I saw one of these on the road the other day and thought it looked pretty nice. I don't really know much about them, or even really heard anything too much about them.

What do you guys think?

 

Ex g/f had a Saab. It spent more time in the shop then on the road.

2006 93 Convertible.

 

Didn't it make the consumer reports least reliable cars list? They do look pretty nice though and it's hard to see them around.. maybe there's a reason for that though

 

y'know, every time I see one I think "Nice car" then I'm reminded how cheesy the interior looks and I think "No way."

 

 

Extremely prone to reliability issues, good looking car on the outside, decent drivers car and despite others while sitting in them I never think cheesy I just see Saabish utilitarianism. But one neat thing is you can watch it in the garage as it sheds money... (resell).

 

I like Saabs in theory. Just not in practice.

 

the interior design kills it

 

...pretty much always on that particular list....pre and post GM ownership.

 

my roommate drives Saab 93 from 2003, it is a piece of junk.
Something always breaks here or there

 

You think they'd learn?

Fix the interior and do a little quality control...

That should sell.

Where do I apply to be CEO of whomever owns them?

 

That would be General Motors

 

It's because they're always at the mechanics waiting to be fixed.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself!


btw... I do love their night time feature, it looks very bad ass!

 

I've seen one like this but with a nice tint... and wheels, maybe lowered... and I'll admit... it DID looked pretty cool. But it's not a car I would even put on any list

 

I drove one in Europe (a few test drives on the Autobahn....Woo Hooo.... Anyway, the 9-3 Linear and Arc were..um...underpowered. The 9-3 Aero (I think it was the Vector), was pretty decent. The cockpit grows on you.

But for the love of god, torque steer that could make you swear off anything FWD.....



The cost would have to be amazingly low..... Just my

 

The older ones were some of the most reliable cars ever, even the turbo ones went 200,000, 300,000+ miles and still ran great. I think since GM took over they spent more time and money on design rather than the quality control. Cars look great, shame about the issues though.

 

they look good...but i just think there are many more and better options for the price.

 

i agree 100%, i dont think its bad. I actually like it. And i think it looks great from the outside but reliability kills it...

 

I've never cared much for 'em.

 

I hate to admit it, but I'm a little bit of a Saabphile. That said Saab is dead, they have been dead ever since GM got their hands on them (if it has an Onstar button, it's not really a Saab).

There are 3 Saabs that are worth buying.
1)The Saab 99 turbo. This was the predecessor to the 900, they were lighter than a 900 and for the most part more powerful.
2)The Saab 99 EMS. This was the "European Motorsport" version, a buddy of mine had a 1979 99 EMS, it had more HP than his moms 1986 900.
3)The Saab 900 SPG. SPG=Special Performance Group (it was the predecessor to an Aero)These were produced between 85-91 and had a high pressure turbo as well as a factory lowering kit and body kit. They had no logos on them other than the "Saab" stamp and ran 3 spoke wheels. They were very mod friendly (especially the turbo) the biggest problem was that they consumed CV joints like a Vtec consumes oil.

Any way even being a self admitted Saabphile, I wouldn't buy any Saab produced after 1991.

 

I've seen 9-3 Aero's a few times before and i always thought they look nice, especially in black. I never realized how bad reliability is for this car though.

 

Ive always thought Saabs looked pretty cool, but these reliability horror stories are enough to make me want to drive a suzuki over one

 

kind of off topic, Years ago, a friend of mine had a company car SAAB 9-5, SAAB has always known for being quirky. The most impressive of that 9-5 was the cup holder next to the vent slot in front of the passenger. Normally, it is hidden that you can't even see it, but when you push the edge of it, the plate flips out vertically towards you like a folding knife, then unravel itself horizontally and slowly, booom, the cup holder is out. When you push it again, it reverses everything and hides back into the slot. I was like a little boy in a toy store, playing with that thing for the whole trip. Not sure if the new 9-3 has it.

 

any of you seen the 9-2x..basically a wrx wagon in saab clothing..i personally like it better than the wrx too

 

I have a 2005 Saab 9-3 And it drives without any problems what-so-ever. I had total of 3 repairs done to it under warranty. None of which were critical. Like one of those was replacement of recirculation motor for AC (button to close open air intake from outside), etc.

Before that I have a 9000 that drove to 200,000+ miles and gave up because I wanted a new saab, not because it failed. But it did start to get (mostly noise) problems at that time, that I'm sure could have been fixed for a few hundred of dollars.

When it comes to list of reliability, I believe 2006 model was at the bottom of consumer reports list because they introduced changes to it. As well as 2003 models. Anyone who is remotely Saab enthusiast would know not to buy those (2003 or 2006) models.

When it comes to style, it's an individual thing. Saabs are very European styled. Unlike Japanese cars that classify upgrades to design by "licking" the exterior more and more every year. Nissan, and Honda would be a good example of that. There is nothing wrong with that. It's all in the taste.

Interior I can understand that may feel a bit dated at first, but it was modeled to create more of a jet fighter feel to it. The dash is rotated slightly towards driver and saab used mostly buttons instead of knobs, beauty of which you'd appreciate more if you had AERO model and looked at the lights inside at night. But again. It's a personal thing when it comes to looks. And it might be luck thing when it comes to reliability, who knows. But so far, I had luck with Saabs and so is my friend's mother who had 4 Saabs now and all outperformed her expectations. (To be fair she doesn't have very high ones though).

