Newest - v. Saab Towed, Malibu Maxx, Highlander, Gr. Cherokee

G35stilez

G35stilez

Ari Gold
Let's start off with the burden for this week. As we all know every Saab has a sob story. Well my girlfriend's has PLENTY! The car is a 99.5 with 52k miles on it. It has been meticulously maintained (detailed :) ) and maintenanced at all necessary times.

However, in the course of her having it (for about 20k miles) she has had these items replaced:

-Fuel Injection System
-ECU
-All Convert top hydraulics and hardware

I know there is something I'm forgetting. Anyways, over $7k in crap that SHOULD NOT go wrong this quick. She came home the other day and realized her car was smoking...a LOT...2 Fire Chiefs actually pulled up behind her to secure the situation. They looked at everything and told her if she drove 2 more minutes, the car would've lit up :) . The oil cooler cracked ! allowing all oil to disperse over the hot exhaust manifold. So, here is a shot of my friend towing it to his dad's shop...

Moral of the story - Don't buy a Saab

DSC03073.jpg



Onto happier things :)

First up, Chevy Malibu Maxx. VERY cool car. Fully adjustable rear seats, DVD player with wireless headphones, front and rear sunroofs, XM radio...This thing is great.

Anyways, this was for a member over at Autopia. VERY nice guy. He had the power and water all set to go when I got there. He offered me every refreshment he had and then set up a radio for me :) . Couldn't ask for more. At the end of everything, he decided he had no more need for Zaino and gave it to me :) (thanks again!)

Anyways, he had a couple panels repainted on the car due to some mishaps from the dealership. They beat it up with a buffer afterwards leaving yucky buffer trails...

DSC03078.jpg



For the final processes I did:

-Mother's Gold Wash
-Poorboy's Clay
-Menzerna Micropolish (FP2) via rotary and LC Polishing Pad @ 1500rpm
-UPP Cleaner by hand
-UPP by hand

-Rain-X on glass (not windshield)
-UPP Cleaner on lighting
-Hyper Dressing for wells, tires, and plastic trim

DSC03079.jpg


DSC03084.jpg


DSC03085.jpg



Next up, 2003 Toyota Highlander

Car was 'claimed' brand new even though it definatley had over 10k miles on it. Bugs and grime galore on the exterior. Interior wasn't too bad, I did:

-Oxy Mix on carpets/mats
-Woolite Mix on dash, doors, seats, and other trim
-Hyper Dressing on dash, doors, and other trim
-4* Leather Conditioner on seats

DSC03091.jpg


For the exterior:

-Mother's Gold Wash
-Wolfgang Clay
-Klasse AIO via rotary and LC polishing pad @ 1500rpm
-NXT by hand

-Hyper Dressing for wells, tires, and other trim

DSC03096.jpg


DSC03100.jpg



Too bad it rained after I left :(



Next up, 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Did for my Aunt and Uncle. Wasn't in terrible shape. Color isn't much of anything to work with :( Lots of dog hair too on the interior. For the interior,

-Oxy Mix on carpets/mats
-Woolite Mix on dash, doors, seats, and other trim
-Hyper Dressing on dash, doors, and other trim
-4* Leather Conditioner on seats

DSC03113.jpg


For the exterior,

-Mother's Gold Wash
-Poorboy's Clay
-Poorboy's Wheel Cleaner on the wheels
-APC+ 10:1 on the cladding
-Klasse AIO via rotary and LC polishing pad @ 1500rpm
-NXT by hand

-Hyper Dressing for wells, tires, and other trim

DSC03108.jpg


DSC03110.jpg




Last up, 2001 Saab 9-3

It's my Uncle's and he hates it too...See don't buy a Saab :)

Just a Mother's Gold Wash, and WAUD. I definately spent extra time on those rims using Poorboy's Spray and Rinse Wheel Cleaner and some agitation.

DSC03114.jpg


DSC03119.jpg



Enjoy!
 
Excellent details, and great photos. I love viewing your work. Do you always work alone, or do you have helpers?
 
