Peter Simpson provides us with an insight into the automotive sales trading world – and beyond.
Sorting the Saab
As I mentioned in the April issue, I bought a 2010 Saab 9-3 convertible back in February. I find the old trade technique of buying a decent soft-top in winter to sell in spring does still work if you pick carefully. As we saw then, the bodywork wasn’t quite as perfect as described, but BCA resolved that speedily and satisfactorily.
On the mechanical side, the car was sold with a (fully-disclosed) EML light on. A fault-code read gave code P2075. This is usually caused by sticking swirl flaps within the inlet manifold, though the code also covers a faulty swirl flap actuator. Car Mechanics actually covered the swirl flap job as part of the recent 9-3 project, and as we saw then, it’s a bit tricky, as the manifold has to come right off, and the valve timing has to be locked up. The usual cure is to delete the swirl flaps, fit a set of plugs in their place, and then reprogramme the ECU so it knows that the flaps have gone.
However, when I took the car in for the job, Craig the mechanic noticed that the swirl flap operating rod hadn’t become disconnected – which usually happens when they stick – and the action seemed perfectly normal. So given that the code applied also to a failed actuator and changing that takes 15-20 minutes compared to three hours plus for the inlet manifold strip and refit, we decided to try an actuator first. And a 30-mile test run seems to have confirmed that it’s worked.
The car did have another fault though – this wasn’t disclosed, and it’s the sort of thing that isn’t in an auction situation. Over a period of three or four days, the battery drained. A new-looking Halfords battery (sadly without the warranty paperwork) suggested that this was a known fault and, quite possibly, the reason why the one owner from new had traded the car into webuyanycar.com
Tracing faults like this can be difficult and time-consuming. Fortunately, though, here is a common fault on 9-3s which causes just these symptoms – the ignition switch can stay part-on. And I’d noticed that the switch on my car did feel a bit iffy. A tame auto-electrician confirmed the fault using a technique I’ve never seen before – he took the switch’s temperature when everything was switched off and the fact that it was a couple of degrees warmer than the car, plus a bit of disconnecting and reconnecting-type diagnostics, confirmed that the switch was at fault. A replacement switch cost under £50 online and fitting same is less than an hour’s work. What’s more, because all the security coding, etc., is read elsewhere, changing the switc
