- Seller: Chuck T (Contact)
- Location: New Providence, New Jersery
- Mileage: 61,000 Shown
- Chassis #: YS3CD65U3V1017899
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 2.3-Liter Turbocharged Inline-4
- Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
Saab once built cars for buyers who deliberately wanted something different. The 9000 was fast without being flashy, practical without feeling ordinary, and engineered with the sort of unconventional thinking that made the Swedish company famous. Finding one today is easy enough; finding a one-owner, 61,000-mile Turbo with a 5-speed manual is considerably harder. This 1997 Saab 9000 CS is located in New Providence, New Jersey, and is offered at auction with a clean title and a very approachable reserve.
The seller has owned the Saab from new and describes it simply: “Runs great. One Owner. No Accidents. Garaged.” Those four statements may be the best reason to keep reading. Low-mileage, unmodified 9000s have become difficult to find, especially examples that haven’t passed through a long chain of owners or accumulated questionable modifications.
Power comes from Saab’s turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The odometer shows approximately 61,000 miles, and the professional photographs clearly show the manual shifter and driver-focused cockpit that helped make these cars such satisfying long-distance machines. The seller notes that the alternator seems to have failed since the photographer came by, so they are offering a $300 credit to the buyer to cover the cost of installing a new alternator.
The engine bay presents as largely original and refreshingly unmodified. No obvious collection of aftermarket boost controllers, cone filters, or improvised plumbing sits under the hood. For anyone who has shopped older turbocharged Saabs, that originality may be more reassuring than another fifty horsepower. These cars are great to drive in stock form, with surprisingly fun handling and plenty of turbocharged power.
The exterior wears a subdued metallic finish that suits the 9000 perfectly. Saab never needed wild styling to make these cars distinctive, and the gently sloping hatchback profile has aged surprisingly well. The photographs show straight-looking body panels, intact trim, factory-style alloy wheels, and clean glass.
There are some cosmetic flaws. Close-up photos reveal scratches and paint wear around at least one wheel opening, along with some paint bubbling on the rear hatch area. This is not being presented as a concours example, but the imperfections appear consistent with an honest car approaching thirty years old rather than signs of a car that’s been repainted.
Perhaps more important is what can be seen underneath. The photographer supplied several clear underside photographs, and the Saab appears impressively clean for a New Jersey car. The floor structure and major underbody areas look solid, while some normal surface corrosion is visible on exhaust and hardware components. Prospective bidders should study the images closely, but the underside may be one of this car’s biggest selling points.
Inside, the Saab looks even better. The light-colored leather seating remains remarkably presentable, including the rear seats, which show little obvious wear in the supplied photographs. The carpeting, door panels, dashboard, and center console also present nicely. The upright Saab instrument panel places everything within easy reach of the driver, and the manual transmission makes this considerably more interesting than an automatic example. The car is equipped with its original AM/FM radio with cassette and CD changer in the trunk.
Then there is the hatchback. Lift the rear glass and the 9000 reveals why these cars developed such a loyal following. There is genuine cargo space behind the rear seats, complete with a removable parcel cover. It is the sort of practicality that lets one car serve as a commuter, road-trip machine, and weekend parts hauler without looking like an SUV.
That combination remains one of the best reasons to own a 9000 today. It offers turbocharged performance and a manual transmission without sacrificing seating or luggage capacity. It is interesting enough for an enthusiast, yet subtle enough to not draw too much attention. Of course, at car shows, it’s sure to start conversations purely because of how clean it is.
The seller states that the car has had no accidents, has always been garaged, and runs well. It also comes with a clean title. The seller has set a very realistic reserve, so bidders aren’t being asked to value it like a museum piece. Instead, this looks like an opportunity to buy a low-mileage survivor from its original owner and actually use it.
There may be faster modern hatchbacks, and there are certainly newer luxury cars available for similar money. But neither offers quite the same combination of Swedish eccentricity, turbocharged character, manual shifting, and one-owner history. If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to experience what made Saab owners so loyal, this 61,000-mile 9000 CS might be it.
Bid On This Auction
Moonside_Fox bid $4,400.00 2026-08-31 10:05:23
Ed Lorenz bid $4,300.00 2026-08-31 10:04:01- Moonside_Fox bid $4,200.00 2026-08-31 10:01:46
- Ed Lorenz bid $4,100.00 2026-08-31 10:00:04
- Moonside_Fox bid $4,000.00 2026-08-31 09:59:18
NotoriousMinnesotan bid $2,600.00 2026-08-31 08:51:35
J.S. bid $2,000.00 2026-08-31 08:29:49- Ed Lorenz bid $1,400.00 2026-08-31 07:35:25
beardog99 bid $1,300.00 2026-08-31 06:52:42
I can't get my bid to go through bid $1,100.00 2026-08-29 18:07:45- J.S. bid $1,000.00 2026-08-28 16:08:18
1997 Saab 9000 bid $900.00 2026-08-27 09:37:24- beardog99 bid $800.00 2026-08-26 09:57:46
- 1997 Saab 9000 bid $650.00 2026-08-25 18:21:02
- beardog99 bid $550.00 2026-08-25 11:50:16
- 1997 Saab 9000 bid $450.00 2026-08-24 18:10:06
Fred D bid $300.00 2026-08-23 14:30:51
JCA bid $200.00 2026-08-21 18:29:12
My dad had a 9000 hatchback. Nice enough to drive, but the high bootlid and hefty rear quarter panels mean that rear visibility is less than I’d like. As a motorcyclist, I look over my shoulder – but the Saab didn’t suit that.
