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Saab 9-3 Sedan

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Comments

  • oldsman01oldsman01 Member Posts: 1,203
    So will something as light as a cell phone cause the light to turn on? I know it is a good safety reminder but almost overkill IMO. I occasionally put a briefcase or something in the passenger seat because it's easy for me to grab it and go.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    I have a CD wallet that's roughly the size of the owner's manual case that normally sits on the passenger seat. My seatbelt sensor has never gone off without a person sitting there
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    I personally don;t see the liught coming on as a big deal. If it's always on, the sooner it will burn out and you wont have to see it anymore.
  • dbozmandbozman Member Posts: 23
    I have had the free stereo software upgrade done in my Linear. I suppose it made a minor difference, though it is SLIGHTLY noticeable. Perhaps a 10-15% upgrade in sound. Worth it if the car is in for something else anyway.

    My pass. light doesn't come on unless something is placed on the seat that has a fair (~3-5 pounds) heft. Cell phones, CD cases, food bags, lunchboxes, etc. are all OK. So far the only thing that made it flash on was a copy of the Sunday paper.
    Dion
  • code7700code7700 Member Posts: 65
    If Saab really took ownership of the problem, they'd upgrade all 150W stereos to 300W. I got the software fix and it doesn't help much. The only difference I saw or heard was the word "PHONE" was missing from the stereo's LED screen (since I don't have OnStar installed). To be honest, I didn't hear much (if any) difference.

    The odd thing is, by offering a software fix, they're admitting there is a problem. But instead of actually solving it the correct way, they are putting duct tape on it.
  • regfootballregfootball Member Posts: 2,166
    they ought to just give you a gift certificate to crutchfield so you can put in a decent stereo, not some factory crap.
  • tangertanger Member Posts: 4
    I've been shopping around various dealers for Vectors, and one dealer offered a fully loaded Black Vector at 31,250. The only catch is that it's been test driven, and it's got 63 miles on the odometer. What do you guys think? I'm afraid that it's been thrashed around on the one hand, on the other, the price is, well incredible. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    Hey Tanger, I am getting a new loaded Vector (automatic) only without the heated seats for 32,050 after rebate. I hope that puts it in perspective. How much are you willing to pay for about 40 miles of hard driving? Up to you.
  • odesskiyodesskiy Member Posts: 7
    Autospies.com is reporting that there is currently a $6000 hidden manufacturer-to-dealer rebate on Saab 9-3's. This would explain the "amazing" deals tanger and trencher7 are being offered. However, I am currently trying to negotiate a $5K under invoice deal on a fully-loaded Vector, still leaving a $1000 profit (plus holdback) for the dealer. I think I should be able to get the car for $30,300. What do you all think?
  • tangertanger Member Posts: 4
    The autospies thing is true, but it only covers the convertible - For a vector its 3500. That being said, I managed to get a brand new, fully loaded vector for 32,040 (minus state tax and all that) with the rebate. That seems reasonable enough to me since it costs the dealer 30987.11 (including destinatino) to get a fully loaded vector. IMO, that extra money is worth the extra piece of mind (heh, I know I thrash the hell out of test drive vehicles).

    It might be difficult to get it for that price.
  • tgp1810tgp1810 Member Posts: 112
    Saab has good deals going if you want to purchase the car, too bad they didn't have any lease deals going right now for people like me who want to lease.
  • needashaveneedashave Member Posts: 91
    The rebate can be used to lower the capitalized cost of the vehicle on a lease. If you are serious, you should talk to your dealer. Inventory of Linears is high in Chicagoland...this is a good time to lease or buy. Just my two cents.

    Anyone know if a software update is available for the 300W stereo?
  • hk94hk94 Member Posts: 3
    Hi all,

    I've had my Arc for about two weeks now and no complaints so far, except for the wipers. I saw this question/concern posted way back, but never saw a response. When I turn the car on, the rain sensor auto washers will not work unless I take the stalk out of auto then put it back in auto. This really irritates me - what's the point of paying for auto washers if you have to manually set it every single time you start the car? I hope this is just a bug in my system.

    Also, I don't think my headlamp washers are working. I really hate dealing with service departments, so I wanted to check with you guys first. The manual says that they should wash every fifth time the windshield wipers go, or if the windshield hasn't been cleaned in two minutes. Well, I turned my wipers on and left the car out in the rain for 10 minutes this weekend, and the headlamp washers didn't wipe once. If they don't work in rain, I really don't care as long as they function in the snow (I'm in Chicago and this has been a long peeve of mine - people whose headlights are covered by snow). But at the same time, this was an option I really didn't want, but the dealer told me they don't order this car without the heated seats. So if I had to pay an extra $500 for something I don't want, I want it to work perfectly. Does anyone have more info on the headlamp washers?

