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I've been into enough engines (albeit no Saab engines) to know that you just got a load of complete nonsense.
When you talk about "burnt up", I'm going to assume that the engine simply stopped and stopped fairly abruptly. I'll make one other big leap...and that is that you didn't hear and loud bang as would be associated with dropping a valve or throwing a connecting rod. If this is the case then we're left with a lubrication problem.
One of three things that happened:
1. there was either NO oil
2. or..sufficiently little that the oil pump was running dry
3. they put the wrong thing back into the engine.
7 miles is consistent with the zero oil theory. That is almost exactly what you could expect to happen, particularly if you were running dyno oil previously. On the other hand, you'd have seen your oil light come on with a warning. If that did not happen, then your oil pump was pumping *something*, then I'm betting they put the wrong thing back in there. Tranny fluid would have let you go more than 7 miles so maybe some coolant??
In any event, there is no belt that works perfectly for 17,000 miles when its an inch too short and then blows up your motor 7 miles after leaving the dealer.
Sorry for the tirade. I don't mind it (too much) when somebody tells me a little fib to avoid an unnecessary conflict...but I HATE it when somebody tells me a stupid lie. Its insulting and my friend, you got insulted. I wouldn't buy that for a minute. I'm betting that the manager knows what happened. He's pissed but he doesn't want a customer to know how poorly his team blew it.
Furthermore, I sincerely doubt that Saab is going to cover mechanical mistake by the dealer. I'm betting that you get a brand new motor covered by the dealer himself. You won't have to worry about other stuff if they do a good job on the replacement engine however. Just make sure that your AC, brakes, and steering work precisely as they should when you take possession of the car again. I'd check all your fluids yourself while you're at it.
One last thing. Ask them if you can see the burnt engine that they took out of your car and pull out the dipstick. I'd be VERY interested in hearing what you find. They allegedely changed your oil so if you don't have a clear brownish amber color, you'll know for sure. Milky white means water/coolant. Reddish tint means tranny fluid.
Good luck.
amtsst
99 9-3SE
34k miles
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