Saab 9-2X Prices Paid and Buying Experience

gringo1 · June 2005

I have seen conflicting messages posted, so does anyone have any experience turning in GM Card points for help in purchase of a Saab?

or

Has anyone discussed this with GM Card and know the answer?

Thanks.

retropia · June 2005

I called the GM Card department that explains the rebate amounts available on specific GM vehicles. They said that Saab chose not to participate in the rebate program involving the original GM Card. That is the one that gives you a 5% rebate on every purchase, up to $500 per year, up to $3,500 total (dependent of course on the rebate amount you can apply per eligible vehicle).

There is, however, a "family" GM Card, run by the same bank, where you can apply a rebate to a Saab. It works differently. I investigated it briefly, and you may have to have a supplier connection, or be related to a GM employee to use it. The big difference is that it only offers you 1% of your purchase towards a rebate. You can convert your existing, original rebate to this card, but it gets converted to the lower amount. Thus, if you had a $2,000 rebate built up on your original card and converted it to the new one, your rebate would only be $400. However, you could apply it to a Saab, where you can't with the original card.

I didn't investigate it any further. I might qualify for the card with a supplier connection, but I didn't want to lose so much of my rebate amount in a conversion, in case I use it on a different GM vehicle.

There is a "business" GM card that Saab also participates with, that pays a 1% rebate. However, it is run by a different bank, so you can't transfer an existing rebate you may have on a different GM card. You would have to start building a rebate with it from scratch.

I think the service rep told me there are seven different GM cards available, so it gets confusing fast.

searcherboy · July 2005

I'm looking into buying a 92-X in the US under the Employee Discount program, and importing it to Canada. GM has not introduced the discounts north of the border.

The US discount price for the 92-X is way less than Canadian WRX pricing, even after taxes, import fees and exchange rates.

My question: is the US 92-X warranty valid in Canada? And can I get the free routine service (oil changes,etc) for a US-bought car at a Canadian dealer? Can anybody out there take a look at their warranty to see if it is valid throughout North America? Any information would be very much appreciated.

hotch41 · July 2005

I saw a satin gray Linear with automatic, cold weather and sunroof with about 5,200 miles on it. I was told it was the business manager's car and not a service loaner. It's on the showroom floor and it's in brand new condition. I would like everyone's opinion on the selling price of $18,400 is a good deal. After GM discounts, incentives and rebates, it comes out to be about $8,300 off the original MSRP. That's the dealer's best offer. The next best deal I could find at another dealer is for a brand new Linear with automatic, Premium, and Cold but no roof for $20,500. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

wolftim · July 2005

I bought my 9-2X Aero about 2-3 months ago and I saw something similar to what you are talking about. The Linear had about 6500 miles on it, auto, leather, no moon, cold weather and they were asking 24.5K before discounts. They then applied the 6000 Saab rebates and the 1000 GM Hotbutton rebates(no longer available), so that takes the price down to 17.5K. You have to figure that the aftermarket listing from the dealership on the moonroof is about 1800so I aould say it's a pretty darn good deal, for a "used car". I didn't buy the one I saw because I wanted turbo, bigger rims, a moonroof, and no cold weather. It's all about what you want. The car will turn heads no matter what you buy.

charles308 · July 2005

Just bought a Linear last night at a dealer in Frederick, Maryland. There are few (less than 5 each) of the Aero auto and base Linear stick left. My son and I test drove both and decided on the Linear. This dealer offers no haggle internet price. The base Linear MSRP is $23,685, including $695 freight. I paid $16,821 with the GM rebate of $5,000. The only extras are Tax, tag and $75 processing fee by GM (otherwise the dealer charges $99). I also have to pay the tax on the $5,000 rebate portion (which is $250). So, $16,821 is what I paid for the base Linear.

xred_octoberx · July 2005

This is the last week of the GM employee discount and the dealers are making it seem like the inventory is very tight. It is impossible to negotiate a good deal for this vehicle. I personally think that his car is not worth what they are asking for it even with the discount. I know I can get at the very least $8.5k off the Aero with the employee price and a rebate. My asking price for the basic manual Aero is $19.5k. This seems reasonable, but no dealer is willing to sell me the car for less than 23k. This car is way too slow to cost that much money. No way would I spend anything over 20 grand for it.

bluedevils · July 2005

Very strange perspective you seem to have on this vehicle. There is more to cars than straight-line acceleration. And even by that very specific criterion, a manual transmission 9-2X Aero is still quite fast, especially at this price.

