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A new 2.3L high-output turbocharged engine, tuned
sport chassis, superior aerodynamics and an
aggressive lower stance earns this new Saab the
right to bear the name of the revered Saab 37
Viggen jet fighter. Just as the Viggen jet fighter
defines agility and versatility in the air, the
superior handling and torque of the Saab 9-3 Viggen
sets a new standard for high performance Saabs.
The Viggen name, Swedish for "Thunderbolt", aptly
describes this new model, which combines a
fully-aspirated turbo, wider tires and reduced
aerodynamic drag for a Saab driving experience like
no other. The Saab 9-3 Viggen honors its heritage
with an aircraft-inspired cockpit designed for
enhanced driver positioning and support.
Regarding final price - @invoice? or 2% over? less destination charges? (575) and holdback @ 2.2%? Has anyone paid less than Edmonds invoice for a 9-3?The salesmen have been polite. I am sure they have expected me to be an easy target. (I am female) Some of the BS they have given me makes me laugh inside. Now for the final day!
Regards, Karin
Okay, I exaggerate.
Slightly.
Anyway, I've since driven a 9-3 with the cheapo fur stuff and felt much more comfortable and in control, much more connected to the car. So, despite being WAY enamored of the miscellaneous SE baubles, I'm a-gonna go with the Base.
My wife is very petite but we got into several Acuras before she decided on the Saab and we definitly noticed the difference in how snuggly the different seats felt. My wife actually felt rather claustrophobic in the Acuras mostly due to their very firm and snug seats.
Seat comfort is a very objective feeling but it very implortant to your feeling of secrity and comfort when driving the car. Saab has the best ergonomics in the industry but you need to choose the proper seat material for your own particualr preference.
Both my wife and I are of very body types and the infinitly adjustible drivers seat has been very usefull for the both of us both. When you think about what kind of upholstery you want in you car leather is not always the best choice. The grade and finishing on the leather makes a big difference and in my humble opinion Saab's leather finish is just too smooth.
If you plan to own your car past the lease date non-leather is the way to go unless you have the stamina to keep up with the cleaning and conditioning requirments of leather. I own several older leather upholstered cars and it becomes absolutley aparant when a leather upholsterty has been well maintained and when it has not. This is diefinitly not the case with cloth.
Their loss, 'cause I'da gotten the subwoofer and the High-Zoot Thermostat Thing and the HOT.
I'm sure I'll be happy anyway.
Make a wish list of all the extras you would like and have the salesperson look for the car at other dealers. During my shopping around I found base 9-3's with many extra (SE)features, including the winter package.
Regards, Karin
Karin
Right on with the need for Saab to undercut the competition and provide RELIABLE SERVICE AND QUALITY. My wife, who is Japanese, was very taken by Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Accura but I think she really didn't want just accept the known reliability of these cars over the utilitarian and unique aspects of the Saab design.
I wanted a sport station wagon but the available choices in the market at the time were beyond what we wanted to spend and Toyota and Honda discontinued selling their wagon offerings in the U.S. The 9-3 Saab turned out to be a very acceptible compromise and it fun to drive too!
Karin
The one reliable way that I've found to spot a new 9-3 is by its wheel rims. Saab has continued to update it rims throughout the model year and this seems to be the best way to differentiate Saab models although it is not precise because some older Saab owners can easily update their cars with the use of "new" rims. This however seems to a minority of your typical Saab owner.
Paraphrase the report for us so that we can have some point of reference outside looking up and reading it for ourselves!
Thanks for the directions to the Sedan site, re; CU story. I enjoyed the "Saab" talk.
Today I am calling Dealers to start the buying process. The information here has been very helpful.
Karin
carlady/host
"used 9-3's (5-6 thousand miles on them).
They have been used as demo cars. Any comments about the advisability of purchasing one of these?
How mych should they be discounted?
Thanks,
Karin
I think I'd buy a Saab dealer's car over Budget's if only because there is a more direct responsibilty by the dealer to at least help you to maintain your car. With the dealer there is at least the hope that they care whether you ever return again for a subsequent visit for your next replacement Saab.
A word of wisdom though is that you cannot expect your Saab dealer to do much more than refer you to reputable service people int hteir area. Our own Los Angeles based dealer doesn't have much more than the most rdimentary of facilities and sends out most work brought to them to local "specialist" shops.
One last comment, we have a auto Saab and its acceration and performance is really very acceptable. I'd have a little intrepidation about a used stick shift turbo Saab because the turbos take some getting used to and I'd be very weary about burt clutch plates on rental Saabs.
I liked it *a lot*. Handling, acceleration, ride. I was somewhat off course in high speed curves, probably due to the Saab's torque steer and the fact that I used to driving a RWD. The sale guy told me "this is a tight curve, a good way to see how the car handles." I down shifted and floored it, and did not let go much until until seeing the end of the curve. The poor sales guy peed in his pants.
