Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

General => Lounge => Topic started by: jcassity on February 15, 2011, 09:00:02 PM

Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 15, 2011, 09:00:02 PM
anyone have any problems or issues with this car,
1994 Saab 2.0 turbo with 160k miles.

wife likes it, has an ABS light and an exclaimation mark in a triangle warning lamp on.

No leaks,, wife drove it and after its warm, there is still significant whiteish smoke out the tail end.  Exhaust is broke somewhere cause I can block off the tail end and its leaking up front.

Overall, I dont see any bad warning signs.  There are  a couple electrical grimlins that I can work around,, rotors seem to be worn out, shifts great, slave cyl feels good, not sure if the turbo is working good , wife drove it. 

I was told this is one of the years that had the better turbo.

not sure though,, its a pretty peppy looking car, kinda like it.  Leather light tan interior with silver exterior.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Scott D on February 15, 2011, 09:54:52 PM
Don't pull the trigger, you can do better dawg!
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 15, 2011, 09:58:59 PM
yea,, wife wants an Audi or something along those snooty lines.  She looks better in those cars than the fox's. 
Presure is on though, I cant put her off much longer.
She talked me into the 1990 351 bronco and we got a 5speed put it in (f150 donor) but its probably had 3k miles put on it since we got it over hell id say 7 or 8 years ago.
it never goes anywhere.  I should put "farm use" on the side then I wouldnt have to keep it registered.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Thunder Chicken on February 16, 2011, 05:21:52 PM
Speaking as a former Saab tach: Stay away. Stay very far away. The 2.0 turbo is a notorious head gasket eater (probably where that steam is coming from, though usually they spew oil). The electronics in those cars are atrocious, even worse than anything Lucas could have come up with, and parts, all parts, are very expensive and very hard to find because nobody, not even the Saab dealerships, stocks them. A 1994 would not be OBD-II compliant, either, so you'd need a Saab scan tool to talk to it.

I'm no big fan of Audi either, but at least it's part of a company that still exists and you can get parts for them (though they're expensive). Just don't, whatever you do, don't buy an A6 with the 2.7 twin turbo. They eat turbos, and the entire drivetrain and exhaust system has to come out of the car in one piece to replace 'em (which involves removing most of the front end sheetmetal as well). Flat rate time for the job is something like 27 hours. I had the misfortune of doing one. Truthfully, an A4, which is based on the Passat, is probably one of your better Audis.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 16, 2011, 08:29:13 PM
your opinion has now become the rule,,,thank you for helping me save myself.

I just announced

"welp, were not getting a $aab, and we're not getting an Audi either'

wife says "we're not?"

me= "yep"

her= ok

She's still on the mad search for her not so snobby but love of her life Chevy Citation with the 2.5L.
I love those motors, so simple and easy to work on, plus putting flat top pistons in there makes them feel like they can pull a house...lol.
Something about one lil fuel injector and 34mpg turns her on in a green way.

Its kinda like her version of the Dr Who Tartus,, lol.

I told her if she does find one, i would'nt mind working on an X-11 if thats what the body said on a few.
I dont want the v6 model though,, garbage.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 16, 2011, 10:03:09 PM
okay,,,,,
help please

what car (NON RIce) would anyone suggest with a 4k budget that meets the following criteria

must be a car
must get 30+ mpg
must look really good (other wise why not get a citation)
must have room
must be fwd
must have reasonable parts support
prefer stick shift.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Haystack on February 16, 2011, 10:11:37 PM
Mid 90's aspire. Not all that good looking though. I have batted around the idea of a 90's escort wagon too.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Haystack on February 16, 2011, 10:12:30 PM
Or late 80's to early 90's cavalier.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 16, 2011, 11:04:01 PM
thanks haystack@!
wife now has a disturbing look on her face.  "champaign taste on a box wine budget",,lol
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Chuck W on February 16, 2011, 11:33:42 PM
Volvo 850 or early S70?  I'm a RWD Volvo person myself, but the 850's seem to have a decent rep.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Thunderbird88 on February 23, 2011, 02:45:26 PM
Good choice not to pick a Saab.
It's  cars and everyone knows it.
Rusts everywhere.
Transmissions that breaks all the time.
Instead of having ordinary ignition systems they have their "good" way to make their own which breaks awful lots of times and extremely expensive even in Sweden.
Then cannot make engines where oil does not clog up.
They cannot make a well functional handbrake system.
They cannot even turn an engine the right side for crying out loud!
Interior today looks the same as the interior in my winter beater (1994 Saab 9000 2.0), and it's even worse quality than in american cars and yes sir, that is really bad.


The list goes on about how bad Saab is.
Pick something smart, Audi was a pretty good choice imo.
Volvo's are good cars, they really are. But imo, they're tractors.
But if you don't care, Volvo are really good. Although they do not have good gas milage. Not the older ones such as the 7 series (740 etc), 9 series (940 etc) and 8 series (850 etc). And well, the interior imo isn't the best. For example door handles in the 850 where you have a lever you pull half the door lengh like wtf? It's not a locomotive!
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 23, 2011, 11:59:35 PM
How about Audi TT,  although i have no clue if they are fwd, awd or rwd.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Thunder Chicken on February 24, 2011, 04:36:39 PM
Baxo can answer your questions on those, as he's got one...
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Beau on February 24, 2011, 04:52:35 PM
Taurus....although they do fall a bit short of 30mpg...
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Ether947 on February 24, 2011, 06:14:16 PM
TT Quattros are AWD. The others are FWD. The engine is mounted transversely in either setup. I had a A4 Quattro (non-turbo). Audi's are nice cars, can be expensive to fix, especially compared to a Fox. The non-turbo'd V6s seem to have better reliability. If it is on the original timing belt I would change it ASAP. They have been known to break well short of their recommended lifespan. The replacements seem to be of better quality. Other than that, they have the typical used luxury car issues. Mechanically my car was sound, it's all that extra stuff that you have to worry about.

I hated my local Audi dealer though. Very snobbish. But the one in Louisville (had an emergency - my fault) was awesome.

How much room does she need? I was going to suggest a Mini Cooper. Interior room is comparable to the TT.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: jcassity on February 24, 2011, 08:22:48 PM
grocery room, no real reason to have "kid" room anymore as they are fledging soon or during the time she has a this new ride.
Title: opinions on $aab 2.0 turbo 1994
Post by: Haystack on February 24, 2011, 08:51:02 PM
I really like my freinds 89 i-4 cavalier. It looked okay, and was basically the equivilent of a fwd fox. It got really good gas mileage. Never broke down either. The z24 was a good car as well, but the 2.8 v-6 is not my favorite.