Of the two, I'd rather the Saab. I've had a 2000 V70GLT. It was utilitarian and practical and as interesting as Wonder bread. The Saab would be full of quirks and more fun to drive. At least in my opinion.
I've had a 20000 GLT and did try the R type ecu swap. That wasn't pretty. Plug and play it was not.
The GLT listing has several issues, most notable the SRS light being on. You need the software and hardware to be able to reset that, which costs a few hundred. With the light on the airbags apparently do not deploy in a crash, as some have clarified by their own experiences over on some of the Volvo forums.
Though I loved my '95 Volvo 850 NA wagon with manual trans, I would not be interested in the automatic Volvo sedan that you have listed.
As mentioned, the Volvo sedan's persona will be really quite bland.
The Saab's driving dynamics and especially visual persona will be much more interesting.
Aside from these points, if I could only make time to see one car it would be the Saab for reasons of visual clues.
The Volvo is only 16 years old but the seller claims the vehicle to be well maintained but in the text he states that a CEL has been on for 8 years. He is not really sweating the small stuff in maint. Rather, he is ignoring the small stuff (I suspect until it becomes big stuff.) I am also bothered that the car is missing small pieces like the wheel center caps. Again, small stuff but this all combined reads to me that his idea of "maintained" is that the car is good enough to get him to work. Also notice the quality job he has done of "maintaining" the headlight wiper.
Speaking of work, I am also bothered by the crappy rental style house shown in the picture background. To me, this looks like a "paycheck to paycheck" existence in a "fly over" neighborhood near the airport.
This all does not strike me as an owner who makes a car better through his ownership but all together someone who is trying to unload some problems he can not afford to correct.
Though the Saab is 10 years older than the Volvo, making it 26 years old total, it appears to have lead a sheltered and cared-for life through those years. There are less visual clues of neglect (really no clues). I am also encouraged by the fact that the owner seems to have a place to indoor store the car. And, if this garage stall is not the daily parking place of the Saab, I am still comforted by the fact that the owner seems to have an indoor space where he car work on the car if needed.
TLDR:
1) If I could only go see one, it would certainly be the Saab.
2) I am not sure that I would pursue this Volvo at all given the visual clues as I consider this Volvo overpriced for its condition.
This is an excellent point mad machine, thank you for bringing it up.
I did read that post, but it hadn't entered my mind in this situation. I guess having remembered the oldest car as being new back then, it didn't register with me it is a year away from being a historic vehicle.
Automotive Peter Pan syndrome...
mad_machine wrote:
I wanted to add something here about Saabs and Volvos as per Weary Microbe's recent problems with driving classics daily. As the Swedish mindset has made both of these cars extremely safe in their day, they are quite capable of surviving today's traffic expectations
Foxtrapper- thank you so much for your input- very sobering to say the least! I just love the fact (and am thankful for it!) that you all are willing to unselfishly share technical information and honest experiences so those of us without the expertise don't have the same problems.
This is the only forum I have frequented that is like that.
JohnRW- you should offer your CL ad reading services for hire! I mean that! Looking at the Volvo ad again, you are right. I am but a country bumpkin- the idea of venturing into the Detroit CL area is more than daunting to me.
To prove your intuition correct, here is one of the messages I got from the seller:
Brian
There is no rust on the car for the exception of a couple of paint blisters. The motor is a 16 valve 2.1L non turbo 4 cylinder.
I fix and restore Saabs as a hobby I know a fair amount about them. This car was very well maintained throught it's life. I have all the repair records. It is one of the better ones that I have worked on.
Hope this answers your questions.
Jeff
So I'm going to see it today at 1.
chiodos wrote:
In reply to Furious_E:
I wouldn't be worried about swapping turbos, it's really easy to make a glt more powerful than a measly t5, that and a 13g (I think it's a 13t to be honest) vs a tiny 15g/16g isn't enough strain to worry. Hell I have a 850 t5r turbo (15g) on a non turbo (9.8:1) redblock and it's fine, but that baby turbo is getting tossed for a man sized t3.
If it were me I'd throw R injectors and ecu in with a 19t and enjoy a nice daily that's hellacious on the highway.
Sorry, feel the need to clarify. My point wasn't so much to highlight the difference in stock turbos each came with (In reality, all of the TD04 family are on the small side.), but rather that the differences go beyond that. i.e. higher compression, which makes putting bigger boost levels through a GLT reliably less of a plug and play affair, IIRC way harder to find off the shelf tunes and such.
Thanks for the kind words.
I like it and have done it myself to put ads up here and ask opinions.
The breadth and depth of knowledge here can provide some insightful answers.
Good luck with your shopping.
