Tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly....Maintenance costs/upkeep/reliability? I found one I really like (test driving tomorrow) and it's in my price range, but I want to know if it will go to 150K+ like a honda/toyota/nissan will? I've spoke to some independent parts/maintenance people, and they say care is not as pricey as it used to be. If anyone has any info, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
2006-08-03 09:47:53 · 11 answers · asked by sunshine 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Saab
Oh yea, Saabs are awful. Bunch of junk. And the old ones are even worse.
That must be why my 20 year old 900 has 280,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ, doesn't burn and oil and gets 33 mpg on the highway.
Oh and Saab parts are like insanely expensive. Why AutoZone charges $150 for a alternator for a 2002 9-3. Whereas AutoZone will sell you an alternator for a 2002 Toyota Camery for a platry $172.
Why that's a savings of minus $22!
And then there's those silly turbos. Everyone knows they are a flakey part that's prone to failure if not babied. Did I mention my 280,000 car still has the original turbo and makes a healthy 12 lbs of boost? Did I?
Here's the deal. With proper maintance the car should have no problems exceeding 150,000 miles. If you like the way it drives then buy it. And you should get a good value as some many people are put off their value plumets for the first 3-4 years, price wise this is the perfect time to be looking at a 2002.
Or you can be like my firend who looked at and loved the 9-3 but was so afriad of its undeserved reputation that he chickend out and bought a Honda Accord.
Did I mention the transmission on his Accord ate itself at 84,000 miles?
Did I?
2006-08-03 16:53:00 · answer #1 · answered by Chad D 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't have a 9-3, but I do have a 9-5, I have had great service out of it. It has 183k miles. It has been very reliable, a friend liked mine so well he bought one too. Find a good service facility or
you won't be satisfied. I took mine to an independant shop for
an alignment and they damaged my car, My friend took his to the shop and they overfilled the oil, and it blew a front sill, I also have a old 9000, which is a good car, hit a deer and only did minor damage. I do most of my own repairs to avoid the incompetant
local repair shops, not all that hard to work on. Just like any car their are good and bad ones out there, I had a 2004 Accord, hated it, bad paint, rode terrible, noisy, will never by another honda. I could drive the Honda 200 miles and couldn't walk when I got out of it, drive my saab all day and not completly exhausted.
Hope this info helps.
2006-08-04 18:49:15 · answer #2 · answered by bahn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So my fiance is a technician, and is telling me that Saab's are terrible to work on, parts are outrageous, and even though they are cute little cars they dont run forever. Nothing will. The only upside is the Swedish engineering is a plus for speed and stability if thats what your going for. Try a Toyota, they last a very long time, repairs and parts a affordable and there new models are neat.
2006-08-03 09:56:35 · answer #3 · answered by hvandyk82 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know if this applies yesterday a 9-5 wagon was towed in customer had just filled with fuel and had been driving 5 or so minutes when he noticed the car behind him flashing his lights and blowing his horn at same time engine power started dying out so he pulled over. fuel was pouring out from under the car. he lost more than half a tank.
anyway fault traced the leak to fuel line had come uncoupled and popped off of the pressure/supply port on the in tank fuel pump/Gage sending unit. this is accessed by lifting rear seat bottom and moving circle shaped carpet cutout out of the way and prying out metal access cover i put the hose back on and tie strapped the locking device to the fuel line the car is a 2001 model and has about 55k miles on it the style of fuel line lock is not of a positive locking style and probably should be inspected on all models [ he is real lucky it didn't burn] p.s. i have always enjoyed working on Saab's but feel this design is inexcusable.
2006-08-05 00:53:33 · answer #4 · answered by hobbabob 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a 2003 and I love it!!Convertible is great in summer, plus I drive it all winter-5 speed with snow tires. That car will go thru anything. I've had nothing repaired, except for the obvious-brakes, wiper blades. Rides like a dream. We already have 88,000 on it-we take it all over the country. Small trunk space obviously-but I think you'll love it. I never want to drive another car.
2006-08-05 10:44:03 · answer #5 · answered by mcghankathy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get it. They're hot. They're riliable. Very solidly built. Plus they got the prestige factor, and some nice acceleration. So get one before GM totally messes them all up by sharing their piece of crap GM parts bin with them... Think SAAB SUV... 2002 is still a SAAB more or less. Can't promise you that for long tho.
2006-08-03 09:51:26 · answer #6 · answered by DmanLT21 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i had a 9-3 arc (the mid-level model) and absolutely loved it. that little 2 liter, 4 cylinder, turbo charged baby screamed and with the six-speed - what a blast to drive. i could cruise at 90mph and get 30 mpg. i had a couple of problems with the electric windows, but those were covered by warranty. the disk brakes actually had GM stamped on them. i'd get another one in a heartbeat.
2006-08-03 09:55:56 · answer #7 · answered by dwalkercpa 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Theres a saab stry behind every one good luck finding anyone who wants to work on it.
2006-08-03 16:30:31 · answer #8 · answered by hartnessracer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have a 2003 9-3 (for what it's worth). LOVE IT. no problems. i'm at 60k miles and the thing has had 3 oil changes and that is it. fun, fast, stylish, luxurious feeling, safe.
2006-08-03 18:37:45 · answer #9 · answered by aj 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ive heard they are not very reliable, alot of money for a subpar car
2006-08-03 09:51:50 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