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Be specific about the car, condition, and location as all play a part in the price.
Looked pretty good, but there is some tough competition in this segment with the Honda 2000.
Gas mileage with a V6 for me is around 24 City/Why combined, usually in sport mode.
How is the 9-5 after a BMW 750? The current 750 is something i always look at wistfully. If only the 7 series came with a stick, and the big six.
I think a small light RWD coupe with the viggen engine would be pretty darn sweet.
dave
David, as for life after the 750 -- mine was a 1990, and in so many ways it was advanced over new cars of today -- so I'd imagine the 2001 750 must be 5 - 8 years ahead of what most other companies are putting out today. Why look wistfully? They're only about $100K new -- you could prolly talk em down 4 or 5k! The major difference is the feel of the steering wheel (rwd) vs the very tight 9-5. Even my fwd Grand Caravan has a looser wheel than the 9-5 -- I'm not saying it's bad or good, just different. Then the acceleration -- that 300 HP 12 cylinder is effortless power. No hesitation (I get a momentary delay in the 9-5 when I floor it from a dead stop) and always more power when called on at any speed (and it gets up there). The size of the car was almost cavernous, but the 9-5 isn't too much smaller. My 2 kids haven't complained about being cramped in there yet. And finally, the cornering on the 750 is just tremendous. While I've already had the 9-5 through some pretty fast turns, just for the hell of it, and it handles exceptionally well, there is no comparison. The 750 makes you feel like it will never lose its grip -- oh, unless there's rain or snow -- then I wanted to park it! Not too good. But BMW says their newer models are much better in the bad conditions. Mine had TCS (or whatever BMW called it back then) but it still wasn't what I'd call a bad weather car. I'm expecting much different things from the 9-5 -- and I really am happy with it so far. The 740 i or il are great cars too, with V8 instead of the 12, but I don't think they have a stick either (why mess with stick? if you're in a BMW you need one hand free for the cell phone!) The 750 had the 'sport' trans setting, which gave it a somewhat sportier behavior -- although it was so fast already, it was overkill to me.
I have linked this discussion into that folder, but it will always reside here in Sedans.
Looking forward to meeting everyone!
KarenS
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Owner's Clubs
Also, it has seemed the dealer usually has current model year cars, from loaner service, which can be purchased or leased. Any comments on the relative merits of acquiring a slightly used car?
If the finance company (Saab Financial Services) will offer the same residual and money factor for used dealer loaners as well as new cars, then all you have to do is negotiate the best price. Theoretcially, it should be a better deal than leasing new.
But my guess is that the financing used will not be better than new. It's awfully rare that any finance company will offer subsidised leases on used cars.
The only thing to do on Saab's is lease new. Don't buy new, don't lease used, and unless they're giving you the car, don't buy used. Saab's drop in value super-quickly so it's best to use the subsidy to offset dropping valuations.
All this is within the context of trading every few years. If you are one to keep cars until they're dead, then financial considerations kinda go out the window.
It's true that we will incur repair expenses, though, but so far not too bad. We did have a corroded battery cable which set us back $300. Ouch. That hurt.
Now, the next car we get may be brand new, because with keeping the car for a long time, it's nice to know that the car had meticulous care since new, and was broken in properly, etc. But we may not need a new car for a long time if things go well.. I hope!
dave
The Aero might cost a bit more to maintain than a basic 9-5 or an SE. If for no other reason, your tire cost will be greatly increased. The higher performance tires will not last long and they are very expensive to replace.
FWIW, your local dealer is top notch, so you shouldn't have many worries there.
Drew
Take it for what it's worth, just my opinion.
Drew
All: I'd agree with Drew, rotate at 6K or close. I usually balance and rotate every other oil change (6-7K). Yeah, it's another $40 but my tires seem to always last.
dave
Since it is under full warranty and service should I ask the dealer (didn't buy at local Saab) to perform the 20k now and do the 30k a few months later?
Will doing so invalidate my warranties etc...
Also the dealer had the last oil change done at Jiffy Lube ...argh is that a problem?
Thanks in advance!
