1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
My '98 I bought at the old Kelley Buick/Saab before Jim Ellis bought the Saab side of things. The Viggen I bought directly from Jim Ellis. As for buying used, I guess it really depends how old a car you want, whether you like the security of the "certified pre-owned" warranty, how you feel about buying from an individual, etc. If I was buying a late model used or off-lease 9-3/9-5 I'd probably go through the dealer since they'll have a good selection right there, just do your homework before you get there, and play hardball since with the new 9-3 right around the corner the old 9-3 may be easy to get at an attractive price. If you want a "classic" 900 or older 9000 then you may have a better time buying from an individual. Either way pay for carfax or Car Checkers (or both) to give the car a good once over before committing to anything.
As far as maintenance, the two Saabs I've had so far, both '98 900SE and now '01 Viggen have been real reliable, and some complaints I had about suspension noises with the '98 were fixed at the Jim Ellis in Chamblee, under warranty, no questions asked.
I have had to wait an unbelievably long time for a simple oil change there, even when I had made an appointment and was there as they opened in the morning. Loaners have always been available for scheduled maintenance and warranty work.
But, with the Viggen, for the 5K oil change, I went to the Saab Performance Group to get the oil change done. They also use Mobile One which you'll have to haul yourself to Jim Ellis if you want them to use it (and I do).
So, I may not be the best person to ask as I've not (yet) had a problem Saab. I will have some questions regarding specific suspension creaks, vibration in the steering wheel/rear-view mirror under load, and sometimes sticky manual shifter when I go in for the 10K scheduled maintenance so we'll see how that goes.
So, is Jim Ellis horrible? I've never had an experience there that made me regret buying from them or using them for follow-up service. Clearly the VW side of ops has problems, and when I first took the Saab plunge and wanted to test drive a Passat (was ready to buy a Saab or Passat THAT DAY if the price was right) couldn't get 5 minutes of a salesman's time - now I'm glad I didn't. Once the car is out of warranty, I'll probably go elsewhere since the independent shops are staffed by people that know as much about Saabs (though perhaps not as much about the newer ones) as the mechanics at Jim Ellis. By the time I'm out of warranty though, the independent shops probably will know enough about the 9-3s to be able to do just about anything the dealers can.
Feel free to ask specific questions if you have them but that's about all I've got on the subject.
John
Atlanta
'01 Viggen
posted by 63.67.218...
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