Midnight blue Saab beauty with a small flaw
Attentive observers have been registering a run on good combustion engines with little electronics for months. This is hardly surprising, and the topic itself has now reached the specialist press. Europe's largest car newspaper recently covered the topic in an editorial.
Sustainability through the back door? For fear of digitization and electrification? Or just not in the mood for fully monitored mobility? You can choose the reasons and, depending on your point of view, tinker with a truth. Because there will probably not be a general answer to the phenomenon.
Regardless of whether the trend is set by those who refuse to progress, or whether it is a different motivation. A Saab 9-5 should definitely be on the list of recommended vehicles. Due to the unplanned long construction time, the big Saab remained a car for more than 10 years that is largely free of electronic complications. A plus point if you want to drive analog for some time.
Midnight blue Saab beauty
Finding someone who is good, however, is not that easy. My search lasted and was not without complications. A problem that readers don't have. You could do without looking, because an exciting copy is currently on offer in the Milan region. Yes, it's Italy again, we just had an exciting one last week 9000 from the country beyond the Alps.
However, the dealer reports that he is prepared for export tasks. Bringing the Saab safely across the Alps is not a problem. The possible object of desire is a Saab 9-5 Aero in midnight blue. The year of construction 2000 means that the red pen has not yet been allowed to strike, and the Swedish limousine has all the lovely amenities that people in Trollhättan were once so proud of.
Only 90.000 kilometers are on the clock, it is assured that the mileage is original and traceable. The condition is beautiful, the equipment is complete except for two details. The sunroof is missing, which is not a real flaw. The first owner also did without the seat heating, a fact that could be annoying in the north. But it could be retrofitted with some effort. The seats are electrically adjustable and ventilated. Which is nice too.
Sporty, luxurious limousine
The interior is harmonious, black leather and the lack of wood on the dashboard result in a sporty ambience. The Saab 9-5 Aero is shifted manually, which further consolidates the impression of a sporty, luxurious sedan. The only minor flaw that remains is the lack of headlight cleaning. The wipers have been dismantled, which is not uncommon. The holes were closed and painted, which is something you rarely see again.
As always at the end, the question of the price also arises this time with the Saab beauty. Farina Motors calls for €7.500. Clearly a fair asking price if the condition of the pictures is true. Or, translated to German conditions, little money for an upcoming classic that is already a rarity in this equipment today.
With pictures by Farina Motors
It looks like this Saab has found a new home very quickly. At Farina he is no longer available.
@ Saabansbraten parking beeper was available from the factory on the 9-5I of the first series. Only after the first facelift did the beepers appear, right? If you see beepers on the first series, they are always retrofit solutions, right?
Correct - the headlight cleaning system was not always standard on the 9-5. So far this has mostly been thought like that seat heating and leather were standard on the Aero ... they weren't either. A (at least according to German price lists) 9-5 Aero had neither leather nor seat heating nor headlight cleaning system nor the largest audio system nor parking beeper nor a few other things standard - all of which was subject to an extra charge.
Correction: That was probably only the model year 2000, in which the headlight cleaning system on the Saab 9-5 was also optional in Germany.
The headlight wipers were not dismantled; they were simply not installed at the factory on the Saab 1999-9 in the 5 model year and the recess in the bumper was closed at the factory with the cover painted in the vehicle color. Even in Germany, Saab's very own invention from 1970 was only optional equipment, which I found absurd at the time.
Thanks for the hint! This was new to me after so many years, but it explains the quality of the coverage.
I didn't even know that it was possible to order seat ventilation without seat heating. Thought if you had ventilated seats, the heated seats were always with you. Or is it an Italian version of equipment?
For many countries, more than you might think, heated seats were just an option. Saab and heated seats are part of the saga, they were invented in Trollhättan. But it wasn't a series in many markets.