I have three questions:
(1) Integrated Child Seat. The dealer (Saab exclusive, at least 50+ Saab inventory) had no car with Integrated rear child and seemed lukewarm at the idea of getting it. Is this an option nobody cares about? Hey, my kid is turning 4 this spring, I intend to use it. He said he might have to special order THE CAR which would take a few month. Can't he just special order the seat? Any idea?
(2) There was some turbo lag. I suspect the SE model would have less turbo lag since it is a more powerful turbo. Yes/no? I have not tried the SE.
(3) Price. I view the hold back as money going to run the business. $500 above invoice to pay for the sales staff seems reasonable to me. Any body out there paid a few hundreds above invoice?
Thanks
The designer of the "integrated child safety seat" has two young children of his own, and the design was tested extensively for "user acceptance" as well as lab-tested for safety.
This is a very useful option if you need it, and Saab is one of just a few builders who realize that someone who needs *one* child seat is very likely to need *two* of them. If your dealer is cold to the idea of finding what you want, an polite but firm note to customer service at http://www.saabusa.com (or a phone call to their 800 number) is very likely to bring him some "customer relations counselling." The president of SaabUSA is from Saturn, where customer service and showroom accomodation to the customer (except in price) is THE way of doing business.
The cure for "turbo lag" in the 9-3, and to be sure, the amount of lag in normal spirited driving is inconsquential (and much less annoying than the time it takes a high performance N/A motor to get "on the cam"), is the 2.3 liter Viggen model, to be released in May. Even with turbo motors, "there's no substitute for cubic inches," and the 2.3 turbos hauled the heavier 9000 Aero remarkably well.
I have a bit of a beef about the tires that Saab chose for its 9-3 series. We had to replace one of the tires, due to a unreparable puncture, a couple of months after we bought the car and I ended up having to search all over L.A. to find it. I drove 55 minutes from my house into the Valley to get my replacement tire from a dealer recommended tire shop and we paid $$$$$ for it. I called three local tire shops and was unable to locate the correct tire without accepting a several day wait.
We're digressing here! The Viggen will be HOT but lets find out about anyone whose driven their current 9-3 at 100+ MPH and how was your experience?
I have been vacillating between a BMW and SAAB for months now, and have put off my purchase till the Viggen comes out.
SAAB is very attractive at 15% to20% less than a comparably equipped BMW and factory subsidized lease deals. At 10% less, it becomes more difficult to justify. In the balance the BMW is probably a better car with much better resale value and longer lasting styling.
My eye is on an M3, the resale on the M3's are tremendous! It does appear that the two convertibles will be almost the same price. It’s also possible that the M3 will more available than the Viggen convertible. I’m not found of the Bimmer folks, their service, or the image, but that’s a lot of $$! When you pay that kind of money, it’s hard to take chances.
rfellman - Do you remember the coffee question? My 9-3 has a beverage holder that I don't remember being on previous models I looked at. Very similar to the pop-out holder on the 9-5, except located horizontally above the CD slot. Blocks the CD slot when out, but an improvement I think.
My wife will now drive our A4 2.8 auto. I should be able to provide comment to those folks comparing the 9-3 to the A4.
Happy & SAFE motoring. (Recent posts on one of the Saab topics referring to high speeds (100+) made me throw that in.)
rfe
Also I am beginning to see 9-3s tooling around the nicer neighborhoods of St Louis County, MO.
You ever listen to American auto manufacturers [non-permissible content removed] and moan about how meager their sales are in Japan? Well guess what if they'd move the steering wheel to the opposite side of the car they'd sell a lot more vehichles in Japan!
Give the consumer what they want and don't come up with rediculous platitudes for why your product doesn't include those desired attributes.
If it wasn't for the spirited acceleration and volumous trunk space I'd mostly consider our Saab a joke of a car. I still hate its interior materials and want a functional cup holder and arm rest!
As for the cup holders, I am sure they are working on it. Even Mercedes took years before adding cup holders. As Saab sees that US is a major market for them (and it isn't yet), they'll accomodate our needs/wants.
Oh and it's sooooooooo pretty in cayenne red.
Okay, question: can anyone provide insight as to aftermarket subwoofer selection and placement?
As for your "shift-by-sound" radar, you are experiencing the benefit of Saab's balance shaft design. Originally offered by Mitsubishi eons ago, a pair of balance shafts spinning in opposite directions at twice the engines speed can be used to offset the "second order shaking forces" which every in-line 4 produces. Saab's implementation is relatively unique in that the balancing shaft locations are cast into the block, rather than being bolted into the crankcase (as is done by Chrysler in their 2.4 motor and GM in their "Quad 4" and their European TDI diesel). Together with the short-stroke design of the Saab 2.0, it makes for a very smooth and quiet powerplant.