hi dan,
o.k. direct from the horses mouth, i did it, changed the stereo head unit in my 2001 9-3 SEt. i guess it's pretty much the same as yours. to change the head unit (i couldn't find a way to make an auxilliary input on the existing original). believe me, you're not missing anything by loosing the original, apart from steering wheel controls, novelty comfort. i was the same as you, so reluctant to loose the old one, after seven years of driving 9-3 convertibles. then one day a friend of mine showed up with a 1998 (s-reg) model and he changed his head unit, it blew me away. he said it was a piece of cake to change but then he's a electronic technician. i thought, so if it took him thirty minutes, me, well, an hour.
i went to saab and bought the fixing kit. set me back by about fifteen pounds. it's nothing to look at though. then a little trip down to halfords to pick up a stereo removal tool (in the old days, we used to use a bent over coat hanger..hmm). now we're grown up and can afford these things (yes, the fine sume of five punds or so).
anyway, one saturday monring i plucked up the courage to do it. now previously, i had the guys from argos to fit the same model of stereo into an old daihatsu sportrak of mine and that was really straight forward for him. so i thought, on an old machine like that, compared to the saab, it should be doddle. so, i read the saab instructions for the fitting kit. it requiered cutting some bits of plastic, so you'll need a stanley knife or something like that. actually, the kit was designed for a 900, that's how long they've been churning out the same propietary rubbish!! then it was time to get out the puller, i inserted the first one into the first pair of holes. it went in just fine, well so i thought. then i inserted the other one. i tried to pull it out and out went the two pullers with the head unit still the dash board. BUGGER!! i put the pullers back in and this time they went in further, looked promising. same as before, they flew out, leaving the stereo in the dash board!! next, i put the pullers in again and they went in deeper. finally with a bit of jiggling around it came out. if you need pictures, i can send them f the stereo so you can have an idea f what you're putting the puller into. it's a big old heavy archaic thing. fitting was easy peasy. because nowadays everything is I.S.O. (the saab is similar to the vauxhall/opel/holden etc.) sockets, it all just plugged in. with my aiwa, i had to swap around i think one or two wires but that i reckon was specific to the aiwa that i fitted. just follow the wiring diagrammes. it really isn't that hard. oh and it's mp3 compatible.
by the way, if you have problems with your sid, now's the time to change it. it just pops out, with the stereo removed. in england they're over three hundred pounds. here in rotterdam, you can get it part exchanged and married up to your car for under three hundred euros. so if you do a day trip booz cruise to calais etc. the netherlands is only three hours up the road. in my opinion, it's worth it but remember to book in advance. if you need help with a dealer, i know some good ones here.
a few other things to be aware of is, DO NOT remove the piece of plastic between the old stereo and the sid unit, it's riveted/screwed in from the inside!! also, the saab stereos will break down eventually, especially if you play home made cd's and drive 45k miles per annum. i got through two of them. for the money, in my opinion, they really aren't wirth it. also, i think you can get third party stereos that are compatible with the steering controls or kits are available. i reckon when you see what's involved, you'll be tempted to wire up the steering controls to you stereo. i must say, saab have made the 900 and 9-3 with a bit of thought.
well, any problems let me know, it really isn't hard, just takes a bit of patience. oh yeh, alternatively, buy you stereo from argos and they'll fit it free anywhere in the u.k.mainland.
god luck...
rammy.
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