Greetings from Jersey!
 

First off, this being my first post, just wanted to kiss a lil tailpipe and say thanks to admins for site upkeep...;)

I'm Colin, 25 from Central New Jersey, and the proud new owner of a 99 Saab 9-3 SE Turbo. 4D, Black, Black leather interior, 5 spd manual, and all sorts of kickass. Car has 177k miles on it, and I am looking to work on it to restore its rightful spot as one badass 4-banger!

Exterior is in great shape, factory paint holding up well, and service records show that despite the mileage, it was service and cared for religiously. the only blemishes to speak of are that the previos owner's son removed the Badging, and a crater/hole thing in the hood created when some kind of corrosive liquid pooled there during some home tinkering. I have aleady been searching to replace the hood, I figure in black color a hood shouldnt be that hard to score. Rims are in great shape, and new tires had been purchased for the car about 4 months prior so needless to say they are in good shape as well. Interior in okay shape, rugs a little frayed but that can be fixed easily, and the Display on the CD player is a little wonky so I'll just replace with an aftermarket. By the way, anyone know where to score a bracket/mounting kit for these models? And a shift knob, the logo is worn and faded, I would like to find a fresh one.

But anyways, thats my ride, I'll probably edit the post with a few pictures later today. Thanks again!

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Look at eeuroparts.com for factory parts like the shiftknob. 177K on that car is nothing, I've had a 9-3 with 230K miles on everything original running strong, just gotta keep up with the maintainance.

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Thanks alot, I'll check that site out today. I guess the other question is, I've ordered a 2-din Pioneer head unit to replace the archaic stock CD console. I'm hoping to install this myself, but if you've had any difficulties with anything like this could you tell me what they where? If its going to be PITA then I'd rather just take it to Tweeter, lol.

Thanks for your response,
Colin

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Don't take ANYTHING to tweeter or any other big chain. Their installers are known for incompetency. Find a reputable local shop instead, might cost a bit more, but the quality won't suffer. Now one thing I'm thinking about is - I'm pretty sure the opening is not 2din...it's more along the lines of 1 3/4 din. You might have to do away with the cupholder to install that...

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Oh you mean the extra coin receptacle? :D It barely fits a water bottle!

This is a lil' disheartening, lol. On the pioneer site, when I entered my Year/Make/Model info, it listed the FH-P8000BT as compatible with this car. To be to be honest, I'd almost rather drop the SID in order to fit the Head Unit, then to leave the stock as useless space filler. SID display isn't working totally as is, and I was looking at replacement/removal. The only thing I would miss is the real time MPG rating...

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Oh no no no and one more time NO. Do NOT remove the SID...you will loose a lot more functionality than you think. Have it repaired. There's a bunch of repair services for under 100 who will guarantee their work for lifetime. The things that are tied into the SID are the Horn, the blinker speaker, and a bunch more things....disconnect it and see for yourself...

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Ok thanks, lol good to know. I'm hoping it works out, I pretty much cant live without Bluetooth in my car, I have a Tilt (at&t) and thats where I will be streaming my music from. Didnt want to have to resort to the tinny BT speakerphone or "ghetto" FM radio tactic to get handsfree in this car. You said there are places for repair under 100? That's great, The only thing I could find were DIY jobs that I'm not too comfortable with, and flat out replacement which run around 300. I notice you are in the philly area - about an hour from me. Are their any services around our area?

edit - added question

BTW, here are the pictures...
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04759_3662.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04760_3980.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04761_4256.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04762_4553.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04763_4839.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04764_5133.jpg
http://photos-258.ll.facebook.com/ph...04765_5435.jpg

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Dude! That's my old car :D I'm not even kidding!

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

There's a great place that specializes in Saabs 10 minutes away from my place... Mind me asking how much the privious owner charged you for this? Cause there was no primer on the hood or the bumper when I sold it... I know A LOT about htis car so ask away, I just hope you weren't ripped off on it.


Edit: This car just can't stay away from this forum, I bought it here, sold on ebay and here it is back...

RE: Greetings from Jersey!
 

Holy Sh*t... lol. I drive an infamous car! I paid 2500 bucks for the car, 27XX after registration, as NJ charges sales tax on EVERYTHING. I know its going to take alot of work, so I'm not too worried about it. If you like, I can take some shot of the engine bay later on. But for the most part, Its in pretty good shape considering the mileage. Turbo pulls strong, brakes are good, clutch shifts smoothly, no rough idle. The only things bothering me are the lack of badges, the SID & Audio system (Stock radio barely ejects my cd's and rear speakers are blown), the hood, and my rear passenger side window is VERY temperamental. Havent had it looked at yet so I'm not sure what an actuator would run me.

Do you have a name or number/email address for the guy near you? I also found on on SAABnet that Double Din radios can fit, you just have to remove the stock radio brackets - the space between the SID and the actual radio is what causes it not to fit. However, doing this exposes the SID to the head of the head unit. This would work for now, as my SID isnt perfect anyway, but if I'm planning to get it fixed I worry that fixing it would be a waste.