I always took it to Just Saab for service though and they treated me like I was VIP customer. They are not stupid - their great service paid off, I bought my next Saab new from them.
If there was a 20K service done on yours they will be able to tell you by looking up the history by the VIN #. BTW, the 30K service is not going to be cheap!
Best of luck
Drew
I took it to Just Saab in Fairfield and they really treated me right. First class all the way!
I dropped it off Mon am without an appointment and had it by noon. They are well on their way to earning our long term loyalty as well...my wife is considering selling the minivan and getting a nice used 9-5 wagon in about a year.
(I just hope I get to drive my Aero once in a while as my wife has taken a likin to it :-)
What area on Cincy do you live in?
Thanks again!
i did the 30,000 mile service in vermont at a cost of $400.
the connecticut dealer wants $700. for this.way overpriced.......
a note---the transmission fluid should be changed often----the reason is,that there is an excessive amount of metal shavings attached to the magnetic plug. and this tranny has no filter.
it is easy to do---just unplug the nut and about 3 qt.s come out when cold and about 4,5 when hot.
i do mine every 6,000 miles and do notice the heavy shavings every time. the dealeship confirms they suggest doing it every 15,000 miles.
the vt. dealer uses a synthetic blend oil.--good idea for extreme cold and hot weather.
so,in closing,the car now has 29,000 miles,mostly long trips at 80 plus on turnpike .and some backroads,---and,so far so good----knock on wood.
Thx.
I bent one of my BBS Aero wheels and am considering selling them in favor of going to the standard set. I can get a set of (4) Aero wheels for the price of (1) BBS wheel replacement.
It will cost 100 bucks (plus alot of hassels) to get the wheel fixed (if it can be) but I am not sure if this is going to become a common thing.
THanks in advance!
Love my Aero!
total cost was 405 tax incl.
but if you read the service items and have it done by a mechanic your cost will be less than 250.
bbs wheels ---just as bad . the deal is the 17 inch tires. there is not much height to absorb the impact. if you hit hard the impact may reach your wheel and if you blow the tire the impact will destroy it.
You can respond privately is you like as my e-mail address is public.
Now, on to the bigger concerns, as voiced in this forum. We have not noticed the fuel tank thunk. I have tried several times to recreate the scenarios that have been posted in this forum and I thought I heard the thunk one time, but I was not sure. However, with the ECM, I think we may have an issue with it. I have not experienced any of these symptoms first hand, but my wife has. She has reported to me several times where she had difficulty starting the car. She has also had the car completely cut off four times (all while sitting at a red light). She has never had any trouble re starting the car after these incidents, but she is always unsettled after it happens.
I plan on having all of these items checked out by the dealer when we take it in for service. I would have probably taken it in by now, however, the dealer is located 90 miles away.
I have enjoyed the Saab experience so far, and the “quirks” do not really bother me (My other car is a Land Rover). I also had some similar quirks in my old 1995 BMW 525i. While I do not normally lease, after reading the comments in this forum, I am convinced that we made the right decision in leasing vs. purchasing the Saab.
Any input on whether I have a bad ECM would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Christopher
All the scheduled maint. up to 36,000 miles should be covered at no cost.
Thanks.
Pat
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thank you for deleting my offer.
Just take a minute to check out your Terms of Use - there is a link on the left sidebar of this page.
Pat
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At any rate, I'm glad to hear that your experience with our local dealer is as good as mine has been so far. I've been using their East Location more lately since it's much closer for me. Plus I think their facility there is kinda cool.
Best of luck and keep up with proper rotation and maintanence of those tires (5K at least). You won't like replacing them before the end of their already short life expectancy. Price you have to pay for higher performance tires.
Drew
thought i let you know that after my initial problems with blowing one of my mxm tires---due to their low profile---,all has been o.k. but $300. a pop hurts.
the aero now has 30,000 miles and the tires have acout 60 % wear.----i do switch to snow tires and have about 2000 miles on them ,for a net on the mxm' of 28,000.
therefore our initial concerns about the live of the tires is looking better.
now that i have said that watch me go out and blow one.
