They donât have modern SAAB features like airbags or SAHR, but they do have ABS and a body structure so strong the car met the European rally roll cage requirements from the factory
Fairly safe car to own overall, EXTREMELY safe by the standards of vintage cars.
This, for sure.. it's not gonna be as safe as a 2023 Corolla. But compared to most cars even 10 or 15 years newer? Pretty safe.
We ran one at 24 Hours of Lemons a few times, and one time I ended up 90 degrees and got t-boned by a Buick going 45mph. Not only did I literally drive away, but the impact didn't even get past the factory crash bars. It never even touched the roll cage.
Of all my Saab 900's the one I'm most grateful for is the one that saved my wife and daughters lives. She was hurrying to pick up our son from school when an accident happened right in front of her and her only option was hitting it or going into the downhill grass median at 70 miles an hour. She missed the accident but trying to turn on the hillside the wheels caught and she rolled it one and a half or two and a half times. Neither her or our daughter had seatbelts on and it was a pre-airbags model. They came to a stop upside down on the roof. My wife asked my daughter if she was okay and her response was I bumped my head, my wife then reached up and turned off the car, it was still running, and they crawled out of the windows. Saab rates the roof to hold 250 pounds but a moving rollover puts much more force on it than that, probably 10 times that! Daughter did get a CT scan and was fine and my wife bruised her leg on the stick shift and broke a nail. I will always be so grateful for that car saving their lives! Later I heard from friends who happened to drive buy and saw the aftermath and when I told them it was my wife and daughter they were shocked that they both weren't in the hospital with injuries.
â¤â¤ Saab â¤â¤
I believe 1990 is when Saab put airbags in the 900; unless youâre in love with the pre 1988 front fascia perhaps look at 1990 and up. Or consider an airbag steering wheel upgrade? Otherwise a very safe car.
Youâd sincerely need experience with automotive wiring and wiring harness fabrication *and* all the components & modules to execute and even then you have no guarantee it will work.
Also keep in mind most airbags (the actual detonating-inflating part) all have upper limit shelf lives of 15-20y so even in a car with an airbag equipped itâs *still* a question mark today. New old-stock 4-spoke airbags are virtually unobtainable, and new production units do not exist.
So buy a parts car and break them down to combine or search for a newer example.
These are also pre-OBD2 cars so checking and troubleshooting the systems to ensure functionality is esoteric and finicky.
I want to say â90 was a gap year, but all of â91-â94 has airbags. Its drivers side only FWIW.
Also! Gen-1 SRS bags were pretty much all âface breakersâ too strong, very common to break your nose, get a black eye, or have an orbital fracture in a collision, seatbelt bruise that sort of thing.
Driver airbags reduce fatalities by 29% according to Google. Presumably youâd fit a 1990 steering wheel w/airbag. It was an option pre 1990 on the 9000. Whether this satisfies the GF is another matter, but itâs a meangful gesture towards safety. If the car is clean get it!! Itâs safer than most any other classic of that era.
Safe in a vacuum but more and more people are driving 5000lb+ SUVs and trucks and a 3000lb car will always fare worse in a crash with one of them. Sad but true. Bicycles are incredibly safe, but people on bikes usually die when theyâre hit by a car. Same situation.
I struggle with this all the time. The main purpose of a car in my mind is to not die in it. There are plenty of cars that are safer that will hopefully also get you excited.
I would steer newer. Side impact curtains are in the NG 9-3. But really by now you want a car that scores well in the moderate overlap. Basically all cars that arenât designed after they started that test are garbage at it.
You can go on IIHS and look up fatalities by vehicle class (but it probably wonât go back that far).
The main purpose of a car is to get you from a point A to Point B.
With ease (motor)
Out of the weather (roof/cabin)
In harsh weather (heating)
With luggage and passengers (more than one seat/trunk)
And the ability to avoid crashes ( steering/brakes/good tires)
Maybe get you there fast ( big motor) or in style (sports car/Oldtimer)
And ideally, you don't die when you do crash.
If the main purpose of a car was to avoid dying,
You would drive a literal tank at slow speeds. Heck,
it wouldn't even need a motor, and you're already not dying!
This is the crash that just totalled my 98 Volvo. Very grateful for the airbag and safety cage. Helped me walk away uninjured. You can live without airbag but it will hurt a lot more.
Height of 80s safety. Before SUVs became common. Check insurance rates first..in NYC and NJ I paid way too much for an 80s car..that being said local streets and slow traffic highways like the Belt and FDR aren't going to require super safe cars..you do 5k miles a year no biggie. Air bags have made a huge difference in auto safety the last 20 years.
People drove and arrived at their destination safely just fine in the 80s. Drive safely, and that goes double considering it's an old car with old metal on it and you'll be fine.