If speed is ALL you are interested in, you may want to consider the hopped-up Neon. At $7-8k off MSRP, the 9-2X is an excellent value by almost anyone's standards.

xred_octoberx · July 2005

I drove an automatic Aero and I cannot describe how slow the car was. Acceleration from standing still was aweful. The car otherwise was gorgeous. It was red and looked spectacular. But a small inventory makes it impossible to get a good deal on it. In Arizona for some reason all dealers order them with heated seats and mirrors and try to upsell you on a paint protection package, window tinting, and a lot of other pricy expensive features. If you refuse to pay for them they just don't sell the car. Combine that with horrible acceleration and poor resale value to come after all the promotions and you can see why this is not such a good deal after all. Higher production volumes and availability would have made all the difference. Just because it used to cost more doesnt make it worthy of its current price tag. I would not recommend to pay anything more than 20k for this car..

bluedevils · July 2005

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the manual trans Aero... didn't you mention something about the 'base' Aero or 'no options'? Yes, I've heard the auto trans Aero is a LOT slower.

However, $6000 rebates + employee pricing already is a great deal on these cars. Sure, you aren't really going to negotiate much, if any, below this. But it's already pretty low. There are a lot of hatchbacks and wagons on the market that are put to shame by the 9-2X's overall value at these current prices.

Sounds like you should be contacting Saab USA if your dealer experiences really have been that terrible. It should not be happening. Sure, a dealer likes to make extra money on pricey worthless add-ons, but once you tell them no-- no means no.

cindylu · July 2005

I received a quote for an automatic transmission Aero with the cold weather package for $21,275. But the saleslady started with a price of $31,800 before the "employee price" , etc. - which seems high by $2,000 to me. Furthermore, this figure doesn't include sales tax since I'm purchasing from out of state. It seems a little padded. Any opinions?

scootertrash2 · July 2005

My opinion is that you should check GM's website, or even right here on Edmunds, and arm yourself with the facts rather than the opinions of strangers.

kyfdx · July 2005

She might be quoting your price on a hypothetical car... and, coming up with the MSRP on a car that she actually has in stock...

You might ask her to fax you the info and a copy of the window sticker, so you can see for yourself... Before you commit to an out of state trip..

regards,
kyfdx

ronsteve · July 2005

Ignore the bad "sticker price" that was mentioned and go directly to what you're getting it for. The employee price (after rebate) for a base Aero is $19425, and invoice on the auto tranny and cold weather comes to $1790. So that should put you right around that $21200 ballpark, and depending on any other goodies that might be on the car, the quote may be dead on.

cindylu · July 2005

After getting further information on the "employee discount", as well as all options - the price was indeed high.... by only 75 cents. Bought it.

cindylu · July 2005

Took delivery of a 9-2x Aero (automatic tranny) today, and after about 10 mins of city driving, took it on the fwy for 50 miles. After turning off the engine, it smelled like oil burning - and white smoke seeped from the hood scoop. After opening the hood, the smoke seemed to come from the rear of the engine on the passenger's side. After further driving, the smell continued when I turned the engine off, but no smoke was detected.

Was this a factory solvent burning off normally, or should I be concerned?

ps: I haven't taken it beyond 4000 rpm, but it did get to 90 mph on the highway before the incident occurred. Other than this smoking issue, I'm extremely happy with the car.

crikey · July 2005

This seems to be what your initial intuition was -- factory solvent burning off normally. I think most new cars go through this. You do have enough engine oil, in there, right?

How was the auto Aero, BTW, driving-wise? How do you find the turbo lag? Is it bad or liveable?

qbrozen · July 2005

I also agree with your initial assessment. Just make sure all the fluid tanks are at their proper levels and give it a few days of driving to see if it goes away.

cindylu · July 2005

I guess it's the cosmoline that's put on before shipping to prevent surface corrosion during ocean transport. That's what I've been told. Regardless, it hasn't done it today - the smell's not there anymore, either.

Concerning the automatic - it's not bad at all. It's quicker than our '95 Camry. Once the break-in period is over I'll give it full throttle (right now it's not getting past 4000 rpm. I've not driven the manual, which is surely more spirited off the line - but on the highway this automatic is superb. When passing a car you quickly get up to 90 mph without even realizing it. Our driving is primarily city and Detroit-area highway sprints - so the automatic suits us just fine.