He had a couple of 9-5s after that.
I was a Saab master tech when these were new. Given the choice of a 900S or the 9000CS it would be this car all day long. Saab called this engine variant their light pressure turbo. The 9000 Aero had the larger turbo. This was the only car in the near luxury segment that had the hatchback. Saab did offer the CD model with a traditional trunk but most Saab owners bought the hatchback because this car did just about anything a wagon could do. Enormous luggage space. The 5-speed is the one to have the 4-speed ZF transaxle was not very reliable. Engines are robust if cared for. Timing and balance chains will wear if service is neglected. Head gaskets can leak and normal oil leaks from valve cover gaskets and crank seal and oil pump O-ring. DI ignition cassettes can fail but the later ones were more reliable. Low mileage and nice interior is a plus. Pull the alternator and have a shop repair it or try a new voltage regulator first. Can’t remember if I was able to change without pulling.
Owned a ’96 CS and it was in the family for about 12 years… Initially the wife’s daily, then I took it over when she moved on to a 9-5. It’s probably the best overall car I’ve ever owned… which includes Mercedes, Audis and other Saabs. Only one significant issue all those years (transmission problem at 100k+ mi)… everything else was just routine maintenance and/or wear out items. Decent performance with the “light” turbo, competent handling, very comfortable and cavernous interior with hatch. Put 225k miles on it and the only reason I got rid of it was due to rust (beware the passenger side rear shock tower… for whatever reason they all like to rust there). Sold it to the friend of a friend that addressed the rust and drove it another 50K.. then it was sold to someone in VT where I lost track of it. I miss that car… and I miss Saab.
Love these, I am deciding to pull the trigger on a convertible in California. One naggy thing, I would have the work done that Alphasud recommended as if the alternator packed it in, what else is close. I would automatically lower my bid to compensate for that. The 9000 convertible I am looking at has a inop roof which could be spendy to fix, The seller is waffling about getting an estimate and the Saab, otherwise good condition, has been for sale for more than a little while. Good luck, great rides!
You must be thinking of the 900 or 9-3… Saab didn’t market a convertible version of the 9000…
Where did the rest of the comments go, including mine? Thanks
Lately I have to log in again every time I look at a different listing. It’s a PITA but that’s the only way to see all the comments.
Have you tried refreshing the page? You shouldn’t have to login every time. Do you have cookies disabled? They need to be on in order for the site to tell if you are logged in.
I was a Saab fan on the 96s. But then I got a,company car. A 99 EMS that worked well as a, company hauler. ( cavernous does not come close to the description) And being a front wheel drive freak I thought it would be cool. TERMINAL understeer! I ice raceda Honda Civic so I’m used to all the “tricks” of driving an understeering car fast. But after my trip through the corn field ( nothing like the sound of corn cobs bouncing off the hood at 50 mph) I was not impressed! Wet pavement and the best rain tire Goodyear made at the time. (We were a Goodyear dealer) And the car never even acknowledged my steering I put even slightly. BUT a few years ago I had the opertunity to drive a lady friends 5 speed 9000 and it felt so nice and responsive that I really liked it. Just an all round good car. I do remember having a few in the shop that required shims to align the rear wheels. But not hard to find or install. I like these, and these days there is few I like.
Another Saab story. My g/f at the time bought a 9000, one of the first years they came out. So many q/c issues. Once we gave a ride to a friend. When they went to pull the door closed in the back seat, the entire door panel pulled right off. Turbo lag was down right annoying and when it finally did kick in, the turbo torque steer was close to being unmanageable. Overpriced crap it was.
I agree the 86-89 Saab 9000 cars had their issues. By the time these were on sale they were really nice driving and had zero turbo lag. Especially the low pressure turbo cars.
I had the CD version of this vehicle. It was magnificently-quiet and quite stately. But the DI cassette (a monobloc piece of red throbbing crap) was a failure-point I did not anticipate the expense of at the time… It failed and cost me 900 bucks which, in 2001 dollars was… a lot… The 2.3 with the turbo made it a very confident highway machine but I can understand the comments about the odd-pull it had/has. A friend at the time had a BMW 7 series and I’d put my Saab up against that car any day of the week in most categories. Both companies were different then, of course, and I though the build-quality of the Saab far better that the Bavarian boy at the time. Sadly the Saab marque got diminished by the sale to GM and BMW got better with their offerings, but about then I moved to Mercedes myself. A Silver Star 420SEL was what, apparently, I needed. :)
Is this a no reserve auction?
These shared a great deal with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, and Alfa Romeo 164, yet somehow managed to retain their essential “Saabness.”
Saab story nothing more.
That homely rear-end is Saturn all the way, a grim reminder of past gm ownership
The Saab 9000 came out of the “Type Four Collaboration”… which was a partnership between Saab, Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. The development work began in 1979, and Saab began selling the 9000 in 1984. GM did not start investing in Saab until 1989/90. The car was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign… and later refined by Saab’s Björn Envall.
GM didn’t establish Saturn Corporation until 1985, so if there is any similarity in styling, it must have been GM that copied Saab.