carpeep

Saab 900, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

1,758 Saab 900s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 63.4% of initial MOT tests, 8.9 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific 900? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Saab 900 at the MOT

63.4% of 2,116 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the 900 452nd of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Saab 90063.4%
  • All Saab modelsThe 900 is 0.6 pts behind64%
  • All cars72.3%

Where 900s fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Saab 900 tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment25.3%
  • Brakes20.8%
  • Suspension14.1%
  • Body, chassis, structure10.7%
  • Visibility7.9%

The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (8%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4.4%) and side repeaters not working (3.4%).

The MOT page lists every common 900 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Saab 900 MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The 900's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.25.3% of 900 failure items

  2. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.20.8% of 900 failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.14.1% of 900 failure items

Saab 900s in the UK

1,758 were licensed at the end of June 2026, the 3rd most of any Saab. The number licensed has fallen 76% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−76%from 7,243 licensed
Typical year of first use
1992half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 1992 or earlier
Declared off the road
4,21771% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Saab 900s since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20147,243
End of 20156,013
End of 20164,970
End of 20174,153
End of 20183,533
End of 20193,012
End of 20202,604
End of 20212,354
End of 20222,142
End of 20231,903
End of 20241,711
End of 20251,584
End of June 20261,758

How old they are

Licensed Saab 900s by year of first use.

A further 21 were first used before 1982.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
20012
20001
19991
199852
1997171
199669
199549
199431
1993266
1992213
1991166
1990171
198978
198854
198738
198621
198524
198432
198322
19829

900 engine sizes

2.0 litre engines made up 94% of Saab 900 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 2.3 litre at 4.8%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed 900s.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 2,115 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 2.0 litre94.2%
  • 2.3 litre4.8%

Saab 900 recalls

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Saab 900. The 8 most recent are below. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every 900 is affected.

  1. Apr 2003 R/2003/057

    Possible inadvertant deployment of front airbag(s)

    4,307 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A capacitor in the front air bag control unit may short circuit This could lead to an inadvertent deployment of the air bag(s).
    Remedy
    Check the air bag control module and renew where found necessary.

  2. Jul 2002 R/2002/093

    Towball came adrift from towbar

    596 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A combination of internal and external forces caused the towball to prematurely detach itself from the towball housing resulting in separation of the trailer from the drawing unit.
    Remedy
    All towballs and housing will initially be modified and then replaced with calibrated units at a later date.

  3. Oct 2001 R/2001/099

    Unintentional deployment of passenger air bag

    900s built Jan 1997 to Dec 1998 · 4,166 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A build up of static electricity may cause unintentional deployment of the front passenger air bag.
    Remedy
    Recall affected vehicles and fit a grounding wire between the air bag module and the vehicle body.

  4. Apr 1997 R/1997/024

    Possibility of the throttle binding

    22,135 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Binding of the throttle lever may occur due to the possibility of white corrosion.
    Remedy
    The affected vehicles are being recalled for replacement of the zinc coated bushing in the throttle lever with a nickel coated version.

  5. May 1996 R/1996/061

    Specification of seat belt tongue

    900s built Sep 1995 to Oct 1995 · 351 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The tongue at the end of the seat belt has not been hardened to the correct specification.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles for replacement of the seat belt assembly.

  6. Feb 1996 R/1996/019

    Misalignment of steering column

    900s built May 1994 to Jul 1995 · 1,678 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The steering column may have been misaligned during assembly. This could cause fatigue in the column and result in loss of steering control.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles for inspection of the steering column. Where misalignment is found the steering column assembly will be replaced.

  7. Mar 1995 R/1995/018

    Possible short circuit

    900s built Jun 1994 · 103 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The security siren wiring terminal which is tied back by the left hand headlamp assembly has not been sufficiently insulated. This could result in a short circuit.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles and fit a plastic insulating sleeve to the subject terminal.

  8. Feb 1995 R/1995/002

    Missing welds on seat frame

    900s built Mar 1994 to Sep 1994 · 3,842 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    On some vehicles some welds may be missing from the back frames of the front seats.
    Remedy
    Recall the affected vehicles for checking of the front seat frames. Where a fault is identified the seat frame will be replaced.
How to check a specific 900 for recalls

Other Saab models

The most-tested Saab models in 2025, against the 900's 63.4% MOT pass rate.

All 3 Saab models

Saab 900 FAQs

How many Saab 900s are there in the UK?

1,758 Saab 900s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 4,217 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Saab 900 reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 63.4% first-time pass rate for the Saab 900 across 2,116 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Saab 900 had any recalls?

11 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Saab 900. The most recent was published in April 2003. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Saab 900?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Saab 900's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a 900?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Saab history check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.