Overall, I really couldn't be happier with this car. ">

crikey · July 2005

Thanks for your feedback,Cindy. I'm still contemplating about getting one tomorrow. There's a Satin Grey Auto 9-2X Aero with Cold Package at the closest dealership to me. It's just a matter of what I can get for my trade. If the numbers are right, I may pull the trigger. Lord knows I don't want another car payment (current daily driver was paid off years ago) but the deal is too hard to ignore.

cindylu · July 2005

Get it. If it's an automatic, don't pay attention to the boy racers who advise against it. It's a wonderful car for the $21,075 out-the-door price I got. Gas mileage could be better (averaged 25 mpg on the highway yesterday after picking it up 200 miles away), but it's about the same as what I'm used to. And the insurance cost is surprisingly cheap, too.

I like it more every time I drive it.

xred_octoberx · July 2005

The automatic Aero may be the slowest car in the world...but if you want a good deal on it now is the time to pull the trigger. Tommorow is the last day of the employee discount and the only 9-2's left are automatic Aeros. The car is so slow not a single one was sold in my state for the past 2 weeks (I call dealerships once every 2 weeks just to check). The dealers say they are selling like crazy, and perhaps this was the case a few months ago, but not so now. The dealers want to dump these cars ASAP because if nobody is buying them now they are dead meat when the rebate gets cut to 3k. I am very confident I can force a dealer to sell me my auto Aero for 20k including taxes and all fees. But do I really want it even for that? There are two huge proglems with this car and there is really no way to sugarcoat it. The acceleration is so slow the car is actually unsafe to drive. To make it accelerate faster will take around 2k in upgrades and labor. These mods may also void the warrantee. The second problem is the resale value. These cars are already listed used at autotrader.com for around 18k by dealers, which means that whoever traded them in got around 16/17k for them. What other 30+k car you know of loses half of its value in its first year? Considering all this...it is very hard to make a case for this car. It looks gorgeous, but can you buy it on looks alone? Don't know what to do.

bluedevils · July 2005

You sound like you are trying to convince others not to buy an automatic Aero so there will be more choices for you on dealer lots?! Seriously, how can you bad-mouth a car so strongly and then say you want to buy one?

I haven't driven the 9-2X, but I believe you are seriously overstating the slowness of the Aero automatic. This is still a fairly small car with 227 horsepower, and there are many many vehicles on the road that are slower.

It is meaningless to compare original MSRP when calculating resale value. Compare the actual price paid when new and the current value. Those are the only 2 numbers that matter.

cindylu · July 2005

It's not slow!

Don't listen to that "xred octoberx" character... "so slow the car is actually unsafe to drive"??????? It's faster than my Camry, my CRX Si, and I still haven't taken it past 4000 rpm (redlines close to 7000). I can't wait until the 1000 mile break-in period is over with.

And unless you plan on selling it in a year, why should resale value matter? Buy a car you enjoy and will continue to enjoy for the four or five years you'll be making payments.

I'm sure the 5 speed is more sporting, but the automatic is fine with me.

Kirstie_H · August 2005

Let's reserve this topic for pricing/purchasing info, and head over to the regular Saab 9-2X discussion to talk about performance issues and driving impressions. Thanks!

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

crikey · August 2005

Rumor has it that the promotion still applies to the 9-2X, which I think, makes sense since not very many people (perhaps no one) would buy the 9-2X at pre-employee prices. Not sure about the rebate situation, though, but I think that, too, will continue until every last 9-2X is sold.

crikey · August 2005

Seems like GM Employee Discount continues but rebates have decreased,

$5K for Aero (which are likely to be automatics) and $4K for Linears.

car_nut2 · August 2005

When I go to www.gm.com, and go to current offers/incentives, they no longer show any rebates for the saab, yet crikey states they have a 5k and 4k offer going. Perhaps in Canada they're offering it but not in the NorthEast?

crikey · August 2005

When I go to www.gm.com, and go to current offers/incentives, they no longer show any rebates for the saab, yet crikey states they have a 5k and 4k offer going. Perhaps in Canada they're offering it but not in the NorthEast?

go to www.saabusa.com. on the bottom left, click on the link for 'Employee Discount for Everyone'. If you select Saab 9-2X, you will see that the price for a *base* Linear is $17,821.00 ($16821 last month) and a *base* Aero is $20,425.00 ($19425 last month). Therefore, the rebates have gone down $1K for each vehicle.