Here's two questions for the board:
1) I read in #'s 21-46 that the bulky key fob (is that a fob in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?) can be replaced with the new integrated key, but my dealer is telling me that the cost will be over $2,000 to accomplish this. I don't get it, no-where on this board does it seem to require anything more than programming the keys, but the dealer says he's got to replace a lot of the electronics in the car to acheive this.
2) I read in #47 that the "'98 and '99 T7" box was recalled. I didn't find a lot of follow-up to that message. My dealer doesn't know *anything* about it. Anyone got a pointer to the official information?
Dealing with dealers is like dealing with hospitals; if you're not proactive about things you could easily wind up dead.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris
Apparantly your dealer doesn't "get it" either.
Your dealer is very confused. If you were to lose both of your keys, they would have to replace a computer core in the engine to get you up and running again. That could very well cost you $2K. This is true of ALL cars with remote/anti-theft system BTW. But if you have at least one of your original keys, they can order you a new style and reprogram your new key to match. Note: You will need to bring in all your keys to have them matched up. Which raises a BIG caution: Anytime you lose one key - order a second backup ASAP. If you lose the other - you will have to pay the $2,000 for a new set plus the computer core.
I lost one of my keys (old style) and replaced it with a new one. I forget the cost but I'm thinking in the $150.00 range. So YES - you can get a New Style Key for a reasonable cost.
It's such a shame when customers have to explain these things to some dealers.
FWIW - You can expect the new style key to have a much shorter range than your originals. My dealer tells me Saab is working on a better Key with greater range but nothing yet on when to expect it. You may want to wait until a newer version is available if that is an issue with you.
Good Luck
Drew
ps. They will have to order the Key, it's not a stock item due to computer coding issue apparantly.
Still a bit too much for me. But like a lot of folks, I hate the "black pod" too.
Any places other than a dealer to get these?
Thanks in advance!
Adivce, Don't lose a key if you don't want to spend the $144. If you do lose one, DON'T delay spending the $144.
Local news did a report about this last year where a Chevy owner had to spend $2,000 after losing both keys.
drew
Thanks
I now ave 2001 95 wagon - I didn't consider the A4 - way too small, and the A6 wasn't worth the extra $$ - especially since I know some Audi owners that have problems with the A6.
At any rate, I think if you put snows you'll be just fine. Remember, AWD isn't the great equalizer that people make it out to be - AWD is great if you want to get out of a ditch - which tends to happen a lot to people with 4X4 cars. Last winter 90% of the cars skidding off the side of the road around here were 4X4's....
I have pictures of my snows at:
http://home.jtan.com/~joe/toys.htm
Drive Safe,
Joe
I was wondering if you have ever had any second thoughts about choosing the manual shift. It would be my choice in a Saab. By the way, we just returned from Vermont and I was quite surprised to see so many Saabs on the road. Subaru seems to be a popular car there as well. I'm glad to hear good reports about your Saab. I've missed the discussions on this board.
Regards,
Jon W.
Many thanks,
Dee
in my 420 sl i placed two rocks of 60 lbs. each in the trunk---one on each side.
if you need winter tires because you live in heavy snow areas such as vt. or chicago,etc go with the audi quattro or the mb --matic (4 wheel drive )and you could get away with all weather tires but check your dealer.
the saab is o.k.,but you will need the snows.
Drive Safe,
Joe
Not sure I can completely go along with that statement. I owned an Audi Quattro (the subject of the Pasted Quote above). Now - I love my 9-5 but the ride and handling characteristics of the Quattro was unmatched. It was a wonderful car in the snow and rain. The 9-5 is good in those conditions but nothing like the Quattro. For the money and time in repair shop - I went with the 9-5 over the A6 though with NO regrets.
True - some people will think they are unvinsible with all-wheel drive. That would be a mistake.
Drew
In short, $469 for 48 mos. seems too high. I'm at $459 for 36 mos, 12K per year, $1000 down.
Dee
$393??? That's wayyyy below invoice. A screamin' deal. Maybe once or twice in a lifetime.
$575 for 48 on a lousy C240? HAHAHAHA. I'm so glad I didn't waste my $$$ on that taxicab. That car is a joke for that price. I'd pay $575 for a E320 maybe. But a C240???