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

S

stilez

New member
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



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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...



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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



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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.



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BTW: All of these details have Hyper Dressing used. I did a 2:1 mixture vs. 2.5:1. It applies a little easier and I like the little more shine it gives :)





Enjoy!
 
Hope someone from Saab sees this! That car sounds as bad as an older Jag :eek: For the price that absolutely should not happen

:down
 
Yeah, after '93 GM started having Saab do bad things to their cars to lower costs and, of course, increase profits. I know a guy that drove an '86 900 Turbo for 392,000+ miles before losing it to an accident. Original drivetrain and electronics. I swear that car never needed anything beyond brakes/clutch/tires and suspension. Maybe an exhaust or too as well. (it was a Michigan car.) All things change I guess. I can't say I'd buy one nowadays either.
 
Nice work :xyxthumbs



I had two Saabs. A 1986 9000s and a 1992 9000s. Hands down, probably two of the WORST cars EVER. They were the biggest pieces of crap mechanically. Plus, cosmetically, the 92' started to completely fall apart on the inside.



My father poured THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars into the cars even AFTER the extended warranty he purchased ran out.



We sold the 86' to our Saab mechanic for $1000 cash. It was in real great shape cosmetically. I just loved the interior. The mechanic's father wanted it b/c of the condition. However it needed it's major 120,000 service, new brakes and a master cylinder - all services worth more than the car. I recently saw it all fixed up!



We sold the 92' to one of the mechanic's other clients for $2500. Total garbage of a car. I was shocked we got that much. It was falling apart.



All in all, I really liked the 86' and all her quirky behaviors. I drove the car for about 10 years and got to know exactly how to treat her. I was sad to see her go.



But, my folks have replaced two Saabs with two BMW 325xi. One gray and the other silver. A nice improvement :p



Sorry to rant, but you hit the nail on the head regarding Saabs!
 
BEAUTIFUL work Sean!! :xyxthumbs :xyxthumbs



I attribute your gf's Saab's problems to that bumper sticker!! :cool:
 
nice work Sean. bummers to hear about your gf's Saab, but aren't they owned by GM? ;)

the malibu has a nice color, it looks black yet is a metallic blue. cool. so are you going to try zaino now?

and great job on the other vehicles. so is your uncle going to get rid of his saab after hearing what happened to your gf's one?
 
lookin good. i see you started busting out the AIO again:) the white highlander looks really good and the paint on the mailbu cleaned up perfectly. keep it up!.



Vernon
 
Mad props on the work! Lookin' good!



Funny, just today I was at a Auto Glass place getting a chip in my windshield replaced.... I was in the waiting room flipping thru magazines and there was a BIG OL' article about SAAB...it started out "2004, like any other year, has been a very tough year for SAAB..........." It went on to talk about declining sales and their obnoxiously(sp) high prices.
 
Yeah so Saab = Teh Lose



I still see the older ones on the road. I guess they are tanks but the new ones are crap. Saab, I believe, only recently were taken over by GM. Too bad they've lost soo many customers lately that this change won't help much.



My uncle absolutely hates his car. Always a new problem with it. He got it because it has nice lines, good power, and he loves convertibles. When the lease is up, he is picking up a Toureg...I told him "Smart Move".



Back to the details...Thanks for the compliments :)



I will be trying out Zaino for the winter. Now I have a ton, so probably on a couple cars.



I'm glad I broke out the AIO. Almost forgot how much I liked it. It leaves an extremely slick and glossy/wet surface. NXT just added a little more reflectivity and wetness.



Matt: Yup, there's is plastic based compared to ClayMagic's/Wolfgang's elastic based. It picks up contaminants easier, but it's harder to knead, especially when it's cold.
 
My dad's Saab had it's computer replaced, maf replaced, antena mechanism replaced... otherwise it is 6 years and running... now detailed by me! :D



It's a Saab 93 2.2TiD SE coupé.



Let's hope that it stays running smoothly for some more years! ;)
 
Sean - excellent details as always!

Was the black saab SS paint?



The Highlander reminds me of the one I detailed awhile back.



Sorry about your girlfriend's Saab. Maybe she should try selling it after it is repaired and get a Japanese car. m2c.



Don't you wish it was summer?



Haven't tried my Makita yet. :D
 
Tom: I'm not sure about the Saab paint. To me it looked very deep in color, but I didn't get to polish it.



I think she is gonna go for a Volvo S40 T5 or a Land Rover Discovery.



I definatley wish it was warm :(
 
There are some issues with the Discovery (don't have details) so I'd go with the Volvo out of the 2.



I detailed a black saab like that and it was SS.
 
Excellent work, Sean! Too bad about your g/f's Snob but at least it is probably the shiniest thing that has been on that wrecker's hook in a long time!



I noticed you are applying NXT by hand. Have you tried it via PC? Seems to work better that way for me. Just curious if you have tried using it with a PC and what you think.



That Maxx turned out pretty good, how do you like UPP? I don't remember seeing you use it before. Personally, I like the wet look and ultra slickness.
 
Great job as usual Sean...



As for our gf's slaab, they aren't known for reliability hehe Although, the new 92X is just a rebadged WRX (identical engine/tranny/AWD) and new Subarus fare pretty well as daily cars.



Can't wait for you to get to work on my GVR4 :)



Jon

www.z1auto.com
 
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