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Saab 9-3 Coupe (2002 and earlier)
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Comments
Remember the saying, "there's no such thing as a free lunch"?
i also agree with you that in its viggen form, the saab can be more involving.
I know that multiple vehicles isn't for everyone, but if you want a real sports car, then get a real sports car. You can pick up a good mid-1980's Porsche 911 for under $20K, and if you shopped reasonably well, the annual maintenance costs will be less than your insurance (tip: list it as 'For Pleasure Use only'...I pay less than $800/year for my 911 in NJ this way).
i don't think the merc dealer is going to be willing wiggle as much!
Probably not on leases. For purchasing, I found a couple of MB dealers who were willing to sell at -3.5% below MSRP. I also skilled leather and I don't like sunroofs, so I figure that I paid around $1800 less than what a similarly equipped 9-3 likely would have cost (including a 50% giveback between MSRP and Invoice). But then again, I don't lease... the rules are very different there.
FWIW, my '95 Saab is now sold. Only 58,250 miles, excellent condition, never hit, etc, yet it took a 80% depreciation hit. Got $4500+500 for the 2nd set of tires, which works out to be $700 more than the best dealer was offering as a trade.
-Hugh
lonestar...While huntizinger has had more than his fair share of problems with his Saab, I think if you lease the car for 3 years the problems should bot occur. Even if they do, your car will be under warranty for the duration of the lease.
That reminds me, I've got to make an appointment for the 30,000 mile service and am probably going to have to put front pads on the car.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
I've spent way too much time at the dealer missing work. All I have to show for it is a lot of miles on the dealer's loaner 9-5.
Remember, you get what you pay for.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Does anybody with a 9-3 convertible know if there's a trick to opening the soft top? I can't seem to get it lowered on the loaner they gave me.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Wasn't there a owner's manual in the glove compartment?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
ie: The car you test drove has probably been sitting on the lot, so it was cold.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
More boost when cold? Why so? When I gunned it hard once it came away with a whiff of sulfer. FWIW
By the way, it was a 2000 Viggen in yellow with 9000 miles. Other than a little curb rash on the rims, there was nothing wrong with it.
The sales manager was "asking" $34k but had it "on sale" for $29k, choked when I mentioned Edmund's TMV of $23k, and offered to begin negotiations on something between 23 and 29.
What sounds like a good price?
Bianco Saab in Corte Madera had a bunch of previous-year-model, yet new, Viggens on their lot, when I was there a month ago.
If we end up buying, is the $3000 dealer cash off of the Edmunds TMV possible?
We're supposed to go back to the dealer this week, so please post soon.
Thanks
As for 0% financing, you are required to put (I believe) 10% of the car's value down (not including the tax, title and license). I have looked around and most credit unions are offering very good rates (5.8% for 60 months).
Be sure you ask for the arm rest extension.
WHY no wiggle room on the fees? $495 acquisition fee, and $300+ termination fee. Why pay Saab these ridiculous bank fees. WHY ARE THESE FEES "NON-NEGOTIABLE"?
Also, GM is obviously kicking back something to the dealers for these cheap lease deals. How much?
After 2 hrs at the dealer he gave me 10 bucks off the national offer and when I asked them to sweeten the deal (saab dealerships are not exactly conveniently located) the owner offered me a coffee mug and a smile. I like the car, but refused to pay the acq fee and walked. I can't believe they let me walk over the acq fee. He said they make $100 over invoice on the deal. BS! pls advise. zuk.
Does your $259/month ($314 if you don't put a 1999 cap cost reduction) include taxes?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
The kid from the dealer called me back to see if I wanted the car today. ALLEDGEDLY they have sold 7 of these at the $259 offer this week. I doubt that any dealer has that many BASE 9-3's. I just can't see paying $900 or so in fees (acq + termination) for the right to give saab my money.
It is a great lease though and seems like a great car. Also, this is day 1 without a car (I turned in my Catera yesterday). Life is hard without a car let me tell you. thanks for yr reply!
I believe its because its the law in some States. They've apparently decided that its a specific service and has to be fixed, or something to that effect.
You have a couple of options. One is to tell them what the service is worth to you and how much you'll pay for it, and ask that they take the balance out of their own hide, but this is probably not all that likely to work, as these fees are really hidden profit centers that they were planning on getting at the price that they've already offered you.
The second option is to ask specifically what service is being provided by the fee. And FWIW, "documentation" is not a sufficient description. If one of these fees is to process State Motor Vehicle title/tags/etc, if their rate is outrageous (IMO, $300 is), you have the rights in most states (including NJ) to do this yourself. Apparently, the key buzzwords to use are to ask for a "Certificate of Origin", which is the document that they provide if you're registering a vehicle out-of-state. The most likely hitch in any such deal will be processing the title when you have a lien-holder (bank). Its not really rocket science, but they want you to believe that it is.
The alternative is to shop around. I recently got rid of my Saab for another car and I walked out of the first dealership due to a $300 doc fee and went to one who only charges $99. Because this fee is fixed, you should be able to shop this around on the telephone.
-hh
last dumb question(s): invoice on the 9-3 w/heated seats is $27,377 (via edmunds). my cap cost on the car is approx $24,700. do you pay tax on the difference between invoice and cap cost (ie the $3000 under invoice)? there is an additional tax charge of abt $200 on my quote and I don't recall paying this tax on my last lease.
also, is this $3000 reduction the dealer cash allowance from saab? maybe these guys are only making $100 bucks on the national offer! I must say it was an impressive test drive and well designed for the price. I can get the metallic paint for an add'l $8 bucks a month. any real advantage to the paint other than the unique colors? brgds/zuk
9-3 SE with premium package, automatic and metallic paint
$393. per month
$393. due at lease (1st payment only!)sale price will be $28184.
