I know the feeling you are having. When I had my 9000CS, I had that 'what's next?' feeling all the time. Here was a car I paid a lot of money for, yet I felt that I couldn't drive it a long distance because something else might break (and believe me, *everything* on that car did break). One of my previous cars, a '85 VW Jetta, was incredibly reliable and I wouldn't have hesitated (and didn't hesitate) to drive it anywhere. That feeling of total reliability was a nice one.

I don't have that 'what's next' feeling about my 9-5, and drive it about 22K miles per year (including two 200+ mile trips per week) without any problems. It is a different beast from the older Saabs. Sure it has a few known problems, but they are all easily repaired and seem to stay repaired. Things like the serp belt can be easily avoided with routine maintenance.

But remember that Saab is a near luxury car with lots of do-dads. Over 70% of them are leased, so the company concentrates on making a car that will attract enough attention and status to get the well heeled buyer to sign a lease, and then run trouble free for 36K miles. I don't think the engine or the tranny will die, but all the do-dads will start to fade away as it gets over 100K miles. That said, I don't think it is a car for people looking for bulletproof reliability and simplicity.

If I were on a budget and wanted a simple, inexpensive car that was easy to maintain, I'd personally buy a Ford Focus wagon or 5 door hatchback with a 5 speed transmission. It has great utility, runs well on the highway, and is very simple. And its quality ratings in Consumer Reports have jumped up to the point where it is "Recommended".

posted by 12.4.21...

• Red DI Cassette in a 9-5 - update + rant, sph3re, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 05:05:56
  • Re: Red DI Cassette in a 9-5 - update + rant, Dean, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 12:36:19
    • Yes, but not all serp / idler / tensioners are the same, sph3re, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 12:53:05
  • Re: Red DI Cassette in a 9-5 - update + rant, MJP, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 08:07:39
  • Re: Red DI Cassette in a 9-5 - update + rant, UnderDog, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 06:40:47
  • re: quality rant, compaqted, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 06:36:47 <-- Viewing This Message

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