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Saab 9-3 SportCombi
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Comments
I guess after 4 years the A-4 has been pretty reliable, there has been no major repairs except changing those real expensive 17 inch tires, twice. I love the A4, the interior is tight, no rattles, nobody does interiors better than Audi. The ride is smooth and the quattro takes corners like its on a rail. I guess the best way to describe the Audi is tight, it wraps around you nicely and after you've driven a few years, you can really understand and appreciate the handling and ergonimics. I'll miss the car when my lease expires.
The new 9-3Sport Combi has an airy light feeling. Its not a sportwagon like the avant was. Handling is ok and the suspension is softer. The interior is very nice and my backside is older now, and it enjoys the nice soft leather as opposed to the firmer Audi seats. It's much roomier than the Avant. The turbo lag on the Saab is much better than it was. (Did I mention I had an old 9-3 too?) Off the line it's much faster than my Audi, and the turbo boost is great for passing cars. It is faster than the Audi, I don't know how it compares to the new 2.0. However there is one huge advantage PRICE. It's just as good as the Audi for much, much less.
Keep us posted. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Its distant American cousins, the Saturn Aura, Pontiac G6 and Chevy Malibu, are mostly built in Fairfax, Kansas.
I'm about to buy a new vehicle soon. I really like the look, drive, and features of the 930 Combi, but I'm reading bad things about Saab's quality. In fact, consumer reports said expected reliability is "very below average."
This scares me away. Anyone have other research, reports, stories, testimonials, etc., that might reassure me.
If not, then its probably an RDX?
wifes has 04 linear (same car but sedan) has been very reliable maybe one warranty claim so far at 2.5 years 27,000 miles.
i now own an 06 9-5 sportcombi. very good 1283 miles so far.
Sport ride, the safest cars, great seats, great fuel economy and sport turbo engines.
anthony
My family currently owns two Saab 9-5s, which brings the total we have owned to four. I'd say that they won't beat Hondas (we also own one of those) on the reliability score, but disagree that their reliability is so irredeemably poor that buyers should stay away, particularly if they like the car and its price.
One question I've always had about CR reports, especially reliability, is this: What counts as 1?
For example, you have 1,000 miles on the odometer and in rapid succession a headlight bulb burns out and the serpentine belt fails.
Is that two? One? 1.575? Or what? If you don't know how they assign values it's hard to tell whether CR's predictions are a useful guide for future performance or not.
It seems to me that a reliability score should be based on a vehicles' propensity for dumping the owner at the side of the road and be built on a robust data base, not self reporting. In my opinion, cosmetic complaints may be very irritating to the person who writes a monthly check to the finance company, but do not rise to the level of reliability.
CR says they "weight" drive train issues higher, but won't say how much higher. Since I'm a subscriber, I was sent their survey and one of the questions is how many times to the dealer for warranty work... then they ask a series of questions designed to "categorize" the work.
They do note they are reported "averages" and clearly state that a car rated above average reliability may cause a particular owner serious problems and that a car rated below average might be problem free for a particular person. They also note the "variance" associated across dealers whose service practices are not alike. My current car that I'm very happy with (RX-8) is nevertheless rated below average reliability. I've had warranty work once in three years when the clutch wore out (it was only rattling) but the dealer was my total advocate and took great care of me.... hence I'm inclined to buy Mazda again and recommend them... but part of my positive experience is the dealer.
Aye, there's the rub, methinks. The info is presented as predictive, but it comes with a big caveat.
Personally, for reliability, I'd like to see a hard number that reports how often the cars dumped the driver at the side of the road a/o put the car out of service -- the automotive equivalent of placing a car on injured reserve. Then prospective buyers could simply compare numbers across brands and models and assess their odds.
My hypothesis is that the number difference between a car that CR currently rates as "reliable" and one that it rates as "unreliable" might not be all that big-- but the forced ranking requires that someone has to be below average.
Well, no, I dunno how the data would be collected to do this.
I completely agree with your comment that the dealer can take a lot of subjective frustration out of "reliability" problems which would lead to better customer satisfaction scores. A little empathy, a loaner car and getting the fix right the first time go a long way to putting the "positive" back in the experience.
I wanted to try the 6-speed manual but none were available. The automatic transmission mated to the 2.0T was very disappointing as expected. Automatics and turbo four cylinders do not mix. I am willing to give Saab the benefit of the doubt because the 2.0 turbo looks decent on paper. Has anyone else tried Saab's 2.0 turbo with a 6-speed manual? What are your impressions?
The manual SportCombi with the 2.0T is very hard to find. If I want to buy one, I would most likely have to order one. Is it a lot harder to negotiate the price if I order a car? I am pretty sure that I can get a 9-3 below invoice if it was on the dealer lot.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Best Regards,
Shipo
Audi's 2.0T, though slightly lower-powered, feels slightly more sprightly by comparison--no s4 needed.
I think a chip can boost saab's 2.0T to 247hp and 260lb-ft, which should make it into a pretty good mover, albeit with more noticeable lag.