And I am a Canadian living in the US and would not know about Canadian pricing.

Kirstie_H · August 2005

Were you motivated to go car- or truck-shopping because of the employee discount deals? If so, a reporter wants to talk with you.
Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com no later than Tuesday, August 9, 2005 with your daytime contact info and a few words about your experience.

dc83 · August 2005

i was just wondering if anyone know how much it would cost to get a manual trans aero with the rebate/discount?thinking about trading my accord in for one
o yea and when does the employee discount end?

kyfdx · August 2005

Have you actually found a manual transmission Aero?

None left around here...

presbypal · August 2005

I have a similar question. I was quoted a price of $21,335 for an Artic Silver Aero with auto tranny and no other options. Good price if it were new, but this was used by the dealer as a loaner car and has 2,600 miles on it. It has stains on the seat fabric and scratches around the door handles and hatchback areas. What is a fair price to offer the dealer on this vehicle?

Also they have a 5-spd 9.2x Aero with 19,000 returned from a lease that is equipped with moonroof and cold weather.
I could be just as happy with this vehicle, but am unable to determine what might be a fair price. There are no online used prices listed yet for 9.2x's yet. I figure it it were brand new with incentives it would price out around 23,670.

scootertrash · August 2005

Why not just buy a new one?

presbypal · August 2005

I would if I knew where to find one, but this is all my local dealer has in stock.

I still am interested to hear from anyone who has an idea about a fair price on these two vehicles.

scootertrash · August 2005

Your dealer can get anyone of the hundreds sitting at the port.
They have a computer listing them all.
If he tells you otherwise, he is either lying or thinks he can unload his used ones on you because you are too dumb to know the difference.
Insist he get you a new one or leave.

crikey · August 2005

presbypal, i think that the best approach would be to check all Saab dealers within, maybe, 200 miles. You might have to call each one and check with the dealership regarding their new inventory. Unfortunately, not all Saab dealerships have their inventories available online, but some do.

I can't comment on the price because, like you said, 2005 used car prices on the 9-2X have not been established yet. Good Luck and happy hunting.

stevebg4 · August 2005

Hello,

Does anyone outhere know where I can find a 2005 9-2x Linear in silver color or other dark colors but no red.

I live in the tri-state area, I called every dealer around 200 miles but noone seems to have one.

thanks for any info

Steve

scootertrash · August 2005

Any Saab dealer can easily look that up for you.
They have a computer linked to Saab's inventory and can search every car by either option or color.
If they tell you they can't, they are lying to you.

jescue · August 2005

They are not lying.Saab sent a list of port cars and they are all long gone.

crikey · August 2005

stevebg4, if you do not mind flying down to south florida, i think there are a couple of linears at schumacher saab.

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hi everyone. Please use the following discussion to post any questions that you have about leasing a Saab 9-2X. Thanks.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums

si3n4 · September 2005

Scootertrash,

I've been told by my local dealers that there are no 9-2Xs left anywhere in the US. However, you say there are some sitting at the port. Can you elaborate on which port(s) has(have) some 9-2Xs and where you are getting your information from?

Thanks,
S

jchan2 · October 2005

when are these supposed to hit dealer lots?

saabiru · November 2005

I just got a message from my dealer in MD, that they've just gotten specs & prices for the ones arriving soon...

I'll keep you updated.

saabiru · November 2005

Ok, here's what I got...

$29,693
for manual Aero w/ sunroof, Sports Package, and Cold Package for a delivery in December.

Anyone get anything better/worse?

jchan2 · November 2005

Have depreciation figures been released yet for the 9-2X?

mikeg444 · March 2006

Does anyone know what the current lease offers are on a 9-2x Aero?

katenak · April 2006

I want to buy a 2006 Linear. I have a $3k GM Employee Discount. Are there any other rebates i can use in addition to this one..also for the '05 owners - any troubles with the car? How is it on gas?

angy168 · June 2006

I am looking to buy a 2006 Aero with 5 sp. The current rebate is $4000 (which is up from 3k the previous month), not sure is there any other discount out there besides this 4k. Do you think I should wait until GM comes out better rebate?

Saab 9-2X Prices Paid and Buying Experience

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