08x05 - SAAB 93 Turbo

[bunniefuu]

This is Wheeler
Dealers. We champion the

classic cars of tomorrow,
but do them up today.

I track down the motors to save.

And I get busy with the spanners.

And then we sell them on,
always aiming to score a profit.

If we can.

This time I track down the stylish
Swede that offers a big bang for your buck.

The Saab 9-3, one of the used
car market's best kept secrets.

Saab made planes before they
made cars, so the Saab badge

stands for engineering,
ergonomics and individuality.

And this first generation


has aged gracefully and has
earned its place in the sun.

And with Saab's T-Series engines delivering
smooth and punchy turbo power from 150 to


matched to modern safety and reliability.

And the best part is that a fairly
fresh 9-3 turbo that costs 30 grand

new can be had for less than 5
grand. That's one sixth of the new price.

Now if you want a Saab 9-3 turbo,
all you have to do is spend a little bit of

time on the Internet because there's
hundreds if not thousands of them out there.

Now all the search engines
will have something to offer.

The golden rule here is just
don't buy the first car that you see.

Make sure you shop
around and go for a car

with high spec for as
little money as possible.

Obvious really.

I'm avoiding auctions and
going for fixed price ads.

There are nice 9-3s on offer from
a thousand pounds to 15 grand.

I'm after a post 2000 convertible turbo.

Book price is three to four
grand depending on spec.

But I want to pay even less.

Now the first car I found is a


They're wanting around the 2200
pounds Mark which seems pretty cheap.

It looks nice. Nice colour.
The pictures are good.

It's got new hood motors as well.

Now it's in Birmingham
which is not too far for me

so I think it deserves a
bit more investigation.

Here's another one that's
grabbed my attention.

Now this car is some way away but it's
an 02 convertible turbo and it's all tidy.

Low mileage. It says it's got a couple of
tiny car parking dents and I hate those.

At 2600 pounds it's cheap.
I'd better get myself down there.

I've arranged viewings for both cars.
It's time to hit the road.

Now this silver Saab that I'm on my
way to see seems fantastically cheap.

But as I've said before there's
so many of these cars out there

I shouldn't be forced into
buying the first car that I see.

If I don't like it I simply walk
away and move on to the next one.

You must be Sharon?

I am yes.

Sharon lovely to meet you.

And you Mike.

Oh it's cold isn't it?

It seems very cold yes.

Now Sharon tell us a little bit about
your Saab. How long have you owned it?

Almost two years now.

Two years so quite a while.

And has it been a fateful friend to you?

It has been very reliable.

I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm
going to let you get inside and warm

up and have a good look round this
and I'll let you know if I'm interested.

Lovely thank you.

Thank you all the same. Cheers.

Now this car has done some
miles and I can see up close

the wheels need a refurb and
the door has been resprayed.

As a dealer you've got
to trust your instincts and

I rate this car a C plus
when I really want an A.

At the moment it's just not
grabbing me like I want it to.

But it's alright you never
know I could be back to buy

this one but there's plenty
more to go and see first.

Onwards and upwards.

Now the next motor I'm going to go
and see is the O2 Saab convertible.

It's in the right colour which is blue it's
got a tan interior and a blue mohair roof.

And at £2600 it's making all the
right noises I can't wait to see it.

And it's this little Saab 9-3 convertible.

In there somewhere are
some pound notes and

this Wheeler dealer knows
how to draw them out.

But this car is so cheap I need
to make sure that it all stacks up.

Let's go meet the owner.

Hello there.

Hello.

I'm Mike.

I'm Jill.

Jill lovely to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

So I've come down to see your Saab.

Why are you selling it?

Got another car.

Got another one.

And how long have you had this one?

About 18 months.



Any problems with it?

Not really.

He's a lovely little runner.

Okay well listen it's a nasty day and I
think you best stay inside in a nice warm.

I'll give you a knock if I find anything
wrong or want to have a chat with you.

But thank you for all the same.

You're welcome.

Bye.

Now the reason I
asked Jill to stay inside is

because I don't want
too many distractions.

It's all about me and the metal.

A proper bit of Wheeler dealer in.

Now let's have a look at this bodywork.

It looks okay.

There's a couple of little ripple car
park dings under this door handle.

It's a real bugbear of mine but it's
not too bad because they will pull out.

It's all okay down here.

Little chip in the headlamp.

That'll need replacing but I
think you can just get the glass.

And the bumper's not scratched or marked.

It's all good isn't it?

But look at these wheels.

You'd think wouldn't you if you were
going to sell your car you'd clean them up.

But they're okay.

They just need tidying up.

They're not offensive.

They'll do.

Right, let's have a look inside.

Oh yes, look at that.

Wow.

Oh, it's lovely isn't it?

Fantastic.

Very, very Saab.

Very Swedish.

It's lovely.

It's got absolutely everything.