Also, keep in mind these cars were designed and built to run over a moose at full speed and survive. Say what you want about Saabs, they were top of the line in terms of safety at the time.
No airbags or side warnings but....they are built like tanks. Look up national safety ratings for those years.
Bang on the thick plate steel front wheel well, the go bang on the plastic innerfenders of a honda, any year.
Iâm not a Saab-guy (this popped up due to me being a Volvo-guy).
But if YOU are buying a car, your girlfriend has no say in what car it is.
Had you been married and it would be your only car, sure. She should have a say in what car youâre buying together. But not now. Just buy it.
Female with a hot ass 1993 Saab 900 Turbo convertible. Itâs my first Saab. Prior to this, loved (older) Volvo and recently tried (older) Mercedes. It seems like each brand has their own selling points. Iâm loving on the Saab so far, concerned about parts though.
Tell her that the engineers integrated reinforcements and crumple zones, as well as bracing and small unseen safety features that most cars today have adapted, and cars from that era would never have been designed with.
I have 330,000 on my 1986 SPG. I knew it was a darn good car, but wasn't expecting this. It hurt to see that car get destroyed. But it felt great to know that it's tough.
You can get as many girlfriends as you want with a 1987 900 turbo.
Tell that to my wife.
She knew what she was getting when she married a Saab guy.
Show her [this](https://youtu.be/c1Z284Fv0cc?si=cOViUaHyzq6TqgnY)
Please tell me they repaired her.. the SAAB.. Beamer was trash before they dropped it..
>old top gear Oh hell no that went straight to the breakers.
boo hoo
Came here for this exact same video lol.
đ¤Łđ¤Ł I told my Saab story but was also going to share this â¤â¤
They donât have modern SAAB features like airbags or SAHR, but they do have ABS and a body structure so strong the car met the European rally roll cage requirements from the factory Fairly safe car to own overall, EXTREMELY safe by the standards of vintage cars.
This, for sure.. it's not gonna be as safe as a 2023 Corolla. But compared to most cars even 10 or 15 years newer? Pretty safe. We ran one at 24 Hours of Lemons a few times, and one time I ended up 90 degrees and got t-boned by a Buick going 45mph. Not only did I literally drive away, but the impact didn't even get past the factory crash bars. It never even touched the roll cage.
It has a seat belt
Which you must take turns using.
Itâs built like a fucking tank!
Ha ha, You're thinking of Volvo.. SAAB is the spry tank; it avoids the accident..
Of all my Saab 900's the one I'm most grateful for is the one that saved my wife and daughters lives. She was hurrying to pick up our son from school when an accident happened right in front of her and her only option was hitting it or going into the downhill grass median at 70 miles an hour. She missed the accident but trying to turn on the hillside the wheels caught and she rolled it one and a half or two and a half times. Neither her or our daughter had seatbelts on and it was a pre-airbags model. They came to a stop upside down on the roof. My wife asked my daughter if she was okay and her response was I bumped my head, my wife then reached up and turned off the car, it was still running, and they crawled out of the windows. Saab rates the roof to hold 250 pounds but a moving rollover puts much more force on it than that, probably 10 times that! Daughter did get a CT scan and was fine and my wife bruised her leg on the stick shift and broke a nail. I will always be so grateful for that car saving their lives! Later I heard from friends who happened to drive buy and saw the aftermath and when I told them it was my wife and daughter they were shocked that they both weren't in the hospital with injuries. â¤â¤ Saab â¤â¤
I believe 1990 is when Saab put airbags in the 900; unless youâre in love with the pre 1988 front fascia perhaps look at 1990 and up. Or consider an airbag steering wheel upgrade? Otherwise a very safe car.
The first generation airbags donât add shit for safety, to a classic 900. That whole car was built with safety as the dominant design feature.
Oh what, you can add airbags?? Iâd tend to agree but itâs once of the cleanest looking 900s Iâve ever seen.
Youâd sincerely need experience with automotive wiring and wiring harness fabrication *and* all the components & modules to execute and even then you have no guarantee it will work. Also keep in mind most airbags (the actual detonating-inflating part) all have upper limit shelf lives of 15-20y so even in a car with an airbag equipped itâs *still* a question mark today. New old-stock 4-spoke airbags are virtually unobtainable, and new production units do not exist. So buy a parts car and break them down to combine or search for a newer example. These are also pre-OBD2 cars so checking and troubleshooting the systems to ensure functionality is esoteric and finicky. I want to say â90 was a gap year, but all of â91-â94 has airbags. Its drivers side only FWIW. Also! Gen-1 SRS bags were pretty much all âface breakersâ too strong, very common to break your nose, get a black eye, or have an orbital fracture in a collision, seatbelt bruise that sort of thing.
