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I sympathize with you that these repairs are expensive. Unfortunately, you have an aging SAAB that is guaranteed to cost more to maintain than a Japanese import. In the long run, you might think about bailing and switching brands.
In the short run, call Swedish Imports in Durham. It's at the I-40 / 15-501 intersection by New Hope Commons so an easy drive from Raleigh, just off the exit. They are pretty good and will cost less than the dealer in Raleigh. Labor rates were $65/hour about a year ago; they bill book rate as do most shops. I would be very clear that you need some repairs but are on a major budget so you need only the essentials right now. Tell them that if some stuff can be delayed, you want to wait. This is your right at any shop--dealer or whoever. You just have to trust their judgement. If you suggest that you may come back for other stuff once you're employed, they would be wise to serve you well now.
Wait on the shocks unless it's truly a major problem to you. I wouldn't even bring it up when you take it elsewhere. This should save $300+ shop dollars.
Ask to have the rotor thickness measured. Don't assume that you must replace them. BTW, you don't need "pads and shoes" so if they dealer told you that, that's B.S. They are the same thing, usually called pads on a disc brake system and shoes on a drum brake system (which you don't have).
For tires, go budget: Kumho HP 716 are good. Also Falken ZE-512 Ziex. You can mail order them from tirerack.com, vulcantire.com, or discountiredirect.com. Then have any shop install them; S.I. should do it too. The Saab alignment is a little different since only the front toe-in can be adjusted, so I would go to S.I. for this so someone else doesn't screw it up.
If you are going to dump the car soon, you could save money with a generic muffler from some non-Saab shop. But that will cost more after a few years when you have to replace it again. The cheap ones don't last. Forget the Monro, Meineke, etc. lifetime guarantee. They use shoddy parts and you pay labor each time so they still make money.
Ditto for brakes, but here you'd have to be even more cautious. No brake shop in their right mind will tell you the rotors are OK if you give them a chance. An indy shop is likely to be more fair.
Good luck, feel free to email or repost if you have questions. Happy to help a fellow Triangle Saab owner.
Derek / 1994 900 S V6 141,400mi
posted by 152.3.1...
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