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Well if you're going to check out websites dedicated to Saab's you're going to find people talking about how to fix them. It's not that they're any more or less reliable than another brand. Have you checked out the vw.watercooled newsgroup any time? I used to frequent that and believe me people have all kinds of problems with the new vw's. Another good read is the volvo newsgroup alt.autos.volvo. Now that's a good read. Ask people what they think about newer Volvos. Compared to the old 740s/940's they're very unreliable. I've been reading saabnet now for a couple months and there's really only a handful of common problems with these vehicles e.g. DI (Direct Ignition Casette) and SID (Saab Information Display)
If you want unbiased reviews check out http://www.consumerreports.org. CU accepts no advertising or any corporate sponsorship. They classify the 9-5 as a Good Bet / Best Buy / Whatever, and it's reliability is almost on par (according to CU) to the famed Accords/Camry's. That's saying alot given how a lot of us drive our Saabs. Also check out: http://www.epinions.com/auto_Make-2000_Saab_9_5/display_~reviews
for some unsolicitied views. If you want some b.s. car reviews check out "car and driver", which is always extolling the virtues of driving USVs. C&D are basically a bunch of bit@#$ces to the auto manufacturers. Some of what they say may be true, but I don't trust anyone whose bills are paid by the people they're reviewing.
I've been driving a '00 Aero since July and love to drive this thing. Even if it was a little unreliable I'd still love this car; however, so far the only issue has been a flaky SID. And if/when something does break I'm covered up to Apr 2006 or 100K miles. I examined the previous maintenance records at the dealership. All your vehicles maintenance records are stored in the Saab computer. The records also indicate whether the service campaigns have been performed, and given the year vehicle you're looking at the 10K, 20K, and 30K major services were free for that vehicle, so that will probably also be listed on the records.
Given the mileage of the vehicle - your 5K from end of warantee, my advice is to not buy this from anyone other than a dealer so that you can get the CPO warantee. It's a genuinine Saab warantee and you're car will be immediately welcomed at any Saab dealership nationwide.
Ensure you SID is replaced either now or before $50K. The SID is one of the few exceptions on the CPO warantee. Your SID WILL go. As for the DI, you should tell the dealership you want the DI in that vehicle replaced now. I'm not sure if it will cost them anything - technically this is a waranteed vehicle and I'm sure they can fanagle a way to get a free SID. It only takes 10 minutes to install according to the folks here. You may want to 'check under the hood' of the vehicle you're going to buy and place a small mark/notch on the original SID, so that you know they actually changed it when you take delivery. Sorry to be so pessimistic about dealerships but better safe than sorry. If I knew about the DI issue before I bought mine, I probably would have fought for a new DI. Instead I'll probably buy a spare out of pocket and put it in the trunk - it's worth the peace of mind.
The Aero is a great car, and '00 Aero's are a steal. I've heard of folks paying $14 and $16 for them, although those were non-CPO vehicles. I paid $22K in July for an Imola Red Aero w/ BBS rims. I could have gotten it thousands less, but at that time my last car's engine blew unexpectedly (Volvo 740T) and I was in a pinch and didn't have months to do research on pricing, etc.
Good Luck,
Kevin H
posted by 128.183.150...
, Tue, 7 Oct 2003 14:46:57
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