That gear knob's a little bit frayed.

That's a shame.

We'll have to change that.

Let's see what it's like on the engine.

Oh, sounds sweet as a nut.

Sounds absolutely lovely.

And the other thing about this I've
just noticed is when I put the key in the

ignition, Saabs have a really weird
way of taking the key out of the ignition.

You have to have it in reverse gear.

And a lot of people go for
the key and rip it out before

putting it in reverse and
it's made the lock loose.

So that'll have to be addressed.

But just look at what you get in here.

Look, it's got a carbon fibre
effect dashboard, CD player, air

conditioning, multifunction
steering wheel, cruise control.

It's wicked.

But this car is all about this thing up
here, the roof and whether it works or not.

So let's put it to the test.

All this car for this amount
of money just seems nuts.

That is amazing.

It's now gone from a Saab


And look at that.

It's fantastic.

Right, let's have a look under the bonnet.

And there it is.

Your Saab 2.0-litre turbo engine.

Looks okay, doesn't it?

The legs are nice and straight.

That's the two pieces of the
chassis that the engine sits on.

If there's any sign of accident damage at
the front, usually they're the first to go.

But this one looks good.

Now, there's not much
to look at under here.

It sounds alright.

The weak point is this
bulkhead at the back.

There are a few problems
with cracks appearing.

However, I can't see that.

It looks alright, doesn't it?

It sounds alright.

I need to get it out for a test drive.

Now, if you want to know
why people buy Saab

convertibles, there's a
few very good reasons.

First up, they look good whether
you're inside them or outside of them.

And secondly, Saab were one of
the pioneers of turbo technology.

Oh!

Boy, it's fast.

However, all is not well
in the Garden of Eden

or wherever I am on
the outskirts of Bristol.

If you put your foot
hard down, there's

something just holding
me back at the top end.

It's almost like a rev limiter, and it
feels more like something in the turbo.

It's just chipping the
power back at the top.

So, I have to decide whether I
want this Saab 9 free convertible.

Well, the good things are
it's on a good plate, 2002.

And it's a nice car.

Drives lovely on the road, looks the part.

I like it.

It's got loads of pluses.

There is that one minus doubts, though, and
that's there is a problem with the engine.

And I don't know how big
that problem could become until

we get it back at the workshop
and get it up on the ramp.

But then I have got the tall man.

And the one thing that's really making
me want to buy this car is the price.

£2,600.

It really is worth a gamble.

But you know what I'm like.

I'm a little bit cheeky.

So, I'm going to try and
cover that risk element

by going for a couple
more hundred quid off.

£2,400.

That's going to be like daylight robbery.

All right, Jill.

All right.

I'm back in one piece and the car is too.

I really enjoyed it.

I like the test drive.

But there is one little
niggly problem that really

is a risk when you're
buying a car like this.

And it's just lacking a little bit of
power right at the very top end.

I don't know if you've noticed it or anybody
else who drives the car has noticed it.

No, I haven't gone that fast.

Well, it's there.

And I just need to get a little
bit of money off because of that.

Now, you've advertised
the car for how much?

£2,600.

£2,600.

Well, to cover that risk, I just
want a couple of hundred quid off.

£2,400.

I bought cash round with me.

Go on, then you've got a deal.

I want to get rid.

Top work.

I've got myself a Saab


Well done, you.

The creed of the
Wheeler dealer is to bag a

decent motor for less
money than it should be.

And that's exactly what I've done.

But at the back of my
mind, I know the car

has an engine fault
that's got to be resolved

if I'm ever going to carve
a profit out of this car.

This Saab 9.3 is all about value.

I gave only £2,400 for this
low mileage chop top turbo.

That's a car that cost


When you put your foot down like
this, a smile follows quickly after.

Oh!

But then this car does
have a lack of top end

power, which is not great
news on a driver's car.

I'm going to need
Ed to look at it right

away when I get the


When you're buying a
car for this money, there's

always that risk that
something could bite you.

And with this motor, it's the engine.

It's that lack of performance
at the top end power.

And the problems keep coming
because I've just detected another one.

Alongside the lack of top end power,
sometimes the engine feels a bit lumpy.

It comes and goes.
I reckon the fault could be electrical.

It could be simple, but it
could be something major,

and that way it's going
to eat into our profits

and we're going to get
no money out of this motor.

But I've got a funny feeling
that Ed will be able to fix it.

He'll fiddle with the
spanners and we'll be able to

turn this car around for
next to no money at all.

Then we're going to be in the clover
and everything's going to be fine.

Oh, that's the hope.

Right, let's get it back to the workshop
and see what the tall man thinks of it.

All right, so you come up
with an ultra-modern Saab.

I mean, this is like,
it's a yuppie car, isn't it?

It's a nice car, but it
clearly is just a yuppie, man.

