In praise of the 99

The 99 seems to be fast disappearing off our roads. Some have dubbed it the unloved Saab, which is a great pity. I’m sure that I am not alone in loving mine! I still have my first 99, which I bought in 1983, and it has covered close to a quarter of a million miles. My children can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it.

I think of it as ultra-reliable, but of course there have been one or two problems, including engine changes, but it has only once left us stranded at the side of the road. To make matters a little worth, it happened when we were enjoying a family holiday in Switzerland. We were staying with friends who live near Thun in the Bernese Oberland, a most beautiful location surrounded by chocolate-box views of the Alps. We were returning from a little excursion when I noticed the oil pressure warning light flicker. Then it came on! The handbook, which I had memorised, states that if the light comes on you should immediately switch off the engine and investigate. Well I switched off the engine. Everything seemed in order under the bonnet, no obvious trauma, plenty of clean oil. I decided to take no chances as we were not far from our friend’s house. Werner came to tow us home with his BX. He suggested that the next day we could contact his garage at Merligen, which was an agent for both Citroen and Saab. The chap who ran the workshop was an Englishman, David Pattinson.

The people at Wittwer garage were very sympathetic and agreed to accept the car immediately. On arrival our Englishman asked me to open the bonnet and start the engine. He said if it were a genuine drop in oil pressure the damage would already have been done. He suspected the sender unit. What he did not expect was the sight of twin Weber DCOE carbs and the roar of its tuned engine. “I bet that goes!” or words to that effect. Yes, the engine ran sweetly enough and only needed a new sender unit.

I was apprehensive about the bill; nothing in Switzerland is cheap. Our holiday was being subsidised by the hospitality of our friends. In fact we were charged little more than the cost of the sender unit. Excellent service, thank you Wittwer and David Pattinson.
So did it really let me down, was it a breakdown? What is the right thing to do when the oil light illuminates? Check the oil level and continue the journey if there is plenty?

The car has only truly broken down once in over twenty years. It happened last Christmas when I lent it to a good friend of mine. The wire from the coil to the tachometer somehow shorted and stopped the ignition system from functioning. It took a while to trace the fault, but simply required the disconnection of the offending wire and health was restored.

Sadly the bodywork is suffering the ravages of exposure to the worst of British weather. It is not beyond repair, but probably beyond economic repair, bearing in mind the value of the car. Recently I found another 99, which had a healthier body but had a very sick gearbox. Naturally it was almost free. So I have been busy preparing a replacement for the best car I have ever owned.

In my opinion the 99 was the best Saab ever - not necessarily the best looking, that award I would give to the original 93, neither the most fun to drive, I have enjoyed the pleasure of two-stroke 96s, but, as a piece of industrial design, the 2-door 99 is a classic.

Alan

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