Absolutely identical to my experience. I drove a SportCombi and an A3 back to back and the Audi engine was far more responsive and felt just as powerful, if not a tad more so.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I see. So, are you trying to say that the torque steer problem improves over time by becoming less and less noticable the longer you drive the car?
Best Regards,
Shipo
Now, if you accelerate during a turn, the front wnd swings wide. Perhaps that's what you were feeling, being used to RWD, shipo? I too find this objectionable, but that's throttle-on-understeer like every other FWD car in the world. Of course, stepping out of a BMW, it feels pretty bad.
Euro-delivering a 9-3 2.0T combi with the anniversary package and a few options ( like heated seats ) should be 25K and change, which is a pretty darn good deal, so i think the car's faults need to be put into that perspective. I am still following this topic because i do need a way to haul bikes around, and there aren't many good wagons out there, at least at that price point.
The understeer through a turn was there in both versions of the 9-3 that I drove, however, in the Arc model (with the blown 2.8), accelerating resonably hard through a turn exhibited enough torque steer to force me to work the steering wheel back and forth to maintain directional control. My thinking is that the 2.0T simply doesn't have enough power to cause this to occur (not that I'm dissing the 2.0T mind you).
Best Regards,
Shipo
For those interested, check out www.truedelta.com for getting real data on what constitutes reliability. You can become a member for free to see current data if you agree to provide data on your vehicle. Since I'm likely to be in the market for a new (to me) car in a couple of years, I'd love to see a good population of 9-3's in the data since I love the brand but have been skeptical because of the reliability "prejudice" on Saab. If you like what you see, spread the word.
This is SOOOO true.
I used to have a '97 900. A really good car. However, the dealer didn't do the services specified. I mean, just didn't do them. I think they just checked the oil and left it at that.
So, the battery was never topped up, and eventually it exploded, which blew acid all over the engine compartment. That led to a plethora of problems over the years.
The chassis was never lubricated, which caused one of the back lock mechanisms to eventually jam. I took it in, and rthey jammed a pen in there until of opened again. They looked as me as if i was the biggest jerk in the world when i asked that they do something more than make it work for the next hour or two. Eventually, they dug the lubricant out of a closet and sprayed it in there. Don't do a lot of work on my account guys...
There was a lot more, but i am firmly of the opinion that how happy you are with a car depends in large part on who is working on it.
Best Regards,
Shipo
It is the nicest car we have ever owned and we got a great deal buying in December of 2006. the details of that are on this thread earlier or on 9-3 prices paid. The two tone interior is really nice.
Our favorite option is the rear parking assist in the touring package. Given the low profile on the front of the car I wish this option existed for the front end.
The car is a pleasure to drive as it is also the fastest/best handling car we have ever bought.
Having a wagon with 60/40 fold down read seats has come in handy more than I thought necessary. Maybe 4 times a year so far it allowed us to purchase furniture and not have it delivered, haul tons of waste to the recycling center etc.
If the Honda died today we might purchase another one.
I would love to have a system installed that would use these buttons for bluetooth as they were originally created for in Europe.
Any recommendations?
Thanks!
Can I get these installed by my dealer without butchering our beautiful new car? In other words, would getting them installed at the dealer be as invasive as say, an after-market sunroof?
I'd really like to get the rails to get more of the vibe of our old '02 9-03 hatchback.
Thanks!
Tarik
Has anyone else had this problem or is it something I need to get checked? I was expecting more from a premium 300W stereo!
Thanks!!
Thanks
The dealer just replaced the stereo (and in the process scratched the interior trim and lost my CD's), and the same problem is there.
Has anyone else experienced this? It's very strange...
As a side note, I attend the aero academy in under a month - I can't wait!!
I am looking for a bit of advice on a car my wife and I are looking at purchasing. It is a manual transmission 2006 9-3 Sport Combi with ~30K miles and they are asking $16.5K. It has a clean Carfax, new tires and new front breaks (rear are @ 80%). Based on others in the Mpls area, it looks like a competitive price ~ am I right? Also, it is only under factory warranty until 50K miles, but the dealership offers an extended bumper-to-bumper for ~$1,900 (6 yr or 100K) - based on your experience, is this worth it?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!
The 08's are freshened with numerous mechanical/electric upgrades. Same price as your 06 with the warranty. If I were you, I'd be heading for cheesehead country.
I was at a red light the other day and put the car in neutral and the steering wheel started to 'shimmy' to the left about a half inch rotation then back to the right. Very odd.
When I took it to the dealer (Still under warranty) they speculated I was using regular fuel and try 93 octane. I have ALWAYS used regular and my manual says it is OK so I had my doubts but tried 3 tanks of premium just in case (They have been right abut many other things in the past). This had no effect on my problem.
Has anyone had similar problems and it so were you able to isolate it and get it resolved? I would like to get this fixed before I go off warranty.
and for some reason I feel a pretty extensive wheel vibration when I stop with engine on and in drive mode.
I went to the dealer and he told me that everything is okay with the car and that they drove the car and did not feel anything.
But i do feel a strong vibration that is so annoying.
I had maxima, lexus, audi, and other cars and never had the same feeling.
Please advise.
http://www.trollhattansaab.net/archives/2007/03/bluetooth_for_t_1.html