The car has been a blast. Pretty good road manners, but definitely not made for city driving/living. Not only is there no where to use the speed, the car is too low for most car washes, the clutch and transmission can't be trusted to a parking attendant and I have to be very selective about where I cold-start the car and let it warm-up in a neighborhood as quiet as mine.
About the idle: At first start-up is extremely loud and very rough. After 2 minutes, it smooths-out, quiets down and will hold RPMs without a foot on the gas. After that, it still idles around 1,400RPM full time. Been poking around the engine looking for vacuum leaks, but so far I've found nothing. It might be a part of the software tune Frank Stromqvist put on it. I'll have to investigate further.
There are a few other issues, as this car was owned and driven (albeit briefly) by a car lover who had never owned a SAAB before.
1. Leaking sunroof: Anyone who say the BaT listing must've noted the tape along the sunroof seal on the roof. Its not leaking anymore - the tape made sure of that. My initial inspection tells me that the roof drains clogged and need to be cleared out. I'll be doing that soon as this cold weather passes next week. If the seals are dried out when the tape comes off, i may just swap out the sunroof assembly for a lower mileage unit at my friend's shop, Kingwood Foreign Auto in Frenchtown, NJ. Might install a headliner while I'm at it.
2. The feet where the front seat tracks meet the floor need to be sanded down and repainted. This was from the sunroof leak that dripped water from the drain holes directly onto these areas. It occurred when the car sat outside at a repair shop for an extended period because of a perceived power drain.
3. The power drain mentioned in the ad seems to have been cured by a new battery.
4. The buttons illuminate with the rest of the dash lights, but the radio itself won't turn on.
5. Power mirrors do not work.
6. The rear wiper does not work.
7. The windshield wiper arms need to be repainted
8. Leaks power steering fluid from one of the hoses.
9. There is a 2x8" piece missing from the left of the front bumper and thee is a 3/4" gap between the headlights and bumper all around. The entire bumper needs to be removed, the foam behind it adjusted and reinstalled properly. APPARENTLY, someone familiar with the events surrounding the previous sale of the car, said the buyer ripped the bumper off as they were backing out of Matt D's driveway. Ripped the bumper off in the first 5 minutes of ownership. I mean, damn. For someone unfamiliar with SAABs, that's a pretty steep learning curve: a Viggen front bumper with 2" less ground clearance than normal. In any case, I have the piece and will be repairing this spring.
10. It sits a little low in the back for my taste. I feel like this is a complaint other people using H&R springs have had. I'd like to raise it 1/2 - 3/4". Anyone had success with spring spacers, either purchased or fabricated? Anyone modify a bump stop and add one to each side? How would that work?
Other than those 10 issues, not much to complain about; the wheels and paint are flawless.
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