Hi All,

[paperfolder]

Greetings!
Just signed on a week ago. I'm Alfred.
We used to have lots of Volvo in the family and I work on many of them. I never owned a Saab before. My brother had a 86 900S (2 door coupe, not a hatch) auto, rose quartz and my B-I-L had a 87 900S 2 door hatch 5sp, white. I worked on both cars (e.g., basic tune up, exhaust, brakes, shocks, installed radio, CD changer, factory alarm..) and drove both on many occasions. Nice cars and very unique!!

When my brother parted with his Saab, he gave me the heavy duty skid plate about 10 years ago. I always hope to find myself a 900S 16V to go with the plate. After 10+ years, I figured it's time to find a good home for the skid plate.
btw-The plate just sold to a saabrally member.

I enjoy watching off road rally; not a common sports event here on US TV.

I'm teaching my 17 yrs old daughter how to drive. Yes, with a 5sp wagon.
It's hard to teach a kid how to double clutch.
She wants a BMW motor cycle. I told her to drive a safe car first; a Saab or a Volvo.

Glad to be here,
Alfred

99 528iTouring 5 speed, daily driver
03 C240, 4-matic wagon, wife's car
70 914/6, on going project
89 325iX, totaled by a taxi
83 533i, went to a new home
86 740Turbo wagon, retired at 260K
80 528i, went to a new home
80 242GT, retired at 240K

[max]

Welcome! We enjoy Volvos here too... and well, just about anything..

How do you like that bimmer wagon? I've always like those, new and old.

[paperfolder]

My 89 325iX (AWD) was rear ended by a taxi in NYC last summer. The insurance company totaled the car. The car was in very good shape; no rust, no crack on the dash, good interior, the AC with R12 worked. I needed a replacement ASAP. I looked at used Saabs (C900), Volvos(240, 740, 940, 960), BMWs(325iX, 325e, 535i, 525iT), Jetta wagon, Subaru, ... Some of the cars I drove more than 90+ miles one way to see the car. Many of the "mint" condition cars were not so "mint" at all; maybe a "mint" candy in the glove box.

By luck, I came across the 99 528iTouring locally. There are very few 5 speed 5 series wagons. I like it very much; decent power, good brakes, handles well, good MPG (30MPG HWY, 25MPG local), lots of room for wife, 2 kids, and a dog, safety equipments (airbags, traction ctrl), pedals' spacing is good for heel & toe-ing. The transmission's 5 gears space nicely. (i.e., My 242GT had a 4 speed transmission with a electric OD, 1+2 for local driving, 3+4 for hgihway, there is a big gap between 2nd & 3rd gear.) The seats are in par with Volvo and Saab seats. My last 3 BMWs' seats had horse hair pads; not comfortable for long trips.
With 4 snow tires and traction ctrl, it handled OK in the last 2 snow falls. I'm sure a C900 would do better with the white stuff.

On the down side, it's a larger car and it feels heavy in comparison to a 325iX or a C900. I prefer the handling of a lighter car. Poor reception on the AM radio; the antenna is on the rear side window's glass and the metallic window tint attenuates the signal. I have a long commute and listen to AM radio for traffic information.

I did one oil change so far; 7 qt synthetic, filter is a cartridge, no mess and very uneventful.

btw-wife wants a Mini for her next car. But she can't drive a manual.

[max]

Well, you CAN get a mini in an automatic, but.... shame on me for even suggesting it...

[Geoff]

I had the identical car to your brother's '86 as a daily driver for 4 years up until a year ago. Rosequarts '86 2dr notchback with a 3spd automatic. It came from NYC area originally.

The automatic in Minis is terrible! "So, you want me to shift? sorry!" And, "Oh, you didn't want me to shift? Too bad." Time to get a beater with a manual transmission to teach her on. Or just take a European vacation and make her drive the rental car

[max]

The CVT's are supposed to be worse. They actually programmed shift points into them... huh?! According to my dealer friends, they suck bad, and that's when they're working at all..

[paperfolder]

Goeff, small world, my brother brought his 86 900S from a senior citizen in NJ.
The car was in great shape and well cared for. He used to live in NYC.
The heavy skid plate was installed for NYC pot holes.

MaX, Goeff,
My wife grew up in NYC and didn't drive until we got married and moved to NJ.
She has no interest of driving a manual car. I really don't want a Mini with a CVT.

[Crazyswede]

Goeff, small world, my brother brought his 86 900S from a senior citizen in NJ.
The car was in great shape and well cared for. He used to live in NYC.
The heavy skid plate was installed for NYC pot holes.

MaX, Goeff,
My wife grew up in NYC and didn't drive until we got married and moved to NJ.
She has no interest of driving a manual car. I really don't want a Mini with a CVT.

How about a hydrostatic mini?

[max]

MaX, Goeff,
My wife grew up in NYC and didn't drive until we got married and moved to NJ.
She has no interest of driving a manual car. I really don't want a Mini with a CVT.

Understandable, I wouldn't want one either. Looks like you've had your share of cars to vent your frustration though. How were your Bimmers, reliability-wise?

[paperfolder]

The Bimmers were very reliable. I never worried about them on long trips. The two old 5 series cars were easier to work on than family members’ C900. The AWD 325iX was harder to work on (e.g., one of the front axle goes through the oil pan).

80 528i 5 speed, Hella lights, Bilstein, Momo steering wheel – Never broke down on me. Fun car to drive, decent power with the big block inline 6, fixed calipers F&R- very easy pad replacement, marginal AC, uncomfortable horse hair pad seats, rust started to set in, replaced the gas tank due to rust. Not good on snow.

83 533i auto Cibie lights, Bilstein, Momo wheel – my wife’s first car. She didn’t know how well that car handles. Being a new driver, she used to scare me with that car. It failed to start twice (A relay size emission control module failed. It was added on at the dealer when the car was new. There was no replacement at the dealer. I just kept it off. The second time was due to a bad ignition coil.). Nice suspension (anti-dive front), fun car to drive. AC struggles at stop and go traffic, same horse hair seats. Not good on snow. Btw-I had all the parts to convert it to a 5 speed. Too many projects, gave the car and the parts to a close friend.

89 325iX auto, Bilstein, Personal wheel – Bought it in 2003 from a 75 yrs old senior citizen at 59K miles. Body was in very good shape except for one large dent on the driver door, the front suspension was completely shot. I think the previous owner aimed for potholes. It never broke down on me. Being AWD, many parts are unique to the iX and expansive (e.g., front control arm, catalytic converter, wheels, struts, steering rack…). Harder to work on, I had to rent and buy special tools to work on the suspension. This smaller inline 6 has a timing belt instead of a chain. Being an interfering engine, I was extra careful with the belt replacements. The iX control arms are expansive; I pressed in new ball joints myself. Great car on snow.

[Geoff]

Not good on snow.

Barely Moves in Winter

The 325ix is one of the few BMWs that interests me, probably due to my location and the impracticality of RWD.

[max]

Driveshaft through the oilpan... gotta love that German "it must work at all costs!" mentality.

[Crazyswede]

Driveshaft through the oilpan... gotta love that German "it must work at all costs!" mentality.

[max]

Dude... East Germany notwithstanding...