:bigups Great work man! How are you getting so much biz? Your using a Kodak Camera correct? Nice. I see lots of leaves on the ground, gotta love the North :D
 
Great work!! Always look forward to your pics... they are awesome! Love that hood-shot of the Malibu with all the clouds... its a perfect mirror! :bigups
 
Thanks for the kind words :)

mgm: 90% of the time I'm all alone. The other times my girlfriend helps me, mostly with interiors. She has OCD, so I don't have to worry. If the business continues to grow through the spring, I will be forced to hire someone.

The Woob: Referals. That Malibu, well I'm doing his neighbors Explorer now. The Saab and Gr Cherokee, I'm doing their other Gr Cherokee (my cousin's). They see the work and want more :) . I'm using a Sony Mavica MVC-CD300. Yeah, I'm hating the weather already.

E43: Yeh I saw that and was like *snap* :lol

Silver97Bull: This was before GM took over. I was hoping GM would shed some reliability secrets on Saab...doesn't matter though, we won't own one anymore.
 
Excellent work on all of them Sean.
Sorry to hear about your girlfriends car.
I've never heard of so many durable components going w/ so few miles on it :dunno
 
Hi Sean,

I normally enjoy your posts...but this one bugged me.

I think Saabs are great cars. I dont own stock in GM. I am a just a very very happy owner and Saab enthusiast. Saab is a great car.

In the past 10 years I have owned:

1986 SPG - 170,000 miles
1993 9000 CSE - 140,000 miles
1996 900 SE - 120,000 miles
2001 95 Aero - 68,000 miles

Some minor problems with my cars....but nothing severe as what happened to your girlfriend. From your post, it looks as if she purchased it used. Maybe it was involved in an accident or the prior owner did not take care of it. I dont think it is representative of Saab based on my experience. BTW. I purchased all my Saabs used.

Also. If your uncle does not like his car....tell him to send that lovely convertible my way. Ill enjoy it.

Dont take this personally. I dont mean it to be so.

Regards,
Rich Maurin
 
Hi Rich,

My girlfriend's dad had a 9000CSE as well. He liked it a lot and only had minor problems. However, both my Uncle (black Saab) and my girlfriend hate theirs. Absolutely non-stop problems from both. For my girlfriend's, I keep close eye on it like my Acura and my Acura always comes out victorious (btw: I have a ton of mods too that usually decrease reliability).

Liz did buy her Saab used, actually from Sweden. It was shipped over here as it was a VERY rare color combo for that year and I guess she wanted it (I wasn't with her then). However, no matter what, fuel injection systems and ECU's should never go! I know car's with 300,000+ miles without these problems. Anyways, I'm not happy with the car and I'm sure there are one's just fine out there, but in our point in life we can't have this. Therefore, she's getting rid of it in the spring. :/
 
GSRstilez said:
DSC03114.jpg


DSC03119.jpg
Click to expand...
Gotta ask.
Did you just clean the wheels on your Uncle's car? In the before picture they look to have a severe case of curb rash. In the after picture, they look new.
Great job no matter what you did.

Charles
 
Great work as always Sean! I've got to agree with Charles...the wheels on the Slaab look like the were replaced! I know that dirt & grease sometimes gets on the lip of the rim...is that all it was?

Not to offend any Saab owners. I have a friend that is a Saab fanatic and that's the way he's always referred to them...it just stuck. Generally most Saab owners are very happy. Every company has a few lemons.
 
Nice Job, or Jobs should I say. I have to say you are one of the most informative writers on this websight. Thanks. As for SAAB's, they have had that reputation for as long as I can remember. They always break, and when they do, it is gonna cost dollars. Maybe you can put the blame on the "Kerry / Edwards" sticker :ticked :ticked . Great Job dude. Your going to go far. :)
 
which zaino did he give you?? ;) - mine is better :lol - and you can use that zfx with it too to do mulitple coats - great job - sorry about the gf's car :(
 
Thanks everyone :)

The marks on the black Snaab rims are clean spots. I think they rubbed against a bush or he used his fingers to clean some off ???

AZ: Spray and leave :)

Saab's have a very unique rep...My gf loves the thing when it works, but it breaks a lot so she hates it...It is a very safe car, I'll give it that...She was in a bad accident (13k in damage) and she said she didn't feel a thing, but when everything breaks, you can't give it much credit.

groebuck: I know your's is better :lol . Umm Z5 and ZFX....Also Z2 I believe. The bigger bottles with the little mixer too. I just have a ton of Zaino now...Guess I found my winter sealant :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top