When I first moved to Boston for grad school, I was certain that you got three things upon moving to New England: a pair of Birkenstocks, an LL Bean credit card and the keys to one of three cars: a Saab, Volvo or Subaru Outback. Perhaps I have a tendency towards simplifying semiotics, but it seemed like there was one of these cars on every corner, and if not, wagons with all-wheel drive and a manual gearbox ruled the day. So this Saab 9-5 Aero equipped with the 5-speed manual is pretty much a New Englander’s dream. It even has a little more German DNA underneath than one might suspect, as it shares some of its underpinnings with the Opel Vectra.
Click for details: 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero SportCombi on Boston’s Craigslist
Year: 2004
Model: 9-5 Aero SportCombi
Engine: 2.3 liter inline-4
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 101,000 mi
Price: $9,995 Buy It Now
Rare 5 speed manual Aero Wagon, rare Glacier Blue Metallic, one owner car, 4 cylinder turbo-250hp, fully loaded with leather interior, heated memory seats, dual digital climate control, 17″ wheels, sunroof and much more. 101k miles, runs and drives excellent
*Visit our website for more pictures, free CarFax report and other great vehicles @ bespokeauto.com*
*Extended warranty is available up to 4 years / unlimited mileage*
*Financing with competitive rates is available*www.bespokeauto.com
Tel: (781) 828-1700
158 Turnpike St.
Canton, MA 02021
I’ve never come across a 9-5 in this color and it’s probably not to everyone’s liking. Too often we’re denied the broad color spectrum offered to customers in Europe, as tastes here tend to be a bit more conservative. It’s nice though to see someone was willing to go out on a limb with this wild color, then decide to equip it with a manual gearbox. This hauler isn’t for everyone, but with plenty of load capacity and that turbo lump under the hood, it makes for an intriguing alternative for those with a couple of kids in need of a family rig. If you can find a good mechanic familiar with these cars and rely on the enthusiast community, you should be able to enjoy many more years of motoring, even though the company has effectively ceased operations…or has it? The price is a little strong considering the mileage. If it were priced somewhere in the meaty part of the $7,000 to $9,000 curve, it probably would find a new home in short order.
-Paul
Really cool wagon; I have a friend down the road with the normal grey twin of this car, but the color really struck me. I think these are FWD only, always thought it was a bit odd for SAAB to not develop a AWD system though in retrospect my guess is that it was cost-prohibitive for them given that they went out of business. Saw a new 9-5 the other day; what a striking and refreshingly clean design compared to the cookie-cutter German sedans.
@Carter, they had “XWD” available towards the end of their demise, starting in 2008 MY IIRC (model dependent), but it was in the plans and part of the platform engineering for the last 9-5 for a long time, the (shortened) peak of which might have been the Turbo X.
Also, if you’re keeping nerdy stats, two badge engineered Saabs (the 9-2x & 9-7x) were available for those that wanted AWD in a “Saab.”
I’ll out nerd you Ry; did you know the 9-7x has a LS V8 in it? Wowza that thing must move!! (edit: I looked, and it does.)
@Ry, by the way, YRW (you recalled wrong) – all wheel drive didn’t launch until the 2nd generation in 2010. But, truth be told I had to look. Epsilon platform, which makes sense because that’s the same as the Buick Regal turbo
@Carter – it’s so on! From memory, not looking this up – yes the 9-7x has an LS in it, and it’s the LS2, not just “an LS” :P. That was only on the 9-7x Aero, you could also get a 4.0 6cyl & 5.3 V8, IIRC. The Aero 9-7x is the fastest Saab to 60mph ever, I’m almost positive. It’s essentially the same as a Trailblazer SS.
A tangent, and some might say sacrilege to Saab heritage, but the GM designed Ecotec engines that many got towards the end were some of the best engines Saab ever had.
& thank you for steering me straight on the Saab AWD history, I knew it was there somewhere, thought I recalled a bit better than I did. I wonder “if” AWD would have played a big part in their future, probably hard to justify as a small manufacturer. Dunno.
The Top Gear Saab send off is one of my favorite homages they did. Series 18, ep I forget. I couldn’t find the entire clip on YouTube, but it’s on Netflix for sure.
@Ry – LOL. The “Trollblazer”. Best nickname ever.
@Carter – without a doubt! Nothing could come close to that! I way prefer its leather & trim over the GM product, and they seem to depreciate more than the TBSS as well.
So funny story about how I learned the LS2 bit; I was looking up LS applications for one of my sacrilegious swap posts and saw the LS2 listed for the SAAB. I seriously did a double take and laughed.
If this was any other color I would seriously consider trading in our 97x for it.
Our 97x only has the 4.2 vortex engine but somehow gets the same MPG as the aero with the LS engine. I think the V8 might have some kind of cylinder de activation system to help with the MPG. .
I’ve owned 3 saabs and the TrollBlazer is the worst build quality of them all. There is so much wind noise while driving at highway speeds it’s almost like driving a Jeep Wrangler soft top.
The AWD system with winter Blizzacks is unstoppable in the snow but I wish I never trading our 323iT sports wagon with a 5 speed manual for it. It wasn’t the best in the snow even with snow tires but I’d bet the front wheel drive Saab wagon with winter tires would be better than the rwd wagon was.
As is often the case, the drab gray is inexplicably mixed with a vibrant color. Should be a beige or saddle color.
How’s that torque steer workin’ out for ya. Oh you didn’t mean to change lanes?
These are great cars. Had an 04 arc 9-5 wagon that kept us in one piece in a three car pileup on the freeway. From inside the car you couldn’t tell anything was wrong. Doors opened. Gaps were even. Car got totaled(Broken rear axle, front end wrecked). Car wasn’t worth much $$ due to Saabs demise(paid 21k in 06 for CPO(four more years of warranty till 2010) got 7k for it in 13) so I replaced it with an 09 aero wagon. Took me seven months to track it down. Great cars. Super comfy seats. Tons of room inside. VERY undervalued cars in my opinion. If maintained well, they will go and go. Just don’t get in an accident with it.
I don’t consider the Saaburu 9.2. or the Trollblazer 9.7 Saabs. Sorry.
We have 3 Saabs in the family, 02 9.5 Aero Wagon for mother-in-law, 97 9000 Aero 5 spd. for
my wife and a 1992 C900 Turbo Convertible as a fun winter car. (It’s too hot in summer to drive it in So.Cal)
All three are perfect driver cars. They definitely need their fair share of maintenance, but if all the little annoying things get fixed right away (engines are bulletproof) they are very reliable.
I love the color of this advertised car. It really sticks out of the ocean of ultra-boring silverblackgreywhite cars. Very refreshing to see a Saab like this. Our 1992 Vert is Eucalyptus green metallic.
Easily the best interior and exterior colors available for the 9-5.
So nice to see Glacier blue metallic paired with a color other than beige… Yuck.
Even though the price is a bit high compared to the rest of the market, it might be worth it because the chance of finding this combo probably won’t come up again.