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it takes a salesman to say that...They are the least knowledgable of all the employees at the dealership(next to the receptionist probably). With that said, let me play devils advocate for one second:
Obviously, syncros are an issue in any manual transmission. People who abuse a car with a manual tranny can mess up a syncro. It is usually the second gear syncro that goes first being that Off the line from a stand still, if you are really pushing a car, that is racing someone from a stop light, people have been known to "speedshift" from first to second without depressing the clutch, making a faster transition from 1st to 2nd. That will, in fact, strip the 2nd gear syncro nd make it grind into gear. If you get in a car and feel that second gear has issues like serious notchiness or grinding, then you can probably conclude that it has been pushed/raced. I would stay away from that car. When I say serious, I mean serious, because many people with 5spds here on the 9-3 board do complain a bit about the notchiness of the shifting. The newer manual transmission Fluid - MTF0063 is supposed to help with that problem.
With that said, I have an old '89 spg with a 2nd gear syncros shot. I got the car with 115K miles on it with that 2nd gear syncros shot. I still have the car with 283K miles with the same 2nd gear syncros shot. Tranny is still strong. So, while the salesman made his point, probably because he wanted to sell you a car on his lot, there is a "grain of truth", although, only a grain. 9-3's are no more prone to a shot syncro than any other manual tranny on the market.
If you really want a 5spd, don't hesitate in the 9-3 market to get one. I have one and love it. It is a little notchy, but plan to do the MTF0063 soon with hopes that it helps with the notchiness.
Hope this helps.
posted by 208.235.174...
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