Admittedly, it's not the kind
of thing we normally buy,

but listen, this one's all
about how you can buy a car,

turn it around and do the profit,
and we will get a profit out of this car.

Come and have a look at it.
Look at it. Look at it.

I mean, it does look very tidy.
I'll give you that.

It's a Saab 93. Look at it.
It's on a 2002 plate. Lovely lines.

How much did you pay for it?

I gave, you ready for this?

Okay.

I gave 2,400 quid for it.

That's pretty good. That's a lot
of car for your money, actually.

It is a tonne of motor.

That's pretty awesome.
And what's wrong with it?

I mean, you can see there's a couple of
little teeny-weeny dings in the body there.

Yeah, there's a couple
of little car park dings,

but you've got to expect
that of a car of this age.

But don't worry, we can pull those out.

Have a look inside. Look at it. Look.

Oh, it's a nice old
interior. Saab are very

good at doing interiors,
aren't they, actually?

You've got your
multi-function steering wheel,

heated seats as well,
and a bit of cruise control.

It's all fully loaded up, isn't it?

It's got absolutely
everything you want out of a

luxury convertible in
this car, and it all works.

Nothing wrong with it at all.

The ignition barrel is a little bit loose.

Saab are the only people who put
the ignition key in the centre console.

So can we replace that?

I can certainly replace that,
but also I need to replace

this gear knob, because
it looks a bit tatty as well.

It is a little bit frayed. That'll take
you two or three minutes to do.

Yeah, maybe three minutes, yeah.

Yeah.

What about the roof, because
that's a classic on these.

It's got a blue mohair roof, and it works.

It works as well.

Yeah, nothing wrong with it.

Start it up.

What does it run like?

Beautiful.

It's got like a kind of a little
bit of a lump at the bottom.

It's done it again, I don't believe it.

Listen, when I bought the car,
it was as sweet as a nut, and

then on the test drive back
here it's been as sweet as a nut,

but every now and then it just
trips in running a bit lumpy, but

you wait five minutes, and it's
back as sweet as a nut again.

So you've got a nice little intermittent
thought for me. Thank you very much.

The worst kind of thing to have to fix.

Yeah, but you can fix that.
It's easy for a man, aren't you?

It is a pain though.

Yeah, you'll do it. It's easy.

So now, this is
obviously quite a sport. It's

got a turbo, so does
it really pull well?

It does pull very well.

You know these cars are
pretty quick, and right on top

of the rev range, there's
just something wrong with it.

It's like someone's got some
reins out, and they're going, whoa,

don't be, whoa, and just pulling
the car back ever so slightly.

So I've got this kind of
indescribable problem,

and also an
intermittent thought to fix.

Yeah, but it's nothing.
You can fix it easy.

You do know that this car is
based on a Vauxhall, don't you?

It is, yeah.

And it's got this real problem
with kind of the bulkhead splitting.

I knew that. Yeah, and that's
a real worry for anyone going

to buy one of these cars,
because you can't really check it.

It's hidden behind sheets
of plastic, wires and cables.

Okay, well I think there is
actually a kit we can get that

will prevent the cracking from
happening in the first place.

You're kidding. So you
can put something on

that'll stop the bulkhead
cracking in the future?

Absolutely.

We have to put it on, and I'll
tell you what, we're in a good

profit out of this motor, and it's
all about keeping the cost low.

If we can bargain like mad and buy
the bits really cheap or second hand, me

and you at the end of this, we're going
to end up with a Wheeler dealer profit.

Sounds like a plan, sir.

Times change in motoring, but
ever since the 70s, the words Saab

Turbo have stood for an individual,
distinctive and powerful car.

There is loads of goodwill and
heaps of history tied up in that

Swedish badge, but as always
with a car from Mike, it needs work.

First, I need to look
at the engine problems.

Mike reported intermittent rough
running and a lack of top end grunt.

Now the issue that we have is
that this car has an intermittent

fault, and of course that's the
worst kind of problem to try and find,

because while you're looking,
it might not necessarily be

going wrong and therefore
be very difficult to diagnose.

But despite all that, I still have to try
and sort this out, get it fixed, because

let's face it, nobody in their right mind is
going to buy a car that doesn't run right.

So, let's have a listen.

Now we're in luck, it would
seem that the fault is still with us,

because as you can hear, the
engine is still running rather lumpily.

Now the thing about this is,
on an old car of course, you

couldn't really tell a little
bit easier what was going on.

It would be easier to diagnose because
you could see the distributor, the HT

leads, the carburetor, you could actually
see if there was something you've missed.

But with this car, all you've got is a
big black slab of plastic, but handily,

because it is a modern car, we can
actually ask it, what's wrong with itself?

Here's a top tip, use a fault
reader to download any error

messages stored on the car's
ECU, or engine control unit.

You might think only a main
dealer can do this at £100 per

hour, but a hand-held reader
can be had for around £50.