I think Saabs get a lot of unnecessary flak from people who never actually even been nor driven one. Do yourself a favor, and next time you drive past a dealership or Carmax and have time, stop by and ask to test drive a new 9-3 Aero. You will see that's a good hybrid of sporty feel with a lot of comfort inside as well.




Good luck!

 

wow, the ergonomics of that dash really proves itself at night

 

That's what night panel button was designed for. Some people don't get it and laugh at it. Because they have linear model that doesn't have as many lights on the dashboard, so it does feel unnecessary. Different story on Aero as you can see.

Once you push it, it shuts off any lights that aren't used to create a darker atmosphere (when you are in the mood for it). Speed-o-meter can be adjusted in settings to display from 0-90 or whole thing. Other things like RPM /OIL temp/ FUEL go dark too but only for as long as you don't have to worry about them. For example, gas levels indicator will light up again when your gas level drops below 1/4 of a tank.

 

hmm...good rebutle for my sarcastic comment

 

A kid I work with has an '04 9-3... He had the transmission replaced three times, and just had the engine completely replaced. The A/C doesn't work, the radio doesn't work, and none of the power windows work... He hates it.

He did, however, take it on a road trip from Connecticut down to Louisana up to Michigan and back to Connecticut and said it ran fine but still said he can't wait to get rid of it...

 

Slow. period.

 

Wow.
I never realized they had such crappy reliability. Scratch that one off my list.


Btw...whoever posted on the 'night feature'.....does the green on the speedometer show how fast you've driven since you turned the car on? lol

 

Clearly you haven't tried 9-3 Turbo X or Viggen edition then.
Even then, saabs 9-3 are very customizable, and you can pimp it pretty good if you want to. Which is where I assume you are going with it. Since I don't really believe Mazdas 3s are speed demons either.

I have a friend who is a cop in Sweden, and he'll beg to differ with you on "slow" argument. At least in Sweden.

 

My last car was a 9-3 convertible, it ran great for me for 175,000 miles. The only serious repair it ever needed was a fuel pump at about 130,000 miles. My dad had his 89 SAAB 900 for 12 years and 250,000 miles and had the transmission replaced once. My brother had a 900 that required nothing major for 10 years and 120,000 miles.

As far as all the consumer reports rated it crappy comments, 10 seconds worth of research would have shown you that it gets an average rating for reliability, which is what the BMW, Audi, and Volvo get as well. If you are so hopped up on reliability, buy a Japanese car not a european one.

EVERYONE has stories about how so and so had one of whatever and hated it because it always broke down. Go take a look at the 3G TL board if you want to see people bitching about broken down cars.

 

I'm not here to convince you otherwise. But I mostly do know that people that usually slam Saabs admit they have never driven one and instead whip out arguments like: "My friend, my ex, my dog ...had a saab and he hated it".

I'm merely stating my option because I went through 2 saabs myself and even though they have problems (which car doesn't?), they get way more flak from people than they deserve.

I won't guarantee that if you buy a saab it won't break. Nor can you tell me if let's say Acura won't. I'm assuming since it's an Acura forums, I'm not going to change your mind on anything. But at least what I can do is post about common misinformation about Saabs.

My girlfriend worked at Carmax and before buying latest saab I testdrove 6 other cars of same class. My pick was between MB240 or Saab 9-3. And I picked the later one, possibly leaned by my previous good experience with saab as well.

My point here is, that people will be quick to slam a car based on the fact they don't like the look of it, but will tail on "friend" story to make themselves sound better. So go out there and test drive a car instead of collecting opinions of people who don't like how AC button looks.

 

They are Mid 14 second cars at best unless modded. For what its worth the Mazda 3 Hatch I own is my wife's. The Speed 6 is mine and it would smoke either of those SaaBs and is AWD too!.

 

You might want to look up some info before you say stuff. The power/weight ratio of the SAAB Aero is 11lbs/hp your superduper Mazda is 13lbs/hp. The torque in your car is 280, in the SAAB its 262. If your car didn't weigh so much (because of that AWD) you might have been able to win in a race. But because it does, you'd lose.

 

Oh and did I forget to mention that the SAAB gets better gas mileage than your Mazda too?

 

I'll take the MS6 thank you. Saab is not unlike Jeep, the Mini and to some degree VW: They have a loyal following but most will opt for the alternatives. ...and at its price level (new), there is no way I would get one over its BMW, Infiniti or Lexus competition.

Funny sidenote: On my flight on Continental airlines last week, I was reading an article about the new Turbo X in their inflight mag and nearly upon reading this: LINK

...as though the 335xi does not offer a "sporty, upmarket driving experience."

 

S omething
A n
A sshole
B uys


But really, If you can get a good price, and you have some vehicle history (know the service record), then get it. I saw a 9-3 2.0T with a 5 speed in Hawaii, brand new, for $19,999. Does it get cheaper than that? I think their quality is better than anything else GM puts out.