2007 Saab 9-5 Linear Sport Anniversary 1.9 TiD Estate

193,311 Miles

Some people might jib at buying a two-year-old car with 115,000 miles already on the clock, especially via eBay, and at the other end of the country. But Robin Kerry is bolder than most. His Saab 9-5 is a rare Anniversary model, brought out in 2005 to celebrate 60 years of the now defunct Swedish car maker.
“I loved the special edition car when it first came out, with its stunning ice blue colour, and I was lucky to pay just £6,500 for it at two years old,” says Robin, who lives in Yeovil, Somerset. “I didn’t mind the mileage, I think it’s an old fashioned view to worry about a modern car having more than 100,000 miles on the clock. It was up in Sheffield, being sold by a main dealer. It was a six-hour journey to go and get it, and I bought a one-way ticket, because I knew I’d definitely be coming home with it.”

As soon as he got the Saab home, he took it to be serviced in Plymouth, including having a new water pump fitted. Eight years on, and with another 78,000 miles added to the tally, very little has gone wrong. Last year it had a failed exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve that had to be replaced, and it also needed a new alternator. Everything else is pretty much original, including the shock absorbers. The car has just sailed through another MoT.

Robin has invested £500 in a Tunap treatment to clean the diesel particulate filter system, which he says was “expensive, but worth it.” Action was necessary because an engine light came on, but having the work done “cleaned the system amazingly,” he says, and emissions readings are now way down, from over 85 per cent to around 30.
During its first two years, the Saab was a rep’s company car, driven constantly on motorways, and very regularly serviced. Robin still keeps it pretty busy, and has taken the car on trips to France, Belgium and Sweden with the Saab Owners’ Club. He also uses it to tow a caravan on family holidays. The last was to Brittany, “we were five up, with two dogs and all our luggage, including a roof box. It may be high mileage, but it’s still smooth, comfortable to be in, and in good condition.” The car’s a ‘she’, says Robin, and he calls her ‘Kyla Blue’, from the Swedish for ‘cool’.

Sue Baker