Now this is a great bit of
kit, I've actually just plugged it

into the OBD2 socket, which goes
underneath the dashboard there,

so now this little device is connected
effectively directly to the brain.

Now if there's any electrical
fault at all, without getting

my hands dirty, this little
gizmo is going to tell me that.

Now I don't even need on this
particular car to have the ignition

on, so it's just going through
a few little bits and pieces,

and it's going through, and
it's just checking the various

different types of protocol that it
might have to work out through.

Now the idea is, that if there's any
electrical fault on the car whatsoever,

then this little device should pick up
on the error code that the car produces.

Just go through the menu
here, and you've got 301.

So in this book, I've got loads
and loads and loads of error codes.

So I just go to 301, there we go, and it
says here, cylinder one misfire detected.

And the kind of thing that could cause
a misfire could be something as simple

as a broken spark plug, or damaged spark
plug, so I'm going to check that first.

I would love the spark
plugs to be at fault, because

it's an easy remedy, but
I'm not holding my breath.

Electrical problems
usually involve a bit of

trial and error before
you can isolate a fault.

Now this is the spark
plug out of number one. It

does look rather wet
and just a little bit sooty.

If you look at the other three, you can
see they're actually dry, although they are

just a tad sooty, obviously because the car
was a bit cold when I started it earlier on.

And you can see there that on the
top of the electrodes, you've actually

got this lovely brown deposit,
and that's what we're looking for.

That's how it should be if
they're running perfectly.

So there is definitely a
problem with number one,

just like our little computer
and scanner told us.

Now, the thing is, that could be
caused by a number of different problems.

It could be maybe a fault in
the wiring in the loom, it could

be perhaps that coil pack
number one has actually failed,

or it could be that the spark
plug itself has actually failed.

Now, I'm going to chance
my luck here, and for the

sake of a few quid, put in
a new set of spark plugs,

and that way if it does fix the
problem, then it's a nice cheap fix.

Spark plugs normally
come with the correct gap

of 1 to 1.1mm out of the
box for perfect running,

but you should always use a feeler
Gauge to make sure they're 100% right.

Then it's a matter of screwing in each
one, being careful not to over-tighten.

So we've got our new
set of spark plugs in there.

Hopefully, with any luck, that
will fix the problem, so let's find out.

Well, unfortunately, it seems
that it's still running rather rough,

and, of course, now we know it's not
the spark plugs, it must be the next thing,

the thing that's supplying the
spark, which is the coil pack.

Now, handily, because I've just
taken it out to get to the spark plugs,

it should be rather easy to remove again.

The coil pack is the
part of the ignition

that converts the
engine's 12 volt electrics

into the thousands of volts
needed to drive the spark.

On the newer model Saabs, you get
an individual coil for each spark plug,

which is great, because if one
fails, you can just change just the one.

Unfortunately, in our car, they
would come in this big pack,

so when one fails, you
have to throw away three

perfectly good ones
when you replace them.

That gets expensive, so I've
actually been phoning around,

and the dealer price for one
of these new parts is £160,

and, of course, Mike is adamant
that we have to save money,

so I had a little bit of a hunt around on
the Internet and managed to win one,

brand new, out of the box, for just
£80, saving quite a few quid there.

And, hopefully, this
should solve our problem.

Refitting the coil pack
is a pure do-it-home job.

The whole unit slides into place, and
then it's only four screws to secure it.

Hooray for modern engines.

Well, here we go. Moment of truth.

Oh, that already sounds better.

Silky smooth. That is lovely.

But, of course, bear in mind
this was an intermittent fault,

so it may have just fixed
itself of its own accord.

How can I be sure the rough
running has been banished?

Well, I'm going to stick this USB
data logger into the ECU socket

to gather information during a test drive.

If the fault returns, I'll be able to find
out where, when, and maybe even how.

Now, I've wrestled the salve away from Ed,

who tells me he's sorted out a little
ignition problem by replacing the part.

The car sort of has a lack of
power, and it's running a bit lumpy.

Although it definitely feels
smoother now, it's just...

Still that lack of power
right at the very top end.

Now, before I get the car back to Ed,

I'm going to take it to a man who's going
to sort out the little dents down the side,

because it makes it look
unattractive and unloved.

And for a Wheeler-dealer,
first impressions count.

Now, some of you may be thinking that
if you've got a car that's got dents on it,

you need to take it to a body shop and
get the dents repaired and then repainted.

But that's not necessarily true.

You can rely upon the services
of a young man like Stuart here.

This car has fallen foul of the car park.

This is one of those cars
that's had supermarket trolleys.

and other doors bashed up against it.

What's the deal with this?
How can we repair it?

Well, we can get behind
the metal and reform

it and refinish it
to its original state.

without any fillers or paints required.

So you don't use any of that nonsense.

You just use your hands and tools,
and you're going to pull the dents out?

