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need advice on a trade

2K views 28 replies 8 participants last post by  Saabeh 
#1 ·
So i stumbled across a really nice looking 2000 viggen 2-door. Has 100,000 miles on it. I offered him my 02 wagon in a trade. They are pretty equal in value, and the guy really needs a 4-door. Its gonna be an 8+ hour drive for me, but i can deal with that, winter break coming up. I know i would be stepping back, but really, taking a big jump in performance, and that is what intrigues me. I am constantly searching for viggens, and i could potential get this one for free. If this viggen was in good shape, which it looks to be, and had no mechanical problems, what do you guys think? Bad move?

Im young, and i think i could get my bike onto the viggen, so im not worried about practicality, rarely do i drive more than one other person, just me, my clubs, and my bike.

http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/9-3.html

http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/9-3.html
 
#2 ·
I saw that Viggen. It's nice.

Have you driven one yet? Many great things, but the handling is a let down. I would drive one locally before finding out you are not impressed compared to your 9-5.

How many miles on your 9-5?

It's not really any more unreliable than what you have depending on mileage. Its largely the same engine, just different valves, turbo, and tuning.
 
#3 ·
ive got 70,000 on mine. Thats where i would be stepping back. But the thing is, the values are pretty much the same. Car is in great shape and i love it to death. Im young though, and the viggens are flashy and even more quirky than my wagon which i think is easily mistaken for a bmw sometimes. I have heard the torque steer is bad, but in the back of my mind, i think that that is part of the quirkiness. Handling wise, i cant be worse than my linear wagon, plus, my dad has a new mini cooper s, so if im feeling like driving a go-kart, i can hop in that.

Where would i find a place to drive one? Do you know anyone who would let me drive one in chicago?

Also, the only other thing i am scared about, is getting there, and then there is something wrong mechanically with the car. But, i feel that saabnet is a reliable place to find a saab.
 
#4 ·
ive got 70,000 on mine. Thats where i would be stepping back. But the thing is, the values are pretty much the same. Car is in great shape and i love it to death. Im young though, and the viggens are flashy and even more quirky than my wagon which i think is easily mistaken for a bmw sometimes. I have heard the torque steer is bad, but in the back of my mind, i think that that is part of the quirkiness. Handling wise, i cant be worse than my linear wagon, plus, my dad has a new mini cooper s, so if im feeling like driving a go-kart, i can hop in that.

Where would i find a place to drive one? Do you know anyone who would let me drive one in chicago?

Also, the only other thing i am scared about, is getting there, and then there is something wrong mechanically with the car. But, i feel that saabnet is a reliable place to find a saab.
Cayson has a Vig and is in the Chicago area. He is on here, CaysonViggen I think is his name.

Do a search for any on Autotrader in the area.
 
#7 ·
sounds like a pretty well sorted car. the clamp and brace and 6 point will do alot with the tq steer, and the bumper is getting painted.

i would think the trade would be..okay..maybe if he can give you an extra 500-1k?

it sounds like it has been well maintained, but there is always stuff to fix. worst case senerio plan on spending some money on the car.

you will probably also want to start moding it, plan on spending more money. I don't know what you have for a wagon, but if you have a 5speed, i would personally think tuned 9-5 wagons are pretty slick.
 
#8 · (Edited)
ya i can definitly handle little stuff, but i just dont want to get it and then in a year i get sludged, and then cant get rid of it. Is sludge an issue on the viggens?
Also, do the viggens also carry the high mileage reputations of other saabs?

So you guys think i should ask for some money? I guess KBB has it for 7850, so he is a little high on the asking price.
My wagon is an automatic, so its fun, and i love it, but the 5spd really attracts me. I have been attracted to the viggens the first time i went to a Saab dealership. But, i would love a hot rodded wagon, i just think it will cost a lot to get to the performance of the viggen, especially when i could just trade for one for almost nothing.
 
#9 ·
if you go though with this, ask him if he has full service documentation, as well as when you get it home i would take it do a mechanic and have them drop the pan and check for sludge, and clean it out if there is any.

do the pcv#6 update, and run synthetic every 3k and you should be fine as far as sludge.

i would personally ask for some money in addition to, i think the cars are equally as nice and yours is two years and 30k younger.......
 
#10 ·
Do you have AAA?

If you do, call them and ask them to setup an inspection local to the Viggen. I forget how much it is, sub-$50, but AAA members can get a pre-sale inspection of any car that is pretty damned thorough. They will give you the name of a shop that is AAA approved to take it to.

Definitely worth it.

As for the trade itself, it sounds decent to me. Though I would ask for a little cash as well. Particularly if you will be the one doing the long drive both ways...
 
#15 · (Edited)
ya, i mean it would be a dd for me. I think i could make the paint shine, ive got an orbital buffer and the works. The chips on the spoiler are no big deal, its just the scrape on the side, i dont know if that looks to be a touch up paint repair?

Im just wondering what you guys think it might cost to fix something like that, because maybe thats what i will ask the guy for cash for. But on my wagon, i do have a small scratch on the rear where i accidentally backed up into something.
 
#16 ·
It's tough to tell from the pic. It looks like those scrapes are pretty deep, meaning wetsanding, compounding, etc, probably wouldn't do it. A good, professional detailer could probably make it not very noticeable with a few tricks, but I would think that you'd be looking at a repaint on those two doors otherwise. Seeing that a front bumper repaint is usually around $300, I would think that the doors would probably run you 300-500 total seeing that there's not that much damage and prep/sanding work would be rather easy. But it all depends on the body guy, how much he wants to screw you, etc. And then there's the small possibility the new paint won't match 100% correctly, which replaces one problem with another. All in all though, I think it would come out great though. Easy fix on a super nice car. Good luck!
 
#17 ·
i would ask him for some cash, the the bumper repainted and the car pro detailed. if you are then still unhappy with it set aside some cash each paycheck and get it resprayed if you want a flawless car..

i would say fix the bumper and get it pro detailed would be fine for a DD which is fun to mod.
 
#24 ·
What scares me the most is the open air filter and all the dust and dirt ain NM. Look how dirty the engine bay is. You know a lot of that is getting sucked into the engine...

Those door scratches can't be buffed out, no matter how killer a set of tools you have. That is a repaint to fix. I would not fall in love with this car until you see it in person or have a 3rd party take a look at it.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Haha, i would love to do a 5spd wagon, but i cant find a 5spd wagon that i could afford. (Im not out of high school yet). If i could find a nice trans to swap into my wagon i would do it, but i did some research on that, and it seems that it would be very unreasonable, lots of little things i didnt think about.

Thanks for the lb viggen find, KC is a lot closer. Plus, lb is a lot flashier, which i like.

With the open air intake, isnt the job of the intake to weed out dirt and dust. Ive never been to NM, but does that rly seem logical, im sure the stock air filter let in just as much dust.
 
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