Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 16:20:15 -0400 From: rlyonsnopsamoot.com.cough.cough (bobgoblin 2000) Subject: Re: 9-3 or 9-5?
Duane Dostie sez... > > > > No stick up my ass big guy. The "rebadged Opel" nonsense is ludicrous. > Where do you get your info from? The dealer? How many parts do they share? > The fact that you consider an Oldsmobile "Saab-like" tells me that you > deserve your "father's oldsmobile." At least you admit to being a dork. > You're more perceptive than I gave you credit for. So what is it you drive > now? An 88? Cutlass. ?? > > Duane > Cutlass Supreme with the 24 valve V-6. It's a wonderful engine. The car also handles similar to my last Saab. Rides like it too. (So, my mother hates riding in it as much as the Saabs.) Though the steering wheel needs to be a bit beefier. The Cutlass gives me plenty of room and has an upright, proper seating position as Saab. The only minor complaints I have with the car is that the dash is still far too removed from the driver and that idiotic luggage rack on the trunk. I did have the chance to drive the CS replacement, the Intrigue. It looks like that will be a great car for GM. When I made the decision to replace the Saab, it took me forever to decide what to buy: the Maxima was ungodly uncomfortable - horrible rock hard seats and I had to open the sunroof to allow my head to stick out (I'm 6'2"); The Altima too damn cramped - same height problem and my knees were shoved against the dash; Volvo was under the threat of a Renault takeover; Mercedes was going through a complete lineup change; the Passat was terribly over-priced. I stopped by the Olds/Caddy (Ex-Saab) dealership to pick up some parts for the State Repair Garage - my family owned several auto parts stores and service stations - one of the salesmen told me to try the Cutlass Supreme - he thought I'd like it - and he gave me the keys. I drove the car for week, went down to West Palm Beach to visit my grandparents. When I returned home, I cut a check for the car. Out on the highway, it's as smooth as glass with very little of the old GM bob and weave. Other than the normal tires, brakes, belts, and batteries, I've only had to replace the alternator at 65,000 miles, and the blown trans-cooler line covered under warranty. They even offered to replace the valve seals because there was a little black smoke coming out the tailpipe at 7,000. Doing this they cracked the Intake, but they were up front with me about it and ordered a new one in fixing it in two days. This was opposite the treatment I received from Saab dealers on the 89 900. The one in Evansville, IN cracked my transmission housing while changing the throw-out bearing. They never bothered to tell me and covered the crack with silicon. So, I complained about an transmission leak for the next year until the transmission vibrated so much that it broke the bolt holding the paddle. All of this fell into the drive chains locking up the transmission and shredding the clutch. I called the number for Saab roadside assistance only to find - in the GM takeover - that the number had been disconnected with no further information available. The dealership replaced the clutch but didn't fix the housing. This repeated 3 times until they finally said: "Oh, by the way, we cracked the housing about 18 months ago; that seems to be the problem; I guess we'll have to fix that this time." Then they yanked my engine and transmission out. Oh, and it only took 5 Saab dealers 2 years to fix the passenger seat heater. It was one of only two problems I had with the car at the 1000 mile service. Do you remember the air vents for the 900 trunks? The ones on the 4-door ran along the C-pillar? I had one that leaked, filling the trunk with water when I first bought it. I told the dealer in Lexington, KY what the problem was - I had even taped over the vent so water couldn't get in. So they proceed to rip the rear windshield out. That was never fixed but I made them replace the rear deck lid several times, the carpeting in the trunk, and an uncountable number of speakers. The dealers in Louisville and Nashville refused to honor the warranty at all. I could go on and on with tales of poor service and the 89 Saab, but I run the risk of locking up the Internet with massive misuse of bandwidth. So with this little story, I guess you can see why I decided to rid myself of that car. I did test drive the new 900 when it came out but was left greatly disappointed: the power door locks didn't work, the trunk release didn't work, the sunroof didn't work, the radio didn't work - though it had power, the new 5-speed was horrendous, and the new tiny ashtray fell out of the dash and onto the floor while going down the road. I passed on that car. Saab used to make wonderful, unstoppable cars - my 81 900S is proof of that. I can only hope that GM can straighten out Saab - God knows they need it; but it's been 9 years now. As for the Opel jab: I know the 900/9-3 is more than a rebadged sibling. And, to bring us back to the subject at hand, I recommend the 9-5 over the 9-3 though I've never driven the 9-5. -- - goblin
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