So I see the Saab is gone - did you get it?
So I'm going to see it today at 1.
I'm guessing he got it. I hope.
I bought it earlier, just got it home and it's dark out dammit!
First impression from the 30 miles I dove to get home? I. LOVE. IT.
It is in nice shape, a couple dents and scratches that didn't show up in the ad, but pretty minor. The dash is cracked, but whatever. It drives like a champ!
I'll get good images in the daylight tomorrow and post them.
Once again, you guys were right!
THANK YOU!!!!!
Funny thing is I had half a mind to go check that Saab out myself when I saw it in Craigslist. Looks like a great driver.
Nice! Time for rallycross.
The seller is a good guy. He's working on a NA 5 speed coupe right now- keep an eye out for it on CL.
bastomatic wrote:
Funny thing is I had half a mind to go check that Saab out myself when I saw it in Craigslist. Looks like a great driver.
Indeed it is!
The next order of business is ordering a helmet!
EvanB wrote:
Nice! Time for rallycross.
my old 91 900s always reminded me of a grown up beetle.. and I say that in a good way. The shifter, the windshield (I had a curved window superbeetle) and the "old fashionedness" of it's many features just reminded me of them
So let me get this straight...
Your seller put up a quality ad.
He then answered your questions via email with quality answers.
He then was in fact actually there for the appointment time you set.
Lastly, he promptly took down the ad once you bought the car.
Sounds like an excellent buying experience.
I still stand not confident that you would have gotten this level of professionalism from the Volvo seller.
That is a keen observation, I can see that already. Luckily the Saab has the fifth gear I always wished my beetle had. And working heat 
mad_machine wrote:
my old 91 900s always reminded me of a grown up beetle.. and I say that in a good way. The shifter, the windshield (I had a curved window superbeetle) and the "old fashionedness" of it's many features just reminded me of them
Yes to all accounts. And I met his very nice dog Brandy. And he showed me a couple projects he's working on. Even gave me some parts buying tips including contacting him to see what he has in his stash if I'm having trouble finding something.
After I paid him and he gave me the title he said there was one guy in line to buy it in front of me, but he put the guy off until I could get there because "I asked the right questions." Even if that isn't entirely true it adds to the experience. And again thank you all for the right questions to ask!
And I agree- I think the Volvo buying experience would have been very different!
JohnRW1621 wrote:
So let me get this straight...
Your seller put up a quality ad.
He then answered your questions via email with quality answers.
He then was in fact actually there for the appointment time you set.
Lastly, he promptly took down the ad once you bought the car.
Sounds like an excellent buying experience.
I still stand not confident that you would have gotten this level of professionalism from the Volvo seller.
One nice thing about saabs.. once you wrap your head around the logic of how they are built, they adhere to that logic from top to bottom. One of the worst jobs on any car.. replacing the heater valve, can be done with hand tools and all you need to do is remove the speaker from the top of the dash.. easy peasy if you are flexible enough.
Most jobs are like that.. the clutch is super easy, you barely even need hand tools.
However, do take a good hard look at the driver's engine mount before attempting to disassemble it, it comes apart differently than you might think
paranoid_android74 wrote:
I bought it earlier, just got it home and it's dark out dammit!
First impression from the 30 miles I dove to get home? I. LOVE. IT.
It is in nice shape, a couple dents and scratches that didn't show up in the ad, but pretty minor. The dash is cracked, but whatever. It drives like a champ!
I'll get good images in the daylight tomorrow and post them.
Once again, you guys were right!
THANK YOU!!!!!
Cool.
Now, if you've no experience with cars like these, and especially if you've ever owned a Toyota, budget some extra time and money for maintenance and repairs. Nothing huge or horrible. Just, make sure you do in fact check the fluids regularly, and be comfortable with a hour or two on a weekend fiddling with something.
and buy some Torx wrenches! Swedes love those fasteners
Mad_machine and Foxtrapper- thank you for the advice!
In fact I have not owned a car like this, or a Toyota for that matter.
The seller gave me a file folder full of service records- it's an inch thick! We went through some of it together but I plan to go through the rest and use that to build a maintenance schedule from.
It came with the original "new car literature" too, and I plan to finish reading that as well.
From my short drive home the other day I noticed the instrument cluster light is out, and the head lamp switch assembly rotates in its opening. I can handle fixes like this. And I will indeed keep a close eye on fluid levels, etc.
After some driving in town this evening, it seems the honeymoon is coming to an end. New thread on the way...
Was going to advise you to check two things....
1) lower control arm mounting areas can rot... and require substantial welding capability to repair...
2) 2.1 engine can blow the head gasket... and it isn't uncommon for it to hydro-lock
