1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I've done LOTS of research on this too and have been monitoring boards related to other cars as well. From what I can tell:
1. NG900 models apparently had some problems. That got Saab a nasty reputation for reliability while Honda and Toyota were building bullet proof machines in the early and mid 90's.
2. Newer model 9-3s (eg., 2000+) are getting good reviews in Consumer Reports and the reader reviews on C&D. So many of the kinks have probably been ironed out.
3. The issue is consistency. Honda and Toyota roll out more cars that are consistently reliable. Saabs may have the more occasional "lemon." But with lemon laws in most US states and the 3 year warranty ... that shouldn't be such a problem. The term "lemon" is a bit out of line here. IE., a Ford lemon should go to the junkyard. A Saab lemon just needs some more service to iron out the kinks.
The Viggen, however, is a 9-3 on steroids. But I would imagine the extra power has been well compensated for. There are fewer Viggens rolling around so data is harder to come by.
Personally, I'm still waiting to see what 9-3 prices are when the new model comes out. At this point, I think Saab is waiting until they sell a certain number of '02 9-3s before doing that though. Ugh.
Good luck with your decision. I'm happy to discuss this offline in greater detail.
DT
PS. To give you another perspective. A thread on a Benz BB was started asking if C coupe owners bought the extended warranty. Most of them did. That says something about MB reliability / cost of repair. But since a Benz is a "Benz" people don't go around bashing it as much.
posted by 128.143.14...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
