l am looking to buy a Saab 9000 CS and the person who is selling it said the mechanic said the ''turbo'' was broken. l think that would mean the turbocharger but l am not sure. What does it do and does the car need it? Any helps would be nice.

The ''turbo'' is indeed the turbocharger, a supercharger driven by the expanding exhaust gasses. This component is not just something you can just ''take off'' and live without. Replacement will cost about 5-700 bucks minimum if you do it yourself. get ready for some fun.

Yes, he means the turbocharger. Over time they wear out & need to be replaced.
The car does not ''Need'' it, in that u could probably re-tune it to run without the turbo, but that would be alot of work & cost alot of money.

A turbo acts as a compressor, forcing more air into the engine under pressure. This allows the motor to burn more fuel & make more power. A turbo is powered off of the exhaust gasses that ur engine produces. At normal speeds the engine is not producing much exhaust so the turbo is not doing much. When u put ur foot down, u produce more exhaust, the turbo spins up & begins to force the air into ur motor ultimately making more power. It is a good way to have the efficiency benefits of a small motor most of the time, but the power output of a bigger motor when u want it.

Here is the thing. Your car was desgined & tuned from the factory to use a turbo. All of the fuel mapping & programming have that in mind. If u remove the plumbing for the turbo the engine will never run right. It would be cheaper to replace the turbo than it would to re-do the motor to run without it.

Replacing a turbo can cost upwards of 1000 dollars.

A broken turbo is not a bargain. Forget it and continue shopping. There are a lot of SAABs for sale. No sense buying someone else is problem.

The car will not function without the turbocharger. Engine will have no power if turbo doe not function.

Turbocharger is attached in the exhaust outlet of the engine. The exhaust gases flow through it & drive an impeller that is attached to a shaft. The other end of this shaft is connected to an Air compressor pump. As the exhaust gases flow & begin to speed up, it then turns this compressor to pump air into the air intake. Normal engines r limited to whatever amount of air that is available. turbo cars can have about 7-10 psi of air pushed in the intake of the engine making it conserve in fuel or increase in horse power. Saab turbos r very safe cars & extremely fun to drive. l would have this saab checked by a qualified Saab repair shop. Don,t assume anything.

Everything that goes in the engine (air) has to pass thru the turbo. Every thing that leaves (exhaust) must pass thru the turbo. When they wear out, they usually turn a little sideways. This really restricts the flow in both directions and the power is just not there. So find one with a pile of receits and one must be for a turbo!