately 12,000 of the first gen convertibles were built in the last year alone and a number of tools including the 1-bow mold had to be sent out for repair several times during production.
SOLD for $10,600.
28 bids.