Absolutely.

Sounds like the stuff for smoking mirrors.
Go on, Ed. Crack on.

Stuart charges £50 to £80 to fix a panel
that a body shop may want £1,000 to mend.

There are two main methods.

One is to push the dent from
behind the panel using a metal rod.

That is amazing. You can actually
physically see the dent coming out.

The other is to glue a
plug into the dent, pull it with

a slide hammer, pull out
the end, and remove the glue.

Ha-ha! Look at that! That's brilliant.

Sometimes the metal
pops out too far, so Stuart

evens it up with a few
knocks of the hammer.

You can try doing this at home with a kit
you can buy on the Internet from about £50,

but I trust the years of experience from a
bloke like Stu would do a much better job.

Look at that. For the sake of
£150, these panels look brand new.

This car now has the appearance
that it's been loved and cared for,

but not only that, it now
means it's much more sellable.

We need to flip this 9.3 for low money
and carve a profit out of a tiny margin.

Ed sorted the intermittent
rough running, but

unfortunately the car's
still short on top-end power,

and even I can't sell a
car that won't run right.

Not long ago, a Saab 9.3 Turbo
like this would have been £30,000.

I bought this one for £2,400.

The margins on Saab 9.3s are so small,

so we need to be clever if we're going
to make some moolah on this motor.

The secret to this motor is actually
keeping the spend cost really low.

But we've already had a big setback.

Ed found an ignition fault and sorted
out the intermittent rough running.

Silky smooth.

But he hasn't sorted out all the problems.

The engine still lacks top-end power.

He placed a portable
USB data logger in the car,

and I hope it'll reveal what's
going on with the electrical system.

So I've got a little data logger here.

I'm just going to plug
that into the USB port.

OK, so now I've got a little
graph up, which is quite cool.

I've got all kinds of information here.

I've got the vehicle speed, the
engine RPM, accelerator pedal position,

coolant temperature, engine load,
air mass flow and air temperature.

So if anything was to go wrong,
any intermittent fault whatsoever,

I could see exactly the conditions that
were going on when that fault occurred.

It would make it a lot easier
to find what the problem is.

Now, as it happens, but basically,
there were no errors whatsoever.

So there's basically nothing wrong
with the electrical side of this car.

So him complaining about a lack of power is
going to be down to something mechanical.

But I think I know what it is.

With an electrical problem ruled out,
the weakest link might be the turbo itself.

This car is all about its turbo.

It's where it gets its
performance from and it

gets a fair amount of
kudos from that as well.

Now, turbos will
never last as long as an

engine, especially if
they're starved of oil.

And unfortunately, that is a bit of
an Achilles heel for the Saab engine.

The motor that powers the 9.3 does
have a known oil starvation issue.

Given the turbo is lubricated by oil, it's
a problem if it doesn't receive enough.

I need to go deep into the engine.

I've got the heat shield off and
the dump valve out of the way.

So I can now see the turbo.

Now, what does the turbo do?

Well, basically, it
takes the exhaust gases

coming out of the
engine to drive a turbine.

Then on the other end of
the turbine is another turbine

and that actually just sucks air in, fresh
air in, puts it through an intercooler

and then pushes it into the
induction side of the engine.

The idea being it's forcing
more air into those chambers

so you're going to get a bigger expl*si*n
and therefore you get more power.

Simple as that.

I'm removing the air
induction pipe to give

me enough access to
assess the turbo by feel.

Because its turbine spins at 100,000 rpm,

even a tiny amount of movement, or
end float, can stop it working properly.

Now, I've taken off this
induction pipe so I can

get my fingers onto the
turbo vanes themselves.

Now, that might not seem a
very scientific way of testing stuff,

but I'm actually feeling for a little bit
of end float or wear in the bearings.

And if I can actually feel
the movement, there's too

much end float for the
turbo to work efficiently.

If that's the case, that
might explain why, of course,

we're not getting as much
power as we should have.

And unfortunately, I
can feel some movement,

which means, really,
either this turbo needs

to be repaired or,
worse still, replaced.

To remove the turbo, I need to unbolt
it from the mounting on the manifold,

disconnect the pipework, the wiring, and
then I get under the car to finish the job.

The turbo is hidden
behind the front section

of the exhaust, so that
needs to be removed.

As I disconnect the
pipework for the cooling

system, there's the
expected water shower.

It looks dramatic, but I
maintain this is a doable

job for the home mechanic,
if you have the nerve.

I've disconnected everything
that holds the turbo onto the engine.

So now, theoretically, it should come out.

There we go, one turbo.

Now, at first glance, this turbo
doesn't seem in too bad a Nick,

but looking at the condition of the turbo,

now, when it was in
the car, I was just trying

to get an idea of how
bad the end float might be.

