1985 Saab 900 S Notchback with 335k Miles Walkaround

I show off my Classic 1985 Saab 900 S Notchback. This is a rare two door sedan, only available for two years in the United States.

[matthewrobinson]

Having owned a '67 SAAB 96 two stroke, I'm prejudiced toward them, but the 99 and 900 series were really great cars too. In 1985 I worked at City Chevrolet in San Diego, and took a 99 or 900 (I don't remember which) in trade. The used car manager and I went to test the car, and I had a hard time not busting a gut as he searched in vain for the ignition switch. When he finally asked me, I replied, "Why, between the front seats of course", with a straight face. By the way, if you think the shifter is quirky on a 900, try it on a model 96 or earlier. After that, I sold Volvos at Westcott Volvo in National City, and then at San Diego Volvo. My '83 Volvo 240 DL lasted, as I recall, 375, 000 miles. My wife's '88 Volvo 240 DL was still running when we traded it in with 225, 000 miles. Those Swedish cars were sure rugged!

[Analog_smog]

This is awesome! Never knew that a 2 door notch was imported to the US

[mds]

Makes me miss my old 900 S. If I had the money and the opportunity I would love to buy one of these. I would probably get a Swedish Saab that dates back to 1989, and yes definitely a manual transmission. Probably turbo also, those ones I feel you get a lot more out of.

[Trump]

Can someone please explain what made these things so popular? I remember working on tons of these cars back in the 80s and 90s. Having repaired and driven many of them I just never understood what people saw in these things. I remember a few things about these cars. The first is if you have normal size feet you can’t drive it without taking off your shoes because the clutch pedal is too close to the brake pedal and it’s impossible to step on the clutch without catching the brake pedal and smashing your head off the steering wheel. They weren’t exactly trouble free they we’re always in my shop with issues. They were slow, underpowered, handled like crap. The transmission and engine were mounted on top of each other. The transmission was the engines oil pan. What a nightmare it was to do any work on the transmission, if I remember correctly they shared the same oil so if a bearing in the transmission came apart it would put metal into the engine. The key would always break off in the ignition because it was not only between the seats but it also had a huge head on a small key! If I remember correctly you had to put t r transmission in reverse to get the key out 🤦🏻‍♂️. The only good thing I can say about them was the clutch was certainly quick and easy to replace.

[SaabUB]

Thank you for the video. Do you know how many four door knotchbacks were imported into the US and which years? I have a 1993 knotchback 900S with LPT, purchased new in Japan.

[davidstone]

Awesome review man. I always wanted to check it out in more detail.

[VoidRDM]

Wish our old 900 was in that condition

[matthewrobinson]

Very nice car, but real SAAB's have 2 stroke engines!