    All in all, I love the car. I really enjoy driving it.
  • kopfschuhkopfschuh Member Posts: 11
    I'm going to start negotiations tomorrow with my dealer for a Vector, but wanted to get one thing straight. Does anyone know if you can get the xenon headlights without the touring package? I really don't want the auto sensing wipers or parking assist, but the headlights/6 disc changer would be nice. Can you negotiate your way into splitting up the package or is it all or nothing? At the moment, I've been told the price for the car (before negotiations but with incentives) is $31,978. How low do you think I could take that? They haven't had one for me to test drive (not a big deal) so would that give me any leverage on the price seeing as they'll be ordering it? Thanks guys.
  • tgp1810tgp1810 Member Posts: 112
    I don't think they are actual wipers...there should be 2 nozzles that spray cleaner to clean off the headlamps. They should activate when you clean your windsheild. This is my understanding of them, but I don't have a 9-3 (not yet anyway), so I could be wrong.

    needashave you may of just made my day.

    The current incentives CAN be used if you are leasing? I would be using the GM Employee discount. My understanding of the incentives are:

    Linear: $2500
    Arc: $3000
    Vector: $3500

    are these right? Thanks for your help.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    I don't think they are actual wipers...there should be 2 nozzles that spray cleaner to clean off the headlamps. They should activate when you clean your windsheild. This is my understanding of them, but I don't have a 9-3 (not yet anyway), so I could be wrong.<<

    This is correct. They only come on (every 5th time) when the windshield WASHER is used. Not just the wipers (in rain)
  • kopfschuhkopfschuh Member Posts: 11
    I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the incentive is only applicable if you're buying or financing the car, otherwise there's the 0% interest on the lease. Anyone know if this is right? Hope this helps.
  • thegreatvudinithegreatvudini Member Posts: 103
    Sorry, the Touring package is all or nothing. There is no separate xenon option, or changer option. Go to carsdirect.com to option out your vehicle and you'll see.

    BTW,
    Does anyone know what the GM Employee Pricing plan for the 9-3 is, for Linear, Arc, or Vector. if you have the whole price matrix, that would be really cool!
    Thanks.
  • tgp1810tgp1810 Member Posts: 112
    kopfschuh: thats what I was reading. The low lease cost does nothing for me, as the money saved isn't really that great.

    thegreatvudini: about 2 weeks ago, I had Saab send me the current price listing for the Employee discount, hoping to get an updated version. It is up to date with the options offered, except they didn't update it to include the recient price increases. I've posted it here: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tgp1810/ it's listed as saabprices. Right click and download and open using Word. I've tried to left click and it opens in notepad and the text is unreadable. Hope that this helps.
  • twilliatwillia Member Posts: 29
    This may sound like a dumb question, but can anyone tell me where the cup holder is on a 9-3 Arc? Is it located somewhere on the dashboard or is it in the center console?

    Thanks.
  • kretch41kretch41 Member Posts: 13
    There is a terrible one that jets out of the dashboard. However, on the center console, there is a large cup holder which is nice to have.
  • lockielockie Member Posts: 8
    Another thing to note is that there is a delay before the headlight washers come on. I think 2 seconds of washing the windshield is the default (this can be changed by your dealer).
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    Sounds good. I will be ordering my fully load 2004 Vector in June for overseas pick up. I can get a 38k vector for 33.k plus 1000 for air fair. Your getting a deal.
  • sloanesqsloanesq Member Posts: 60
    Does anyone know when the 2004 MY 9-3s will be coming out? I am looking to purchase a linear. Also, I read somewhere that the low pressure turbo only requires regular gas whereas the high pressure turbo needs premium. Is that correct?
  • dac93dac93 Member Posts: 3
    TGP1810 mentioned the Manufacturer to Dealer incentives of $2500-Linear/$3000-Arc/$3500-Vector.

    In this market can I expect the dealer to take the incentive off of invoice prices or just MSRP?
  • sa93absa93ab Member Posts: 5
    What type of gas is recommended for the 2003 93 Vector? I've been using Premium but didn't here is it was "required."
  • tgp1810tgp1810 Member Posts: 112
    I thought I read that something like 93 was the recommended. Then engine will be able to run on either regular or premium. It senses what type of gas you have in and compensates for it.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    In this market can I expect the dealer to take the incentive off of invoice prices or just MSRP?<<

    My purchase price was about $500 over invoice, and then minus the incentives. It seems that many people have gotten similar deals. I would target that
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    I thought I read that something like 93 was the recommended. Then engine will be able to run on either regular or premium. It senses what type of gas you have in and compensates for it. <<

    This is true. From my userstanding, the Linear engine will run closer to normal on regular gas than the Arc/Vector engine. So while 93 is preferred, it looks like you can get away with it more in the Linear if you don't use it.

