Picked this baby up for a song yesterday. 2001 Saab 9-5 Wagon...5spd!! 115k miles, the guy I bought it from has owned it since 2003.
The downside is that it was hit in the left rear and is going to need a little work. As it is now the hatch seals completely and all the lights work, just doesn't look the greatest.
Wow, that looks like an expensive hit. Would that hit have totaled it? Does the repair cost (at retail) exceed the value of the car?
Cool cars. A couple years back I had been considering buying one.
Not sure if it would have been totaled or not, I am not going to remove the whole fender piece and replace it.
A new lift gate, taillight, bumper cover along with some creative bending/pulling to get it back in shape. Its just going to be a daily beater to get back and forth to work so I don't mind if its not the prettiest thing on the road 
Eh, just show the first photo only, you're good to go. 
Jerry wrote: Eh, just show the first photo only, you're good to go.
haha thats what my wife said, just keep it backed into the driveway lol.
Even with the damage, its drives and rides significantly nicer than my previous car, and it keeps my string of not having a car payment going!
they are great cars.. love the 5speed/wagon combo
Is it a V6? SAAB 2.3s use chains not a belt. Also if they did do the chain, did they do the balance shafts chains? They seem to wear faster than the timing chain.
2.3t
Nice car! I just sold the exact same thing, an '01 9-5 wagon, 5spd. They're great daily drivers. Nice old pseudo luxury/sporty wagon.
Yes, that hit would have totalled the car for sure. But if you can get it back to decent condition yourself, fantastic.
I had a 1999 sedan with a 5-speed and it was a great car. I think your idea of a creative beating to close to staight and some color matched paint is all you could do to that and not end up putting more than it is worth. great score for a cheap fun to drive daily.
cdowd wrote: I had a 1999 sedan with a 5-speed and it was a great car. I think your idea of a creative beating to close to staight and some color matched paint is all you could do to that and not end up putting more than it is worth. great score for a cheap fun to drive daily.
Yeah I don't want to put a lot of $$ into it, just a comfy beater for slogging to work and back. Once we pay off my wife's car I'll get something nicer, and newer, and more powerful 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO5BxcKtj6c
Because I am sure this will be helpful.
Hoop wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO5BxcKtj6c Because I am sure this will be helpful.
lol thanks. For now at least, all that stuff works...
Nice, I had to do a similar repair on the girlfriends volvo 850 after it rolled down a hillside into a tree. 
Honestly looks like a fairly easy fix for a beater, enjoy.
Congrats on the purchase! The manual wagons are fun.
Parts can be unobtanium, especially lights, so good luck.
In reply to pinchvalve:
Here we go again.
Anyway, nice car. I tried very hard to talk my wife into a wagon when we got our sedan. 
by the way power is just a turbo and ECU flash away.
pinchvalve wrote: Parts can be unobtanium, especially lights, so good luck.
It's 12-13 years old. The aftermarket has taken care of pretty much everything for this car about.... 8-10 years ago. I like it when people perpetuate this myth though, keeps these cars stupid cheap. 
In reply to Swank Force One:
I love the prices on these cars, honestly one of the nicest overall drivers for the $ around here.
The harder to find lights are the last years with the projector beams due to the short number of years offered and slow sales in those years which means fewer models in JYs. You will have no problem finding these lights which were popular and offered in years with higher sales numbers.
But yes, keep up the myth of unavailability if that keeps the prices down.
True, there are years that I would never own. That being the last redesign of the 9-5. A last ditch effort that failed. A car offered for only one year before the folding of the company and a car with nearly 100% unique parts resulting in little to no support or aftermarket supply chain.
JohnRW1621 wrote: The harder to find lights are the last years with the projector beams due to the short number of years offered and slow sales in those years which means fewer models in JYs. You will have no problem finding these lights which were popular and offered in years with higher sales numbers. But yes, keep up the myth of unavailability if that keeps the prices down. True, there are years that I would never own. That being the last redesign of the 9-5. A last ditch effort that failed. A car offered for only one year before the folding of the company and a car with nearly 100% unique parts resulting in little to no support or aftermarket supply chain.
^^^ This is 100% correct.
To OP, nice find. You can make it go quite a bit quicker with nothing but a cheap or even DIY tune if you feel so inclined, and you can go REALLY quick with a few bolt-ons.
Nice get! I'm guessing well below challenge price?
No one has suggested a SAAB-amino yet??
mmmmmmm..... saabamino......
with added boost.........
EvanR wrote: No one has suggested a SAAB-amino yet??
Do tell...SAAB-amino?
Pulled the hatch off last weekend and got it fitting flush again, also pulled out some of the crunched in bits and pieces. Got a line on a set of lights.
Work in progress 
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