1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I have one and I like it a lot.
Of course a '99 will not have as many problems.....YET....they are 3 years newer...whose to say they won't have MORE problems than a 1996 in the year 2005 which would be the apples to apples comparison. A '99 will also cost you a hell of a lot more than a 96 so it's kind of a silly thing to say (value wise). Perhaps the money you save will pay for some repairs down the road. Perhaps these might NOT be too steep. Certainly they are inevitable.
I was happy to have 2 saab mechanics (one indie, one dealer) say "at 125k miles, your car is still a teenager. these engines can get to 300k if maintained properly."
I haven't had any AC problems, no tranny problem (just had to replace a transmission mount, that's all), and no power steering pump problems.
Of course I might get some failures at 150k, but is there a car that won't have failures at 150k???? Is it the 99 saab??? Who knows? How many 99 saabs are reporting 200k trouble free miles? I doubt any.
My rationalle is this, buy the nicest car you feel comfortable buying (budget wise). older cars cost less than newer cars. some of that money will be used for repairs that newer cars will not need, but I *DOUBT* that all of that money (difference in price tags) will be spent on repairs, and I doubt that you will not need to do the same with the 3 year newer car, once you've had it for 3 years. At least, I can't see any reason to think that.
Sometimes when a newly engineered model is release (the 94 saab 900) there are bugs not yet all worked out. It seems that by 96/97 some of the biggies got worked out, but perhaps not all. By the same logic, the 99 saab 9-3 was the first year of 9-3s and some of the changes may yet show to be mechanically suspect after we get some high miles on the 9-3s reporting, maybe not, but who knows.
Any car can be mechanically sound, but have a mechanic (saab independent) check it out for you. If it's all you can afford, and it is a nice car inside (basically identical to 9-3), then go for it! If you can afford a 2002 and like to pay $15,000 in depreciation to avoid the ocasional $800 repair bill, then go for that instead ;)
enjoy,
Tom.
posted by 12.224.158...
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