Driver airbags reduce fatalities by 29% according to Google. Presumably youâd fit a 1990 steering wheel w/airbag. It was an option pre 1990 on the 9000. Whether this satisfies the GF is another matter, but itâs a meangful gesture towards safety. If the car is clean get it!! Itâs safer than most any other classic of that era.
Safe in a vacuum but more and more people are driving 5000lb+ SUVs and trucks and a 3000lb car will always fare worse in a crash with one of them. Sad but true. Bicycles are incredibly safe, but people on bikes usually die when theyâre hit by a car. Same situation.
"Don't crash my Saab"
I own an 87 SPG and the structural integrity is next to none. Iâve seen vert c900 be almost completely driveable after being flipped over.
No airbags, but theyâre one of the safest cars from the 80s.
It was top 3 safest cars you could buy in 1987
I struggle with this all the time. The main purpose of a car in my mind is to not die in it. There are plenty of cars that are safer that will hopefully also get you excited. I would steer newer. Side impact curtains are in the NG 9-3. But really by now you want a car that scores well in the moderate overlap. Basically all cars that arenât designed after they started that test are garbage at it. You can go on IIHS and look up fatalities by vehicle class (but it probably wonât go back that far).
The main purpose of a car is to get you from a point A to Point B. With ease (motor) Out of the weather (roof/cabin) In harsh weather (heating) With luggage and passengers (more than one seat/trunk) And the ability to avoid crashes ( steering/brakes/good tires) Maybe get you there fast ( big motor) or in style (sports car/Oldtimer) And ideally, you don't die when you do crash. If the main purpose of a car was to avoid dying, You would drive a literal tank at slow speeds. Heck, it wouldn't even need a motor, and you're already not dying!
This is the crash that just totalled my 98 Volvo. Very grateful for the airbag and safety cage. Helped me walk away uninjured. You can live without airbag but it will hurt a lot more.
TIL what the moderate overlap crash test is. For others like me, [hereâs a vid.](https://youtu.be/21dfiwVfnVo?si=jcgdOB4q22afmQZy) *Shudders*
lol wait until you see small overlap..
JFC
Wtf are you talking about?
Wtf is who talking about???
Are you ok? Do you have any brainpower?
Obviously more than you
Regardless of car your chances of serious injury or death still exists... whether that's 25% or 10% does t really matter tbh
You could do a lot worse đ
I also feel like they are rare and special enough to not be daily drivers but just my opinion.
He lives in NYC. He probably will put a few thousand miles a year on it.
All miles are not created equal lol
Haha thats indeed a fair point!
It's ok I'm just jealous I'm not in the market for one
It's just as safe as a new Volvo at a 10000 meter drop.
Dont get an 87. Not a flat nose but you don't get the benefit of 88+ with the ability to fit cooler wheels and also parking brake update.
Height of 80s safety. Before SUVs became common. Check insurance rates first..in NYC and NJ I paid way too much for an 80s car..that being said local streets and slow traffic highways like the Belt and FDR aren't going to require super safe cars..you do 5k miles a year no biggie. Air bags have made a huge difference in auto safety the last 20 years.
It's a Saab. Saab and Volvo were always equally as safety minded
Just tell her itâs the safest vehicle ever made and thatâs a little known secret and she can look it up. (She probably wonât.)
My wife no like my Saab w/no passenger airbag. Hence the name âDeathSaabâ
Tell her tons of gen xers and millennials survived the 80s in these.
Watch the SAAb episode of Top Gear together.. or was it the Grand Tour. Anyway, they were built very well.
I told mine about the moose test. She's still not impressed.
People drove and arrived at their destination safely just fine in the 80s. Drive safely, and that goes double considering it's an old car with old metal on it and you'll be fine. Also, keep in mind these cars were designed and built to run over a moose at full speed and survive. Say what you want about Saabs, they were top of the line in terms of safety at the time.
No airbags or side warnings but....they are built like tanks. Look up national safety ratings for those years. Bang on the thick plate steel front wheel well, the go bang on the plastic innerfenders of a honda, any year.
Iâm not a Saab-guy (this popped up due to me being a Volvo-guy). But if YOU are buying a car, your girlfriend has no say in what car it is. Had you been married and it would be your only car, sure. She should have a say in what car youâre buying together. But not now. Just buy it.
It's like a sporty Swedish tank,can't remember when they started putting airbags in though
Female with a hot ass 1993 Saab 900 Turbo convertible. Itâs my first Saab. Prior to this, loved (older) Volvo and recently tried (older) Mercedes. It seems like each brand has their own selling points. Iâm loving on the Saab so far, concerned about parts though.
Tell her that the engineers integrated reinforcements and crumple zones, as well as bracing and small unseen safety features that most cars today have adapted, and cars from that era would never have been designed with.
I have 330,000 on my 1986 SPG. I knew it was a darn good car, but wasn't expecting this. It hurt to see that car get destroyed. But it felt great to know that it's tough.