Topic: Totally off topic

[martini]

Heres one outta left field - I'm looking at buying a 2000 Saab 9-3. Buddy owns the car and is moving out of the country. The car has been his baby, looks like new, regular maintenance, low kms, etc., etc.. He is going to give a nice deal on it too. My only reservation is I've heard mixed things about Saab's reliability. I know this is a motorcylce website but thought maybe someone might have some experience with this car.

[heffay]

my exgirlfriend's family owns many saabs... a 94aero, 97aero, 98cseturbo (btw, aeros are turbos too) a 70 something saab 99 and recently bought a vega (not sure what year)... the 94 aero was in the shop more than it was out, so was the 97... the 98 was in every once in a while... and they haven't had the vega long enuf to tell yet... the best one of the bunch was the saab99... no it's not a model year 99, they were earlier in the 70s.  you say 9 3?  another friend owns a 9 3... not much trouble but it is low miles too.  i wont lie... once they start going into the shop regularly they are hell on the pocketbook!  not cheap in any sense of the word.

by the way, if it's not a turbo and you like to go fast... don't buy it, they are slugs!

[martini]

my exgirlfriend's family owns many saabs... a 94aero, 97aero, 98cseturbo (btw, aeros are turbos too) a 70 something saab 99 and recently bought a vega (not sure what year)... the 94 aero was in the shop more than it was out, so was the 97... the 98 was in every once in a while... and they haven't had the vega long enuf to tell yet... the best one of the bunch was the saab99... no it's not a model year 99, they were earlier in the 70s. you say 9 3? another friend owns a 9 3... not much trouble but it is low miles too. i wont lie... once they start going into the shop regularly they are hell on the pocketbook! not cheap in any sense of the word.

by the way, if it's not a turbo and you like to go fast... don't buy it, they are slugs!

Thanks for the reply Heffay. From what I can gather the 99 and newer are supossed to be a little more reliable. Must be some reason your ex's family have stuck with them. BTW it is a turbo and the thing flys.

[heffay]

just so you know... it was 99 or sometime close to then saab was "bought out" by GM i believe it was.  so, they are not truly saabs in the truest sense of the word.  and, i've actually heard the opposite of saab reliability post '99.  i think that the reason her family's cars broke so much is they all drive like friggin maniacs... hence their insatiable appetite for turbo saabs... they really are fast!

[Uncle Ernie]

Saabs are Saabs the way Jags are Jags.  Saab owners love them. LOVE them. And that's why they're happy to shell out the dough on maintenance and fixing stuff.  Ask any woman why she stays with a man who beats her- "'cause Ah luv 'im..."
They're fun to drive, though.

[martini]

The same might be said of SOHC owners ;)Mine has been known to treat me pretty poorly at times.

[Sam Green Racing]

I only know of one guy that owned a Saab turbo, mid 90s job, cost him loads in maintanence, wasn't pleased with it.

Sam.

[heffay]

here's my take on saabs... as you can probably guess... i've driven a few!

as long as I'm not the one to pay the maintenence fees... they are a smokin good time!  in fact, they are truly some of the quickest rides i've ever driven.  then again, my taurus SHO was a fabulous ride that costs much less to get into, will smoke the tires in 3 outa 5 gears and had nearly all the same options!  course, i did sell it due to outrageous repair costs... 1,200 for a water pump... i think not!

you have to consider that you are buying a car that you ARE going to tear up... it's got a TURBO for cryin out loud!

if you're gonna drive the car like it was designed to be driven... you're gonna pay some repair costs.

on average, i'd expect to pay 2 to 3 times the average repair cost for an "average" repair... think of it this way...








do you really want an average car?   

[amattel]

I had an 96 9000 turbo.  I loved everything about the car EXCEPT for the way it ate all my savings trying to maintain it.  I traded it in when I started hearing whispers of it needing a new transmission

MY Mechanic called it my "saab story"  HA HA.

What I found quite irritating was bringing it in to be fixed, paying several hondred dollars and having do the same thing it did before.  I don't mind spending money on my vehicales if spending money DOES SOMETHING    otehr than make me poorer.

It only had 60k on it when I bought it, but evidently that was enough for the games to begin.

I have heard that they are great under warrantee but you'd better be a top notch mechanic to make it worth owning one out of warrantee.

Adam

[Bodi]

I don't think I've seen a Saab that was being driven sanely. I would considerf a used one like I would a bike with a bored out engine, nitrous and turbo described as "never been raced".