Pastry

I’ve used CEVA a couple of times without drama, however @63x1092 has a different opinion!

As a Saab guy I’ve watched the 900 turbo with interest. Never the drivers car the Clio II is known as, but an iconic car all the same. Prices have just started to go up in the last 3 years - recently a car in top condition fetched ~27k.. and it was an auto! Of course they’re now 30+ years old. It took a very long time for their value to appreciate, but try finding one today. A lot of cars went to scrap when prices were low. The 172 in particular is likely to follow that kind of fate soon, so hold on to the good ones and try to save them when possible, else they’ll vanish.

I bought that back issue of Modern Classic with the Clio comparison. It didn’t include Clio IV’s, so that’s not a help BUT it did seem that his picks were the 172 Cup and the Sport 200. Of the lot, the 197 fared least well. If a Clio II is for example a bit too old for you perhaps the 200 is worth a look. I doubt you can go too wrong no matter what you choose.

What a great first car! Congrats.

Well the 9-5 is sold now (pending actual payment and pick up). I didn't get quite as much as I'd have liked but I wasn't bent over either. In the process I seem to have acquired this funny old Saab. It's a 1986 9000 Turbo, 5 speed manual, and it's a real hoot to drive. The relatively wide track FWD nature and the hilarious delivery of heaps of boost all of a sudden at 3250rpm = lots of smiles. It has quite a loud exhaust (possible resonator delete), very solid and sturdy sounding doors, two roller blinds in the hatch glass, and no rego - though it was registered until relatively recently. Strange result, might move the 9000 on in search of a 172 but for now I'll get the 9000 on the road and see what happens next.

@Bremund is probably a guy I know from the Saab community then – Brendan I assume that's you? Agree it's a tragedy that it was so mismanaged, Saab had precisely the right brand positioning and recognition for the transition to electric cars. Saab's were bought by the kind of people who advocate intelligent, responsible engineering anyway, the fact GM had no idea other than stripping the tech knowledge and frittering it away is very hard to understand. Granted, Saab hadn't been a huge seller at any point, but GM did them no favours by undermining the cars in the media and public consciousness by forcing their outdated chassis / platforms on Saab. We've all heard the "it's just an expensive Vectra" jibes – which is rather far from the truth! Ah well. One less interesting manufacturer.. us fans have had 10 years to get used to it.

Hey @cloudy, forgot that Cars & Coffee is this weekend, 23rd Feb.. It's my daughter's 3rd birthday that day, so don't think I can make it! Sorry about that. Next time, assuming I still have the car.. the guy from QLD is planning to come for a look this week so who knows. Keeping my eyes on the 172/182 market.. not very many come up for sale, do they?

I think I'd try listing at just under $10k, which includes all the spares + parts I've got too (lots). It has 144,000 on it so reasonably non-scary.. and of course only 5k km on the rebuilt motor. I have a decent sized shed I could park it in, but that might all depend on how much crap from the house my Mrs wants to put in there... we're thinking of renting our place out and spending a year.. somewhere. France, probably, but the Brexit shite has made a mess of that being easy so it's all quite the unknown.. Ah! Ok yeah. I've spent my share of time in there buying oils and degreasers! Don't know any of the guys other than in passing, usually chat to the lad with the worked E36.

Thanks @walkie86 – agree it is actually the perfect spec for one of these. I've had moments where I've been a wannabe architect so can somewhat empathise. I have no idea if we could reach a satisfactory deal – I really would have to put some money in the bank if I end up selling – but regardless it'd be good to meet one day. You might like to come along with @cloudy to the Bowral Cars and Coffee, too Yep I live in Mittagong - can't say I've noticed you but I am usually overwhelmed by small children at parks, or walking in the bush, or at the swimming pool etc etc. What work brings you down? Great - please do! I'm sure I'll be there, I've missed a few lately but always enjoy it. I tend to be there early-ish (8am or thereabouts) so I can get back to Dad duties.

Thanks all for the warm welcome and helpful input. Also nice to see the Saab appreciated - not always the case!

