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gang
something of a followup to my earlier post ... drove a stick '06 SC 2.0T off a snowbound lot in CT last week. 29.5k miles. (had to replace my '99 9-3se, which was totaled out a couple of weeks ago ... black ice, trees and lampposts, etc.). a change of m.o. for me ... my comfort zone is usually to get a saab at 60-80k miles, 6-8 years old, which would have yielded a '00-02 hatch 5spd right now, but they've been tough to come by in my neck of the woods, at least ones that aren't trashed. so, since '03-05 are dead years for me and the 9-3 (after the hatch, before the SC), decided to jump to the '06s. had to travel from my montgomery co. md environs ... closest manual trans. 2.0Ts i could find were north of philly, or in CT and MA. despite beltway traffic nightmares i get stuck in 3-4x/month, i am a dedicated manuaul driver ... i get about as much enjoyment from automatics as i do operating an electric can opener. kept my range w. the 2.0T ... those extra 4mpg mean something.
the most significant known risk i weighed was: milford apparently dropped the manual transmission to seal a leak they found while doing their CPO inspection, and the vehicle has had only a couple hundred miles since.
not much to report. i like how it corners, the 4cyl+turbo power response (more reminescent of my '86 and '92 9k's), but the handling isn't unmistakably saab to me; is closer to my mid-80s 900s than my '99, perhaps, w. not as much torque steer, the kentucky windage all saabers adjust to. i don't buy the saabs of yore comparisons i've heard re the SC ... this is most surely more about competition w., say, the audi A3 wagon, etc., than an attempt to relive the heady days of the 96.
some things i've noticed, and some questions ... pretty mild, but that's about what i'd expect w. a cert'ed vehicle ... if anyone has any experience please comment or find me offlist. iv'e usually played tourist on saabnet, surfacing whenever i had a mechanical quandary on the road (was quite frequent w. my '92 9kt).
--the car runs halfway up the temp gauge consistently ... i'm used to my others running at about 3/8s ... is this normal? also the temp gauge doesn't work from a cold start until i apply the gas pedal. i could warm up the car for ten minutes, and the gauge won't move until i'm underway.
--a couple of times the upshift from 4th to 5th hasn't been smooth (though not to the point of obstruction). no slapping the shifter around once you sense it. you have to move it 5th like a waiter carefully placing drinks on a table.
--this is my first experience w. the dealer world, the CPO warranty world ... should i trust the maint. cycle advertised, or start queueing up some items in a preventive or performance way? the dealer already did the 30k service.
--(not necessarily a 9-3 question) in my area, i've had the great good fortune of having locally some the best saab etc. indy shops in the business to work on my previous 900s, 9kts, and 9-3 ... now that i'm in the brave new world of the CPO: do i now have to work w. dealers w. the '06 until i'm out of warranty for service work? how about "check this leak out" or "what's w. the rough idle" etc. work? is there any dealer in md or no.va getting decent marks? i've never heard a good word about the local dealers' service shops, never been in a position where i had no choice. is there anything i should stick w. the indies (wear and tear, oil changes, etc.) regardless of CPO?
BEST/branyon
posted by 65.209.9...
, Wed, 7 Jan 2009 11:23:08
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