Well, now it's out of the car, so I can get
a really good purchase now with the pliers,

at the end of the shaft there,
so I can wiggle it around,

and you can see I've got
between probably half a mil and

a millimetre of end float,
which is absolutely awful.

But worse than that, if you
give it a bit more of a wiggle,

you can see the veins can
pretty much touch the sides

or the insides of the
turbo, which is just terrible.

And I think, you know,
we're lucky that it hasn't

actually just exploded and
just decimated the engine,

which you could easily do, so I think we're
quite lucky that we got to it when we did.

This price on a new turbo is
around six to eight hundred pounds.

I've done some serious
online shopping around,

and have come up with
an as-new guaranteed

unit for just three hundred and fifty
pounds, which is a bit more palatable.

I bolt the turbo back on, taking
care to make sure the unit is clean,

and no foreign bodies have got inside.

I'll wager this will cure our
Saab engine once and for all.

Now nobody wants to have to shell out
a load of money on a big part like a turbo.

Now ours cost three hundred and fifty pounds,
which might sound like a lot of money,

but it would have been at least
double that if I hadn't shopped around,

so that should soften
the blow for Mike just a bit.

I can't wait for the test drive.

Ed, how you doing?

I thought I'd pop in and see
how little Saab's coming on.

Well, you know, for a car that
was so clean when it turned up,

it's needed a fair
amount of work doing to it.

Well, that's the life
of a Wheeler, isn't it?

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Have you sorted out the engine problems?

Well, I thought I'd fixed it with a
new set of plugs and a new coil pack,

but it turns out actually it
was the turbo that was at fault,

so I've swapped that out, and
now it's all working beautifully.

Perfect, so now the turbo's
fixed, the engine's fine,

the dents are done, we're
nearly there, aren't we?

Well, I've still got a bit of work to do.

I've obviously got to sort
out the stuff on the interior,

but also I want to do
that preventative fix,

because I know they've
got these weak bulkhead,

and there's a kit you can get
to actually strengthen that up.

So that means you've got
to spend some more money?

Yeah.

Okay, you've got to promise me one thing.

Go on then.

Keep the costs as low as possible,
it's really important with this car.

Fair enough, and no more
lobs to Thermador then.

We've done a few big,
oily jobs on our Saabs,

and now it's time to
do some small jobs.

Well, I say small jobs,
but they're going to have

a big impact when we
come to sell on the Saab.

Anything that's
obviously tatty or not

working 100% just
creates a bad impression.

So, first on the list,

Mike was complaining
about a wobbly ignition key.

Now, I know it's not the end of
the world, but it's not great either.

It just makes the car feel,
well, you know, unloved.

Saabs have their ignition key mounted
down here on the transmission tunnel.

It means there's an extra layer of security

because you can lock the transmission,
or the gearbox, in a particular gear.

It's quite quirky, you just
pop the gearstick into reverse,

you then turn the key to
lock, and then out it comes.

The problem is, people often forget that,

and they're fighting
the key out of that

barrel while the
gearstick is still in neutral.

And of course, that does
some damage if you end up

with a wobbly ignition
barrel, just like we have here.

And the only real way
to fix it is to replace it.

The ignition barrel is
an important part of the

car's security, but it's
surprisingly easy to remove.

Now, to get the barrel out of the car,

I need to use a little pointy
tool and then pop it through.

There's a little hole at the
base of the barrel there,

and the idea is I just
turn the key to the

first turn, which is
actually the off section,

and then if I push that hole,
or that sort of pointer, in,

I should just about.

There we go.

And then the barrel is released.

Now, it actually looks in pretty
reasonable Nick on the outside,

but obviously it's the
inside that's starting

to fail, so that's what
we have to change.

Now, if I was to go to
the dealership and buy

a new barrel and key,
it would cost me £150.

Then I'd have to get the key
programmed to work with the car,

and then unfortunately,
although the central locking

would work and I could
turn on the car's ignition,

what I couldn't do is use that new key
and the old lock in the door and the boot,

so clearly the wrong way to go.

What I've done is gone to the dealership

and bought a new barrel that's
been made specifically for this key,

so now I don't have to get
the programming done, and of

course this key works still
with all of the locks on the car.

And the best bit is, it only costs
£100 and it's a doddle to put in.

Well this is our brand new barrel,
you can see that little lever there,

that's going to locate
the barrel in position,

so I'll just slide it down,

and that click means
it's now firmly in position.

Take the key out for a second, I'm now
going to put the receiver back in place,

and it's a little, tiny, anti-clockwise
turn to get it in position.

So now, put the key in,

get a little feel,

that's lovely, it's precise,

it's exacting, it's well engineered,

just how a Saab should feel.

Now while I was doing the ignition barrel

I couldn't help but notice how really
rather awful this gear knob looks.

Now ordinarily what you do is either
twist them or just pull them off, like so.

