Sunday eBay Wouldya: 1988 Saab 900 AERO Convertible

Weekends in the automotive industry are slow, to put it nicely.  Except for the occasional broken embargo or news of a NASCAR driver blasting through a small North Carolina town in a Lexus LFA at 100+mph, there's not much going on.  In an attempt to spice up our weekend content, I'll be starting a new series I call "Sunday eBay Wouldya."  It's pretty simple: I find an interesting car on eBay (could be an exotic, could be a total shed), share a link, a description, and some pictures.  You, the reader, vote yay or nay on if you'd buy it.  That's the plan, anyway.

For this new series' maiden voyage, I'll start with something close to my heart: a Saab C900.  But not just any C900; a white C900 Turbo Convertible with the rare Airflow body kit.  eBay listing is here.

Before they became the sole domain of weirdos and tinkerers (like myself), the Saab 900 had a massive yuppie appeal; moreso the convertible.  It had that anti-establishment charm to it which was so desirable to bankers and dentists tired of driving a 3-series.  It was an intentionally quirky car, the original 900: engine mounted backwards, hood that opened backwards, ignition in between the seats, and it eschewed 6 or 8-cylinder motivation for just 4 and a turbo back before that was really in full swing.  Plus, it looked somewhat like a metallic banana with the top down.  Cool car.  I had one, so there's that as well.

The 'vert traded off some of the things that made the 3-door so wonderfully practical - the giant trunk you could sleep in, mainly - for wind-in-the hair, sleeker styling, and a bit of cowl shake.  This particular 1988 is unique for that Airflow body kit - even more aggressive than the Tupperware© that came on SPG's, the Airflow kit almost bordered on ricey depending on which angle you looked at it from.  Your mileage may vary, but I like it.

150,000-odd miles have rolled under the wheels of Trollhattan's finest, proof of these vehicle's longevity- or maybe not.  The seller has a laundry list of recent maintenance, and we'll start with the sticking point: an automatic transmission.  If there was one thing to be sure not to order on your 900 Turbo, it had to be the power-sucking 3-speed automatic, which had an even shorter shelf life than the somewhat fragile 5-speed.  Nonetheless, the seller says the 'box has been recently serviced, and shifts well.  That 3-speed is spun by Saab's B202 Turbo, a 2.0L 16-valve unit pressurized with 11 or so pounds of boost from Garrett's ubiquitous T3 turbocharger.  Judging by the list, it's in good nick as well with a ton of new parts underhood: new head gasket, cam followers, valve cover and gasket, cam oilers, timing chain, crank pulley, accessory belts, ignition components, thermostat, PCV valve, etc.

The interior isn't perfect - fuel and temp gauges and clock don't work, there are some split seams in the seats, the dash board is of course cracked, but the important part here is that the convertible top works.  Because otherwise, why bother?

My impression as a former C900 fanatic: it's a bit rough, but they all are by now.  Interior parts aren't that hard to fix (except for the dash, of course), and the extensive maintenance sheet on the engine is a great sign.  The Airflow kit adds value, but is that negated by the tragic slushbox?  And more importantly, is this Swedish Mistress worth the $3,500 Buy It Now price?  Bidding at the time of writing is at $200 with reserve not met (obviously!) in Durham, New Hampshire.  Vote in the poll below, and be sure to leave us a comment or a tip for next Sunday's eBay Wouldya!