SAAB 9-3
The Saab 900 is old news but I'd like to create a
new forum for new 9-3 owners. We recently leased a
9-3 in Los Angeles and are looking for relevant
input on your new 9-3's.
We have less than 3k miles on the car but were
still pretty happy with the car. The few minor
problems we've had with the car are: the back of
the front seat was poorly finished w/ the pocket
sagging away from the seat at the time of purchase.
We also hear a popping and crackling sound in the
front passenger seat when someone is sitting in
it.
My wife and I are pretty particular about our cars
and would like your input. I think that Saab
could become a long term marquee in our family but
we want to hear from you other 9-3 owners out there
new forum for new 9-3 owners. We recently leased a
9-3 in Los Angeles and are looking for relevant
input on your new 9-3's.
We have less than 3k miles on the car but were
still pretty happy with the car. The few minor
problems we've had with the car are: the back of
the front seat was poorly finished w/ the pocket
sagging away from the seat at the time of purchase.
We also hear a popping and crackling sound in the
front passenger seat when someone is sitting in
it.
My wife and I are pretty particular about our cars
and would like your input. I think that Saab
could become a long term marquee in our family but
we want to hear from you other 9-3 owners out there
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Thanks for any replies.
Unfortunately, I agree with your mechanic. As the owner and lover of an '88 9000 Turbo, I have found that parts are expensive, and in the midwestern city that I live in, hard to come by. I had the misfortune of having to replace the front fender and related parts this summer. My bodyshop, which works primarily on high dollar cars, said he had good news and bad news for me. The good news was that if he had to pick a car to be in a wreck in, he would pick a Saab. The bad news was, it was also one of the most expensive to fix. We then waited close to a month for the parts to come in.I was in the market for a new car at the time and was going to get another Saab, he begged me not to. My independent mechanic, himself a Saab fanatic, agreed that parts are expensive. However, if you are going to lease, the cost of parts should not be an issue since the warranty should still be good for the length of your lease.
Thanks for the response.
Does your name "pre bmw" mean that you've decided your next car will be a bimmer? Or did you go with another Saab against your mechanic's wishes?
Read through lots of Saab posts on the sedan conference this am. More confused now. If I get the 9-3 it will replace my 89 Toyota Camry. Exhaust, brakes and oil changes are essentially all I've done to the Camry. Low, inexpensive maintenance is great, but the Camry isn't exactly an exhilirating ride.
For the most part I think people believe (hope) Saab reliability will improve with the 9-3, and that the inconvenience and cost of more frequent maintenance is well worth it.
I've a couple more weeks to decide. Will have the camry checked to see if any substantial cost are looming and go from there. My gut say buy the 9-3.
good indeed. I am currently leasing a 9-3 SE. Maintenance is no more expensive than a Honda
Accord. My last scheduled service cost me $124.
And why should you worry about parts when you are
leasing. The warranty covers you for 4yr/60K
miles. I assume the lease is for 39mo.
Any comments on which 9-3 is best?
Thanks,
karin
I didn't go with either one - I bought a'98 Camry and a New Beetle instead. I love the Beetle and have the same feelings about the Camry that you stated. I would like to get rid of it this summer and get either a Saab or BMW. However, I live in Springfield, Mo. and would need to go over almost 200 miles to the nearest Saab dealer. Because of past experiences getting parts, I haven't been able to convince myself to go with another Saab, even though I would very much like to.
Karin
carlady/host
My wife and I leased a 98 9-3 auto last Aug. and we're both still extremely pleased with the car. I find the turbo lag to be a bit slow but then I'm used to V-8's.
I love the acceleration of the 2.0 turbo but I am a little disappointed with the fuel economy of our auto equiped car. My 82' Lincoln Mark with a 5.0L engine gets nearly the same of better highway mileage.
Does your Saab 9-3 have one of these? Do you use it?
carlady/host
Anyone purchased one recently? Willing to share selling price? Should I be able to get a much beter deal with cash? Any comments about resale?
Enthused about doing this, unsure of what I should pay.
Thanks, Karin
Your question about resale value was quite pertinent. This was one of the major factors in our determining to lease our 9-3 instead of purchasing. Back in Aug. Edmunds listed the Saab 9-3 as a Gold Star Lease meaning that with all factors taken into consideration the Saab lease ended up costing just 2%.
At 2% interest rate we determined it was a whole lot of car for the money even though Nissan,and Toyota were practically dying to give us a car at very low, low or no interest rates if we'd just sign up for a purchase. This was not the same for Saab at the time so we determined that we'd lease the car and see if the Saab unique character and utility factors wore well with us over time and in three years if the rather high risidual value, at least in my opinion, that Saab assigned to their leases didn't infact give us a better value for our money over purchasing at a much higher interest rate.
Thanks,
Karin
The "SE" comes with performance tires, and it is a very bad idea to use them in the snow.
While there has been a lot of activity in the Snow Tire category by many of the major tire makers, the majority of true died-in-the-wool Saabists continue to recommend the Finnish made Nokian Hakkapallita snow tires http://www.snowtyres.com . These tires, however, are often not locally available. If that is an issue for you, I've found the Dunlop HSxx tires to be pretty good also.
Saab dealers have access to the Swedish made "Gislaved" line through Saab's parts distribution network. Many people have recommended them, but the ones I got (a decade ago) proved to be inadequate.
Does anyone have experience with purchasing a Saab from Garf Motors in Salt Lake City, UT or Gary Small in Portland OR? I will be traveling to Utah this week and could shop there.