    In my Arc, I figure the extra .20 a gallon is well worth it
  • hk94hk94 Member Posts: 3
    For what it's worth, I'm getting better gas mileage in city driving with 93 octane than when I went with 89 octane. I'm going to stick with 93 for awhile until I see compelling evidence that midgrade fuels don't impede performance on the arc/vector.
  • tbirdastbirdas Member Posts: 1
    Hi.
    One of the (official) special deals on the Linear 9-3 for this month is a 36mo/10K lease for $299/mo - $1500 at lease inception.
    Has anybody gone for that yet - and do you think it is possible to negotiate for incentives on such a deal?
    Thanks
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    Does anyone else have a problem using the key button to automatically roll all windows down? I have a new Vector which I love, but can;t seem to get it to work. It says if you hold down the unlock button, the sunroof and all windows should roll down. Is this something I need to get customized? Thanks.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    Does anyone else have a problem using the key button to automatically roll all windows down? I have a new Vector which I love, but can;t seem to get it to work. It says if you hold down the unlock button, the sunroof and all windows should roll down. Is this something I need to get customized? Thanks. <<

    From what I have read on other forums, this feature is not available in US. I'm bringing my car to dealer tonight and will ask about it, though. I'll let you know if it's possible
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    the is no way that the speaker or fiber optic. Fiber optic has to be converted back to electricity. This takes an fiber optic amp. So the speakers in the Saab should be Anolg or digital and can be changed. The Stereo on the other had cant. It is used as the information center.
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    I test drove a 2003 Vector a couple of weeks ago. I tried auto roll down and it worked. It is a feature that works in USA. 2004 Pricing. It will be out in June sometime. My dealer is ordering me a 2004 vector for oversea delivery.
    I plan on having all the thing that everyone asked about checked out while in Sweden.
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    I was told by the dealer owner today that this would NOT be offered in the US for safety reasons (his quote was "their lawyers won't sign off on it")
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    I don't see why comfort close might be an issue, but comfort open??

    Also I love my new Vector. Only problem I have seen is the seek button on the steering wheel only works to go forward. It does nothing when I try to go back to a previous track. The seek on the panel works fine both ways.
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    All I can tell you is that I onpen and closed windows and sun roof on the vector I drove. It work the same as my Mercedes.
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    what other board are you all read and getting your information.

    Also User (Garmfc) Message 1578 where did you get this info
  • mrblonde49mrblonde49 Member Posts: 626
    SaabCentral.com
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    I found out from my dealer that you MUST have the anti pinch option on your car.
  • pichanga99pichanga99 Member Posts: 2
    Sorry for my question, I don't want to irritate the Saab fans here. I'm considering a 9-3 Vector or BMW 325i. My question is, if the Vector is about 32K or 33K, why considering buying this car if for the same price you can get a 325i (or Ci). Maybe in that case, I would rather consider the Arc. I would like to read some pros-cons if possible.
    Thanks,
    pichanga99
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    that sounds like a great topic of discussion for our Comparisons - Sedans vs. Sedans board.

    pichanga99, why don't you click on that link and start up a discussion comparing these vehicles?

    And welcome to the Town Hall - please let me know if I can help you find your way around.

    :-)
  • kopfschuhkopfschuh Member Posts: 11
    My dealer said they'll get their first allocation of a 2004 model in late august early september. The MY might start earlier, but it's around then, methinks. hope this helps.
  • wildcorgiswildcorgis Member Posts: 84
    I participted yesterday in the San Diego area Saab Proving Ground Test. We got to drive 9-3 Arc/Linear, S60, C240, 325i, A4 1.8T FWD.It was a closed circuit track which allowed us to accelerate to about 40mph, slow and tight right/left turns,check ABS on wet soapy tarp and skid control at 15 mph followed by a few sweepers (40mph) and over some bumps. It was loads of fun and the 9-3 was really impressive.
    If I had to rank them by this experience only, it would be like this
    A4
    9-3
    325i
    V60
    C240
    just sitting inside judging the interior
    C240
    9-3
    A4
    V60
    325i

    Steve
  • danncasdanncas Member Posts: 24
    Did you drive the Vector.
    I drove a 330 BMW, and all the others in the above list too. The Mercedes has the best ride and best interior for $44k on a C320. I drove the BMW 330i it was great no leg room in back. BMW are not good in snow unless maybe 4X4 xi model. Audi very good but no leg room in back od A4. Volvo S60 nice but kinda lacking something , no leg room in back. Then I drove the Vector loved it. I havea M roadster but cant drive it in snow. But back to your question BMW 325 does not have as much HP as an Vector. Hope you test drive on. I think you will find that its a great car.
  • kopfschuhkopfschuh Member Posts: 11
    anyone dusted a Lexus IS300?
  • pichanga99pichanga99 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks Pat, I already added the new discussion (topic) in "Comparisons Sedans vs. Sedans".

    pichanga99
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    The CD changer says it has "Text" capabilities. Has anyone figures out how to get it to work to see track names and such? Does it read out on the dash?
  • trencher7trencher7 Member Posts: 48
    Found the answer. Select Track Change and then you can usually read song names and scroll to the one you want.
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