Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 13:02:36 +0930 From: dwareingnopsamaide.on.net (David Wareing) Subject: Re: I want to become a Saab owner
In article <359c07e3.0nopsam.qn.net>, "Quicknet News Server" <warrennopsamet> wrote: > I'm looking to buy my first Saab. I would like a late-model (1-3 years > old), 4-door, automatic. What years of the Saab were better than others? > What type of repair costs should I expect? What models do you reccomend? When you do buy, check the service history. If the car doesn't have a service history, walk away. Actually, run away, and disregard any bland salesman's assurances about the perfection of the vehicle. I test drove a '94 900 the other day. It was in *very* good condition, and being sold by the same (Saab specialist) dealers that the car had been maintained by for 4 years. I first had a look at the service booklet, and everything was stamped on time -- the car had been maintained as it should have been. Next, I asked for the dealer's own complete maintenance report on that car. The car wasn't a lemon by any means, but the history was riddled with "Saabisms", including: - several battery replacements. (More than likely, owner left the luggage light on and draines the battery. Salesman acknowledged that this happens. I just wondered why then this still happens to these cars -- it seems like an eminently fixable problem.) - wiper water nozzles required cleanout on every single maintenance, - loose or sticky doors needed fixing, - window seals needed resealing, - various engine-bay parts becoming loose and needed tightening, replacing, etc. - one 50K major maintenance that cost A$1400. Eek. I questioned this but got a shrug. - some other stuff I can't remember right now, but which were typical things that many next gen Saab owners have reported. Sadly, these things seem to have continued outside the warranty period (2 years here), to the substantial cost of the owner. Now, remembering that this car had been maintained perfectly, and very, very well treated by its previous owner (who had just upgraded to a 9-3), this is the stuff I found during the drive: - The SID had a goodly number of its pixels missing, making reading the display somewhat hard. Again, a very common problem by the looks of it. Salesman declared no knowledge of this problem, and couldn't really see the problem as he wasn't wearing his reading glasses... - Rear parcel shelf creaked and rattled. When I pointed this out to the salesman, we stopped the car and he removed the rear shelf. - The car was a 2.3 but felt bulky and unwieldy. I had just driven the 9-3 which felt superb, so I guess the comparison is a little unfair, but then, I'd also driven a new '98 2.0 900, which felt much more impressive. Both the 9-3 and the new 900 felt nimble -- the '94 900 was much less of a joy to drive -- in comparison it felt like a cow. Given the hardware between all 3 machines, I'd have to ascribe the difference to the '94 machine's mileage (69K). Given no other reason, I think the car has "aged". This is mostly a perception thing, so it's hard to judge. - The car didn't feel solid. Whereas the 9-3 and new 900 were perfect, as you'd expect, with no creaks, no knocking when driving over bumps, no unexpected surprises in cornering, the '94 felt loose and slightly rattly. Handling wasn't a joy -- I would not have dared some of the stuff that I tried on a hilly, twisty road in the 9-3 and new 900. Now, the handling and sense of "build quality" weren't bad, but it wasn't as good as the new cars. It will be interesting to see how the 9-3 holds up in 4 years time... In any case, relative to the price of a new 9-3, the '94 for all its tiny little faults, is a bargain. As is the '900, providing you can talk down the price. -- David Wareing dwareingnopsamaide.on.net Macintosh Game Development <www.ambrosiasw.com/~dwareing> Get Mars Rising: <www.marsrising.com>
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