so, I am new to the Saab world. I bought this Saab on a whim, and came with the carfax, showing all maintenance records on a regular schedule. The problem I am having is: I am losing coolant at a very fast rate, yet I see nothing leaking, anywhere. I changed the thermostat, and that helped at first, but now it seems as if it has gotten worse. I am also having issues with the car starting. It takes it several tries for it to turn over. Once it starts, it sputters really bad, almost to the point that it wants to shut off. It just started doing this yesterday. The coolant issue has been going on for 3 days now. I drive this car for work, so check the coolant level almost every time I get in the car to drive off. and thats very often. I do have some white smoke out of the exhaust, when I first start the car. Once its at operating temp, it stops, and I dont see smoke anymore during the course of the day. any ideas? this car is my lively hood and without it, Im without a job...any ideas would be helpful.

 

Do you hear any rushing water sounds when starting from a stop? If yes - check your heater core, it may be leaking at the couplers. It's fairly common, not very difficult to fix yourself, but is time consuming. Easier way to check is drive with no heat on and see if you still have coolant loss. If you still do you most likely are losing coolant either through the turbocharger or through the headgasket. If it's at the turbo - rebuild or replace it.

Is the car overheating? If yes - headgasket is likely.