9-3 SE no premium pack, including automatic and metallic paint
$369.08 per month
$369.08 due at lease, sale price of $26430
Please advise if anyone is doing better than this specifically?
thanks
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Just like you zuk, I'd say be vary careful before getting one of these (especially if you don't like your dealer) because you'll be spending a whole lot of time in the service department of your dealer.
22sub
Other ones I have had (which I have not seen duplicated on other cars) include failed side airbag (fortunately not in an accident); bad driver's sear; poor A/C performance; bad power locks; failed driver info center; failed side mirror motor; bad sun roof seals.
Just a warning from an admittedly disgrunted Saab 9-3 owner.
Guess I got a good one. Probably because it's a lease and will go back in a year. If I owned it, I'm sure it would be a mess.
Saabs are notorious for having poor mufflers. I found this out in my 2nd year, when I had both my middle & rear ones replaced while the car was still under warranty. My recommendation here is to wait as long as possible towards the end of your warranty period, so as to more likely have a better muffler after your warranty has expired. A coworker who used to own nothing but Saabs has moved on to VW's/Audi's and his advice on mufflers was that the aftermarket cheapies tended to last barely a year, so they can be more expensive in the long run - - but they'll last long enough to pass State vehicle inspection and to sell the car to someone else, he advised :-)
I also had my "driver info center" replaced while under warranty. Shortly after, it stopped providing the "time for service" reminders, so it was obviously broken again. It was by this time out of warranty, so I wasn't about to pay for that repair.
I also had the AM radio reception problem. It never really was fixed to my satisfaction. Also had the flimsy headlights switch break because I actually dared to use the switch.
I apparently got lucky on serpentine belt failures in that I only had one of them. These fail due to seized bearings on idler pullies. You won't get that many miles/hours worth of warning before the end comes: figure less than a single day/100 miles from the first hint of a 'squeaky' from under the hood.
Continuing, I'd have to say that my engine rebuild was the "fluke". Of course, this was due to a blocked oil line that the oil pressure transducer wasn't able to detect. I was lucky in that I caught it very early: "only" $2500 for a rebuild of the timing chains, instead of three times that for the whole engine.
Finally, another poor bearing/bushing design is in the older manual transmission. My first one failed catastrophically at 36K miles (requiring the car to be towed in), and because they claimed it was part of the "wearing parts" of the transmission, was NOT covered by warranty. The second was an immanent failure, less than a year and less than 12K miles later, and I absolutely demanded that they pay for this one. Boy, was I livid, and that was pretty much the final straw.
-hh
You're using the same dealership I bought from & used... wished I would have known, as I just sold off my second set of wheels. I still have a nearly virgin Evolution IV car cover, if you're interested.
-hh
Jas...you definitely got a lemon...your car is at the dealer at least once a month! A Sob story!
huntzinger...You've posted your problems that you've had with your Saab and every timer I read them I still can't believe my eyes! Another Sob Story.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
If there's any unbelievers out there, I guess I can grab my big pile of repair receipts, scan them in as PDF's and put them up on a directory on my website. :-)
The real lesson I learned was to use Saab's Customer Assurance 800# and to be very firm when calling them.
Another Sob Story.
Agreed. The thing I know today that I didn't know before was that the 900, 9-3, 9000 and 9-5 are all platformed off of GM's Opel Vectra.
And if that wasn't scary enough, you can then add in "engineering contributions" from Fiat.
-hh
C230 seems to be a more up-to-date car but I won't buy it because people may think I cannot afford the "real" Mercedes. I like hatchbacks. I like the front of the C230 but I found its rear area is ugly. It's liked being cut off by someone. Its sunroof and ABS are better though.
I think it is suitable in snow. Although Kompassor may be more efficient but it got turned on once you start the engine. It probably have a shorter life than turbo. Since MB didn't develop too much standard transmission, many people suggested to buy a MB auto.
These are just my opinion. If I am buy a Mercedes, I would save more money and buy an CLK or SLK. After you put leather and the sunroof to the C230, it could be expensive. (It think it would be strange if you don't have leather in a MB or a BMW and the sunroof is a MUST HAVE because it is one of the selling points of C230 !)
For the same price, I would buy a 9-3 SE/Viggen (more powerful - 205hp & 230hp), A4 (at least quattro is available) or a 325i.
Hi stupideagles- 9-3 vs C230. You may also want to share (copy/paste) your thoughts in our new our new Mercedes-Benz C230 vs. Saab 9-3 discussion. Thanks for your participation. ;-)
Revka
Host
Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
That's where I'll be posting my comment.
-hh
However, during that time I have visited this forum numerous times to read differing opinions regarding the advantages - and more often then not!- disadvantages of buying or leasing a new 2002 Saab. With that that said - I have found this site to to be very useful and extremely informative in my car-shopping endeavor and I would just like to give you all a collective "thank you" for all your help
Here's the offer that has been given to me:
2002 Saab 9-3 SE fully loaded premium package
The dealership I went to has offered me the following lease package: 3 year lease, 15k mile/yr, $361 lease/month, no money down, money factor of ZERO. To buy the car outright, they are offering me this car at $26,702 or to lease a cap cost of $27,702. No matter what - we are looking to lease. Personally - I think this is a sweet deal - as long as the "complete premium package" is worth buying it.
What do you think?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
At least in Texas there is a personal property tax that is imposed when leasing a car, which can amount to several hundred dollars (my secretary has a pathfinder, and her assessment this year was for $420). I have been told that a much better option is the "balloon financing" option, that has a clause allowing you to simply return the car to the dealer at the balloon if you don't want to keep it. This acheives the same low-monthly-payment effect, without the tax at year-end.
Does anyone have any specific experience with these two scenarios and can shed light on which is better?? Thanks,
22sub
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD