I'm the proud owner of an '02 9-3 SE, but I'm thinking of moving up to a more stately and larger '01 9-5. The 9-5 has 105K on it, a lot of upgrades (black chrome, H-K sound, premium wheels) and seems very comfortable (haven't test driven yet).

Can anyone give me some advice on what to look for in my test drive? Is $7500 a good deal for this car? It looks very clean, but the proof (I'm sure) is in the driving.

Thanks.

 

I just went through one of those. Very nice cars. However at that milage I would pull the pan once you get it and have it cleaned. Also run a compression test on it. One more thing to look out for is the amount of oil in the intake pipe...if there's a lot of it - time to replace or rebuild the turbo. Again, not a huge expense, but can significantly lower the price for you to get the car.

 

Roto,

Thanks. I'd love to see a picture of the intake pipe so I know where to look, if anyone's got a similar model.

As for the compression test, I'm sure that'll be no problem. The guy who's selling is a Saab fanatic who sells them as a "hobby". He just had the mounts changed out on it.

Any other tips?