Thanks @apple3337 but i should point you to my prior post about being more inclined towards the bargain basement end – as in <4k. I know that puts me in tightarse territory, but it's where I belong 🤣

Ah I have lusted after a few 900 Turbo's and have come very close to buying two. Both silver Aero's, funnily enough, and really, really good deals. Alas a good one now exceeds my budget. Much like the many Lancia I would like to own.. just need to go back 5 or 6 years to when they were all cheap!! And on that note – I'd be looking for a cheap as chips Clio to be honest, just something to get about that is a bit of fun and – if I'm patient enough – also half decent! I don't go far enough to worry about it being perfect, and one of the ideas driving this thinking is to get some cash back out of the 9-5 to go towards our future plans. I know from experience really good deals for cars with lots of maintenance in them can and do crop up.. i've sold at least one car like that myself! I'd expect a 172 is more likely to fall into that category, though I like the twin exit exhaust and the idea of the wider track of the 182. I also enjoy bringing otherwise good cars back from the dead. My 9-5 was potentially on the way to the crusher, and our family XC90 (2.5T) needed an engine swap and a a bit more besides. I love saving good cars. Of course it might be more economical, sensible etc to simply keep the Saab! But who doesn't like a new toy.

Yep @cloudy it's a very pleasant thing to waft around in; it's comfortable, reasonably compliant, it makes decent noises, even the stock stereo sounds pretty good. It's got a few bruises and the roof clear is sadly starting to go.. but yes, it's a very good machine which I am lucky to have. You are welcome to a ride any time you are down this way. I don't get up to Sydney much (no commute for me, thank god), so maybe best bet is to bring yourself down to one of the Bowral Cars & Coffee meets, last Sunday of each month. I usually get a pass for that – we have 3 small children.. BTW which gen 9-3? The first gen, or the slightly less interesting but otherwise much superior 03+?

Hi all. This seems like an excellent forum from what I've read so far, frequented by grown ups who know what they're doing. You never can be sure in the land of car enthusiasts I live in the Southern Highlands not far from Sydney. I'm here because I'm considering a 172 or 182 as a fun run-around to replace my current Saab 9-5 Aero. I know – here in Aus us Saab fans are probably an even rarer breed than Renault fans, and harder to understand! I've had a few Saab's , from a 900, a modified 9-3 coupe, a base spec $800 9-5 wagon when we had our first child, a 9-3 V6 wagon, to the car I own and love today – a Saab 9-5 Aero wagon with 5-speed manual. An unusual car over here and one which I've put a lot of time, love and of course several $ into. It has a completely rebuilt motor with forged pistons, all new chains and balance shafts etc, full suspension refresh (other than a few bushes in the rear end) with Bilstein B8's & matched progressive springs from Maptun, subframe bushes all done, front wheel bearings done, all the filters, oil pressure switch, thermostat, crank sensor and the list goes on and on. Basically it's had a pretty full go over, so it's a solid, reliable, reasonably quick (~230-250hp, safely sub 7s 0-100) old bus. It has a stock exhaust system, but if I replace the turbo downpipe with a 3" piece and a fuel pressure regulator I could get this thing to +300hp/+440nm, which might be fun in pure grunt terms. It also has great A/C, heated/ventilated seats, sunroof, carries 5 people and a dog, and there are practically none of these around, particularly with a manual box. It's not perfect, but it's a nice bit of kit. So why sell? I'm not sure except to say we are planning to spend some time in Europe in about 2 years so I will probably have to sell at that point. A Saab guy in QLD has shown some interest, so a reasonable offer now might be wise to accept. Believe it or not these cars are starting to increase in value, so holding on to it isn't necessarily a bad idea. But now I'm quite smitten with the idea of a cheap-ish chassis-focused hot hatch, and something equally a bit left field like the Clio makes sense. I'm not really asking "should I, or shouldn't I" – just introducing myself. So... Should I, or shouldn't I? A few build photos If there are any 172/182 owners in the region I'd be interested in meeting up!