An honest opinion needed..

Hi there go with what you really wanted in the first place and you wont go wrong . I always wanted a 1960s radford mini nothing would do and nothing was for sale because of its uniqueness. Waited 5 years and got a phone call from a contact I made and he came up with a 1964 radford mini hatchback no less but I had to go to switzerland to get it and it was l.h.d . In the end I bought it and I love it . Its the 1 of only 3 in the u.k . Aswell . Oh the previous owner was the cadbury family .. Hope this helps in your decision. Buy it and love it

If your in two minds go and test drive both to see which one you prefer. But if a rare ish car you want turns up in your price range locally I don't think I could pass up going for a look.

I've had a 2001 Aero and a 1999 LPT.

The Aero body kit makes it a better looking car imo, but the engines are weaker, b204 engines (usually red D.I.) found in early 9-3's are capable of over 400bhp on stock internals whereas the newer T7 b205 (normally black D.I. cassette) are known for their sludge issues and have weaker internals.

Ideally you want an early 9-3 and if its lpt you're only a remap away (circa £50) from Aero power anyway but you'll have the bulletproof b204.

As said though, the Aero/Viggen kit (bigger bumpers) completely changes the look of the car but the kits can be had pretty cheap s/h now so you could always buy one to fit to your more reliable motor if you was set on the look...

They're also prone to bulkhead cracks that can be avoided by fitting a steering rack clamp and brace.

CV joints and gearbox bearing can be another weak point but they're really, really reliable cars, usually only a D.I. cassette failure will stop these from working (and obviously sludge on new ones)

They're really easily tuneable, I paid £50 for my lpt to go stage 1, which is around a 50-70bhp increase! Stage 3 is dp and a remap to see around 280bhp...Bargain power.

If you was dead set on the SAAB in the first place, then thats where your heart lies
Been there done that many times!
Been looking for a Ventora for years and been buying various rides which I thought would be as good,
but just aint a Vennie......
buy the 2nd choice and you will always think (wish I brought ..)
Buy the SAAB

Scratch that original itch or it won't go away!