Saab was once big into the nines, with most of their models being named with some derivation of that number. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Saab is one of the biggest - a 900 - and it’s interestingly RHD. There are no nines in its price, but let’s see if it still makes you say Nein.
You could call yesterday’s 1975 Cosworth Vega a Cossie, or just plain Cos’ and much like that other Cos’ - Bill Cosby - it had both its supporters and its pitchfork and torch wielding detractors. In the end, it also had a 58% Nice Price win. That was despite having a locked-up engine, which no doubt makes it a Cos célèbre.
Our candidate for today comes originally from Sweden, but interestingly arrived here by way of Great Britain. The story is that the car - a Saab 900 5-door SE - was bought by its present owner 5 years ago for a trek across Jolly Old, and it proved to be such an enjoyable traveling companion that he brought it back to the States. I’ve heard about guys doing that with women, but a Saab?
The ad claims that the car was brought in to the country through legal channels - as opposed to the English Channel - and at great expense to meet U.S. requirements. Now it says it’s ready for a new owner in any state. I wonder about that as while the ad notes that the car lives in Bean Town, it’s presently carrying Washington plates, a state 3,000 miles away. Washington as it turns out is both a border state as well as a place where they will plate up damn-near anything.
We can take the seller at his word, but we’d still like to see the paperwork. Speaking of work, the ad goes into great detail on the work that has gone into this Iridium Blue Saab - five grand worth of it - to keep it feeling sassy. That includes a lot of the usual consumables, but also some nice cosmetic bits like a new headliner, a new windshield, and the whole wiper mechanism.
Overall, the seller says the car is in excellent condition. That condition includes a 2-litre NA engine, 5-speed manual gearbox, and a five-door body that offers a hatch so big you could potentially drive a Sonnet in there if you were of a mind. Problems include a sizable dent in the driver’s door, some surface rust at that piece’s leading edge, and some peppering on the hood - oh, excuse me, the bonnet.
We have to remember that this 900 was once under royal sovereignty, and as such it is right-hand drive. That’s right as rain if you work for the post office, are an inveterate anglophile, or just want to weird people out at the drive-thru, but it’s something you’d definitely have to get used to otherwise.
The ad claims the reason for the car’s sale is owed to the present owner’s plan to drive from Boston to Buenos Aires in a Honda CRV, and doesn’t want to have the Saab around to pine after him when he’s gone. Geez, England, Boston, Argentina? Can’t this guy just stay put?
Some of that wanderlust has been had in the Saab, and it comes with 142,000 miles on the right-side of the car clock. It’s pretty unlikely that you will find another RHD Saab 900 SE floating around the States, so if you are looking for just such a ride, this is probably the car for you. To make it actually your car, you’ll need to come up with $7,200.
Non Turbo 900s don’t seem to get the same traction as their sportier brethren, but then this car has other aspects to it that perhaps make it more engaging, and hence perhaps that price is more than amenable.
What’s your take on this English crumpet of a Swedish meatball and its $7,200 price? Is that something that you wouldn’t think twice about paying? Or, is this a right-hander 900 with a price that’s a left-handed compliment?
You decide!
Cambridge (our fair city) MA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Highball for the hookup!
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