There we go, so the top bit's come away,

but as you can see it's left
behind this little bit of white plastic,

and if I just get hold
of one I bought earlier,

you can see inside the gear knob
you've got these three kind of tangs,

these non-return tangs, and the idea is

in the factory when
they're putting it together

they pop it into position
and just wang it on.

Now the thing is, I
need to tease that off,

and for that I'll be
using one of these.

And with this somewhat pleasing method

of removing the old bit of plastic,

I'm clear to stick on my
new leather gear knob.

Only £20 online.

About a £60 saving over list.

Well that is a million times better.

Remember, small jobs
create a big impression,

so I'm going to replace the cracked
front lens which is letting in water.

New, £100.

The second hand salvage part, just £30.

Just going to check the new headlight.

Hmm, illuminating.

I've discovered the electric
aerial only goes to half mast.

I remove the boot carpet and
undo the locating screws and bolts.

The new replacement is a £25 salvage part.

I'm doing everything to
keep the parts bend low.

Well it was a simple job,
so let's see if it did the trick.

Radio on.

I call this a success for less.

We now have a working radio.

Music to my ears.

Now the front of this car
is looking much smarter,

but that badge is looking very poor.

I need to replace it with
this brand new shiny one.

If the devil is in the detail,

then Ed deserves a pitchfork,

because our 9.3 is going to
be looking like a 30 grand car.

The Saab has been on the
receiving end of a cut price overhaul.

She's almost ready for the forecourt,

but there isn't a fortune to be made
out of 9.3s, so in a bid to add value,

Ed's got another trick up his sleeve,

which is going to future-proof this motor.

Welcome back.

We're nearly at the end of the workshop
jobs on our classy Saab 9.3 convertible.

Our goal is to turn this svelte
Swedish stunner into good hard cash.

Making money on a car with
slim margins is what we do,

but we have had some bad news.

An engine fault meant
the 9.3 needed a new turbo.

Ouch.

Everything we've done
on the car has been done to

the absolute bone, and
that's the way it's got to be.

I really want to earn some money
on this Scandinavian soft top.

Problem is, we need to
get the car as good as it

could possibly be for the
minimum possible outlay.

Ed's not finished yet, and we
can't afford any nasty surprises.

I fixed all of the faults that
Mike had found on our Saab,

but now it's time to do
some preventative medicine

to try and future-proof
our car just a little bit.

I'm going to address a
common fault on the 9.3,

which can lead to poor
road manners and big bills.

The Saab 9.3 has a
problem with its bulkhead,

the dividing panel between the
engine and the passenger compartment.

It's not really strong enough for the job,

a legacy of the old Vauxhall platform.

The steering rack moves around
over time and causes cracking.

It's an MOT failure, it's dangerous,

and it's expensive to fix.

Okay, Paul, can you fire up?

Now put your foot on the brake.

and then start wiggling
the steering from left to right.

Thank you. Cool.

What I'm looking for here
is excessive movement,

either into the brake servo
area or down on the rack itself.

Obviously the rack will
be flexing around a little

bit because, of course,
it's rubber-mounted.

That all looks acceptable, I would say.

Nothing untoward, which means, probably,

our bulkhead is fracture-free,

which means we can get on with
actually fitting our preventative kit.

And that is this,

an aluminium steering clamp
and brace kit that costs £200.

Now the idea is that this clamp actually
replaces the rubber, sort of squishy,

movable clamp you normally
have on the rack and it clamps

it nice and tight and then
you bolt that to the bulkhead.

You then take this brace,
bolt that to that clamp

and then to another part
of the chassis, thereby

triangulating the whole
thing and stopping it moving.

Now, once you've stopped it moving,
you stop that metal from flexing,

which, of course, means
you stop the fatiguing

and, ultimately, you
stop the fracturing.

Very cool.

But to install it, you do need
to be good at working blind.

There's barely enough space to
get the ratchet and spanner in there.

There we go.

There is the original clamp.

Now, underneath here should be some rubber.

The rubber kind of, it's got like a
rubber clamp almost that goes around.

the steering rack itself

and it's got a split in it, so you
should be able to pull it apart

but there really isn't that much
room, so I'm sort of struggling.

There we go.

So that is the rubber clamp.

There are only four bolts to contend with.

Two on the new clamp
and two on the brace,

which attaches to the ABS pump.

After ten minutes of
fiddling, the kit is in place.

Aside from preventing bulkhead cracking,

the makers also claim
the kit reduces torque steer.

That's when the steering
wheel fights to stay

in a straight line under
hard acceleration.

I'd like to show you the finished result,

but it's hidden so deep in the engine that
this is the best view of it you'll see.

I've reached the end of the
work on this Swedish ragtop.

It's thrown up some challenges,
but those challenges have been met.

I'm now confident this car is
going to leave the workshop

and give driving pleasure
for many years to come.

So it's time to say

hej då to our Saab and of
course that is goodbye in Swedish.