Is 3% over real invoice what I should expect to pay for the 9-3? I am on the verdge of deciding to buy one this week. I want to know what to pay before I start the final process.
thanks, Karin
I think if you are willing to haggle aggressively, the dealers will go lower than 3% above invoice on a 9-3. Which is pretty darn good on anear luxury car in my considerable experience. I think the 9-3 is a buying opportunity for a smart shopper looking for relative value by brands.
I grew up in NE blizzards and despite being deeply appreciative of the inherent BMW handling and breaking attributes, I just could not imagine spending that much on a car that was not all weather rated. The Audis were wonderful but lacked any real room and the dealers told me they had a quota and they had to maximize profits on available inventory so no discounts on current model year vehicles.
Bottom line, the Saab impressed me after about 3/10 of a mile. The BMW only impressed me when I tool it out on the interstate. The Audi was nicer than my living room. It really came down to value between a Saab 9-3 and an Audi 1.8. Quattro. I just felt, for the price of the loaded quattro, I could buy an all wheel drive Durango SLT Plus. Since Audi would/could not guarantee timely delivery, I could only shop their lot and those cars were designed for lease (loaded). I love the 9-3. I will drive to Omaha in a wek and then need to have it serviced for the 1000 mile oil and filter change. What else do they do at 1000 miles.
I drove a Toyota Camry before the Saab. Never again. If you are fortunate enought to have the income, buy a performance oriented car. It makes you feel young again and isn't that what anyone over 35 enjoys?
I have used 4000 miles as my change interval decades, after observing when checking the valves that a 5000 mile interval resulted in "etching" on the back side of the cam. I extend my 4000 miles/4 months conventional oil interval to 6000 miles/4 months with synthetics. In Europe, where oil is much more expensive (as is fuel) some are stretching the interval to 12,000 miles, using synthetic oil, with no ill effects.
Thanxs, the left rear quarter panel was scraped along the arch of the wheel well with no distortion to the panel as a whole but a small tear in the metal did occur at the point of contact. The area of damage is no longer than 3" by about 1" wide. She also put a slight compression dent in the right rear door as she was try to ease her car between another car and the poll.
I wonder how an "Aero" Saab 9-3 would have fared in the R&T coparison test of the: Audi A4, Acura 3.2 TL, BMW 328i,Mercedes C280, and Volvo S70 T5. My wife and I actually drove the wagon versions of the Volvo and Audi before we decided on the Saab. I'd never consider the winning BMW 328i because it doesn't have the carrying capacity of our Saab. The Saab 9-3 came in third after the Audi and the BMW.
Although the Audi A4 Avant was our own second runner up when we went car shopping this summer on a dollar to utility value we obviously chose the Saab. The Avants acceleration in the auto 1.8T and the 2.8 V-6 was rather annemic copared to the Saab auto we went for. The one thing that Audi definitly has an advantage over any current Saab model was that its interiors are absolutly sumptuous. I really think that the interior asthetics of Saab's current lineup have a lot to be desired relative to their competition. I feel a bit like I'm driving a European economy car when I look at a feel the materials Saab chose for its interiors.
The one thing that is never likely to win me over to any averabe Sports-Car alternative is anything that is laking in practicle cargo carring capacity. The Audi Avant had gobs of this but it was at a relative premium price with dealers and a manufacturer that has a real attitude towards their American market.
Audi/VW, unlike Saab, delearships have an attitude that you should just take what you can get and even pay a premium for it and be glad they even had anything to sell you anyway.
Skrew them we bought a Saab! Audi and BMW can crow all they want about their "Sports-Car" comparison test ranking. They don't have the cargo capacity of a Ford Country Squire Wagon to go along with that sporty sedan image.
rfellman, I am surprised to hear that your 9-3 does not ride very well. I don't have any problems with mine. In fact, I sometimes wish the suspension was a little firmer. It would be nice to have the IRS like the 9-5, but I am not unhappy with current setup. Now, as far as the aero 9-3 in concerned, IMO, Saab needs the aero for the same reasons BMW needs the M3. Saab will not sell too many "aeros" a year but it will help them with image, PR and reviews. I for one will not pay extra for "too much horsepower" since I am already busy enough with 185HP. But having a Aero 9-3 in the BMW 3 series price range with performance closer to M3 will definitely make Saab look good and should increase showroom traffic.
Thanks, Karin
One other issue with the Saab is that there are a number of additional accessories available, such as special dashboard trim, sports exhaust and snow tires. It's unclear what extent dealers are willing to negotiate the prices on these items. Any comments?
However the GLT is closer to 35K while the 9-3 base with a moonroof can be had for well under 30K. I looked at Volvos but had already determined that I did not need to spend more than 28K to get everything I wanted. I looked at the SEs and said to myself, I don't have leather office furniture or living room furniture so why do I need leather in my car so my Basset Hound can claw the fabric? The base Saab is the best value. Throw in a CD and moon roof and negotiate a deal for a few hundred over invoice.
No other brand offers as much value for the price. At 35K, I think an Audi A6 with quattro is a better value than the Volvo.
Thanks again for the info.
Tom
Thanks again.
Best wishes on the your new 9-3. We got a base 9-3 five door with auto and both my wife and I have really come to enjoy the car. I'm more use to big American V-8's but this little car really hauls both in the speed and luggage catagory. The car holds even more than my huge Mark VI! My wife hates driving the Lincoln but she does enjoy the soft ride on long hauls, especially since she like to sleep most of the time as a passenger in any car.