Here is my experience:
'88 9kt, purchased 1995 with 65K miles. Still have it, with 172K. It has needed a new slave cylinder, clutch, heater core, blower motor, suspension bushings, motor mounts, exhaust, serp belt and idler pulley, and now the steering rack leaks.

'91 9kt, purchased in 2000 with 100K: this transmission had external damage, so it needed replacement. It currently needs a new heater core, and of course I'll replace the blower motor at the same time. It also needed new motor mounts and exhaust.

'95 9000 CSE, purchased 2001 with 65K, now with 95K miles: Needed a small windshield washer system part and a new cabin temp sensor fan. It is currently on its second exhaust system and will soon need a third. The brake rotors were worn, so I replaced those.

That's it. I wouldn't say that's bad at all, considering the mileage on these cars.

The thing is, you don't hear about people putting high miles on many other cars. How reliable is a car from the Big 3, once you get up above 100K miles? On the BMW bulletin board, do they talk that much about how to take care of high-mileage cars? The reality is that parts wear out. The fact that the idler pulley on my '88 gave up the ghost last week means nothing. I was surprised it lasted that long.

If your tolerance for having parts break is very low, or if having to attend to maintenance issues in a car to you means that the car is a piece of junk, then by all means by a new car every few years. If you can tolerate a few mechanical problems, buy a 3 or 4 year old American car or a 6 or 7 year old Swedish or German car. If you like to tinker, and your idea of a fun evening is when you spend it under the hood of your car, then basically you can buy anything and keep it running.

Us Saab nuts tend to really like how our cars are put together, how they handle, how much you can haul in them, and that they aren't the same boring thing everyone else has. Consequently, we keep them longer than the average of 7 years that most Americans keep their cars, and so we need to be mindful of maintenance and repair issues.

Anyway, hope that gives you a snapshot about Saabs' reliability. Happy car shopping.

posted by 205.213.12...

• '95 9000 AERO, Auto, 164K mile, $5000...A good price???, Walter, Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:01:12
  • My, My, MY! Are these cars that bad?, Walter, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 10:05:10
    • Re: My, My, MY! Are these cars that bad?, jamesaab, Fri, 28 Mar 2003 15:17:43
    • no, no, no, not that bad (long impassioned speech), saabaru, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 17:29:52 <-- Viewing This Message
    • Re: My, My, MY! Are these cars that bad?, tig, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 14:28:30
    • Re: My, My, MY! Are these cars that bad?, Chris M, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 11:28:23
  • I got my 93 Aero w/ 90k for $5000., Chris M, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 09:19:52
    • But Chris, JasonS, Thu, 27 Mar 2003 15:14:45
      • ? I am somewhat confused by your statement.., Chris M, Fri, 28 Mar 2003 09:29:08
  • Re: '95 9000 AERO, Auto, 164K mile, $5000...A good price???, Nick , Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:21:54
    • To be honest both of the choices aren't great+, roman, Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:40:38
      • Re: Keep Looking (-), Jon906, Wed, 26 Mar 2003 15:09:28

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