I've got myself a Saab 9.3 convertible.

Ed found a faulty coil pack was
causing an intermittent engine fault.

Apparently, because it is a modern car,

we can actually ask it
what's wrong with itself.

He swapped that over.

and after a bit of detective work,
found a turbo was also at fault.

I got a guy to make the Saab
dent free and Ed got to work fixing

the little items inside and
out that were causing offence.

Music to my ears.

And finally, the Boy
Wonder future proved our 9.3

by fitting a steering rack
brace which would prevent

a common Saab problem
and make for sharper steering.

So what does it owe?

Well, we shelled out on the turbo,

coil pack, bodywork, trim
and a brace upgrade adding

the price of the car and
it owes us 3,360 quid.

Ed, how's that Saab convertible?

Wow, look at that.

Is it fighting fit? It looks amazing.

Well, I think probably
fighting is the wrong word.

You know, this is a very refined car.

It's not a fighter,
but it's definitely fit.

All the problems with the
car are now being sorted.

The engine works beautifully.

All the cosmetic stuff has been fixed.

It's ready to go.

And you kept the cost low.

Absolutely. I've begged, borrowed
and stolen various bits and pieces.

There's no way we could
have done it cheaper.

That's music to my wallet.

Well done.

Oh, there's something else as well.

Of course, I've got a really
good selling point for you.

You know, the Saab 9-3
suffers from that dodgy bulkhead.

Well, I've bolted on a preventative kit,

which is actually going to tighten up the
steering and add a bit of value to the car.

You've done it again, haven't you, Ed?

It looks absolutely gobsmacked in.

I'm itching to get it out
there for a test drive.

Do you fancy getting some air?

Nothing would please me more, sir.

Before Saab made cars,

they made fighter jets.

So there's only one place
the Saab can be tested.

Fasten your safety belt
and get ready for takeoff.

Oh, ain't she lovely?

Oh, look at that, the
way she got away there.

She feels so comfortable, so powerful.

No fuss, big smiles.

Well, it's fantastic.

And now, of course, with that replacement
turbo working the way it should,

the car can now drive
the way it's supposed to.

And it does pull beautifully
through the rev range.

Already we're doing 100 miles an hour,

but it feels like we're doing 30.

That's amazing. Awesome.

Oh, feel that steering.

Oh, man, look at that.

It's really tight.

You've transformed the way this car drives.

Mate, I'll tell you what, you've
done a cracking job there.

Look at this, torque steer, okay?

Put your foot down, take
your hands off the wheel.

That is fantastic.

And it goes in a straight line.

I'll tell you what, you've
done a cracking job.

If that isn't adding value,
I don't know what is.

Well, definitely the
mechanical things are all sorted,

but it's also some of the smaller
details that make a big difference,

and that is going to help you seal a deal.

It certainly will, Ed.

And now the package is complete.

And I always said it was about
adding value on this motor.

And I know that you've had to work a
little bit harder than you've expected,

but do you know what?

Look at it.

We have got a great motor.

So what were you thinking
kind of money-wise?

This Saab 9-3 was a sharp deal
when I bought it at just 2,500 pounds,

and with you doing a great job
of keeping the heart spend low,

we could sell this car for about 3,750.

Okay.

And I know we can sell it.

We are literally driving
ourselves towards the profit.

I hope you're right.

I'm always right.

I've advertised our Saab
on a couple of websites,

and already I've had a bit of interest,

but this young lady behind
me, her name's Karin.

She heard about the car on a grapevine.

Now, she's already had a test
drive and likes the way it goes,

but with this motor, the profit
margin is really, really tight,

so I need to get as near
as I can to the asking price.

Let's see if I can do a deal.

So, Karin, what do you think?

I love it.

You do like it, don't you?

I love it.

What do you like about it most?

The contrast of the colour of
the interior with the exterior.

Yeah, very nice.

It's got some grunt.

It has got some grunt.

You drove it very fast.

So it looks like you could
be the one for this motor.

I've advertised it at 3,800 pounds.

What do you think?

Would you take 3.6?



That's a cheeky offer, isn't it?

I wouldn't, you know, because it's such a
nice car and we put a lot of effort into it

and I think it's going to go on to give
many years of service to whoever buys it.

So I would take enough money
off for you to fill it out with fuel.

I'd let you have it at 3,750.



You've got a deal.

Top work. Thank you so much.

You're going to enjoy that motor.

Well done.

At this money, I made just
under 400 pound in profit.

That's a healthy return on
a car that costs 2,400 quid,

especially as I had to
shell out on a new turbo.

It's proof that you can turn a
profit on any car if you do it right.

Well, just look at it.

Do you know what?

I'm really pleased with what we've achieved

and I think Carin is going to enjoy
this car for many years to come.

If you want to see more motors
getting a wheel indeed of treatment,

then join me and Ed again soon.

Salut.