Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 18:55:34 -0800 From: Justin VanAbrahams <jvanabranopsam.com> Subject: Re: Is Saab's Reliability a thing of the Past?
Paul Appleyard wrote: > > Saabs are no longer reliable. > > So, to answer your question, Saabs are not reliable. However, when you > have had a good moan about it, take it out for a drive and put your foot > down. Very therapeutic! I do not mean to be an ass (or, maybe I do), but it sounds to me your problems are with your dealer and not with Saab. ANY car you buy used is going to have problems. Why do you think the previous owner got rid of it? Because they loved the car? No, they got rid of the car because there was something wrong with it - either it didn't meet expectation, or because it had problems. You've no guarantee how they treated the car, or how competant the people doing the maintenance on it were. My roommate owns a 1995 Saturn, and he has *always* had it serviced by the dealership. He's got the records and the warranty... looks like a good deal, huh? It isn't. He's mistreated the car, taking it jumping (once or twice), off-road. He never checks fluids. It's on its second transmission in 40,000 miles. Looks nice from the outside, but I'd never buy his car... I know what it's been through. But if I was wandering around and saw that same car on a dealer's lot, it would look mighty good... Just because you bought a car from a dealership and it has all its records doesn't mean squat. You should ALWAYS have ANY car checked by an indepedant (or otherwise non-biased) competant mechanic. Failing to do so is only doing yourself a major disservice. What's worse is to blame a car company for the quality of their used cars. That makes no sense. Not only has Saab not seen the car in many years, but I can't believe you have enough faith in your fellow man to be certain that he's taken good care of a car. It just doesn't happen. Saab Reliability does not mean used cars are as good as new. A car is only as good as the treatment it gets from its owners. When buying a used car, ESPECIALLY from a dealer, you've got no contact with the owner, and no guarantee what that car has been through. To buy a car because a dealer tells you it's in good shape, or because it looks like its in good shape is foolish. To do it twice in a row is stupid. To do it twice in a row and blame a company that had little or nothing to do with it is virtually libelous. As far as I'm concerned, when you buy used, private party or from a dealer, it's buyer beware. The car was sold used because its been used and because there is something not up to par about it. That's what buying used means. My advice: Either go to another dealer or lot, or buy a new Ka for the same money as you'd buy your next used 9000. -Justin
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