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When that 2 years' use UK auto club survey came out, I was quite pleased as, prior to acquisition, I had done my homework and found an unmistakable increasing 9-3 reliability trend going back to about 1996, which was as far back as I wanted to go.
I posted the results here and they were greeted with (1) great yawns and (2) assertions that a UK Saab was somehow different from a North American Saab.
The first reaction was expected and the second is just plain wrong. The only differences I can find between the UK Saab and the North American Saab are (a) location of the steering wheel (b) more diesel Saabs in the UK and a slightly different way of finishing the model line for market and (c) a dealer prep standard of general application all over the UK vs. a spotty one in North America.
After all, Saab is General Motors' only "world car". If it isn't a world car, and other areas are getting better or different Saabs than we are, I want to know about that.
It is fair to say the 9-5 is the "Best Saab Ever Made" as it is a modern chassis and meticulously researched and produced whereas the 3 dates back some number of years. This is why autowriters don't flog the 3. They are used to having something new to deal with at more regular intervals. I guess you could compare the 9-3 to Volkswagen Beetle model runs where in some years, all you go that was new was a larger rear glass or tailight assembly - that kind of thing. Saying the 9-5 is the "best" is not quite saying it is the "most reliable" although 3rd is darn good.
Although you can hardly tell a 1998 9-3 from a 1999 9-3, Saab's advertising said there were "1000 improvements". I believe the ads.
Are there really lock, window, or seat issues with the 9-3? This board is a very reliable indicator of faults that run through a model year, e.g. my 1999 heaterbox.
I have always assumed the quality of steel in a Saab was superior to the quality of steel in a Japanese car because, where I grew up, in an salt water ocean area, the Swedish cars stood up far better than did the Japanese. As you would find with engine life data, the Saab engines have always led industry; even over Toyota and Mercedes. The only way you'd get an engine that lasted longer would be to go to a diesel.
I need to assume you've done your safety homework. In Y2K, the 9-5 was found to be the safest car ever tested by the EU agency doing the test of general application across Europe.
Whatever your decision - happy motoring!
posted by 142.173.18...
, Tue, 5 Feb 2002 09:34:29, Thu, 7 Feb 2002 10:15:02
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