Saab 9-3 reliability
Discussion
Wiper linkage can go and you could end up going for a used replacement because of poor availability of new units.
Stereos on the Pre 2007 cars can be a pain and you can't replace them with aftermarket due to standard units being fibre connected
Mine is a 2005 and it had 122k on the clock when I bought it and it now has 137k on it now and it's cost me over £1100 in that time plus a belt and water pump change.
They are good motorway cars. Ride is quite harsh though and he front end is a bit vague. There is god grip, but you just can't feel what the front end is doing.
Space up front good, but rear is poor. Boot is excellent and fold down seats in the saloon set it apart from Audi, BMW and Alfas.
Stereos on the Pre 2007 cars can be a pain and you can't replace them with aftermarket due to standard units being fibre connected
Mine is a 2005 and it had 122k on the clock when I bought it and it now has 137k on it now and it's cost me over £1100 in that time plus a belt and water pump change.
They are good motorway cars. Ride is quite harsh though and he front end is a bit vague. There is god grip, but you just can't feel what the front end is doing.
Space up front good, but rear is poor. Boot is excellent and fold down seats in the saloon set it apart from Audi, BMW and Alfas.
Saab 9-3 convertible Tdi Vector 2006 on a 55 plate here. Bought at 47000 miles in Sept 2010 and has 69000 miles on it now. Without question the finest car I have ever owned by miles. Stunningly reliable (one wiper motor and a couple of brake pads is all it has needed in 22000 miles). Rewarding to drive, reasonable performance, ample space for four, extremely comfortable and refined, superb dashboard design, the best seats I have ever had and looks better than every other 4 seater convertible in the market. All this and 45-50mpg average driven without a care for fuel economy.
It's so nice I have two other airline captain friends who have bought one because they so liked mine. Another has said if I ever sell it he wants first refusal.
I've owned a variety of nice cars - Jag XJ8, Landy Discovery, TVR Griffith, Toyota MR2 T-bar, Audi, but the Saab is by far the best all round vehicle I have ever owned. The TVR is more rewarding to drive, faster and more beautiful but it is not as dependable, isn't as safe, it chews more fuel and we can't all go out as a family with the roof down in it. With the Saab we can cruise the lanes of England all together with the roof down - it's a superb summer car but in the Winter you wouldn't know you're in a convertible and the interior is bone dry. The Jag was far more unreliable than the TVR, was starting to rust around the wheelarches (it was a mere 6-7 years old!) but it was even quieter and more refined than the Saab - just. Overall though the Saab is the only one that can do everything that any of the others can do nearly as well as they can and at a cost that is far less to run than the others. It's so good I was devastated when they went into receivership because I see myself being a Saab man for life now. I don't want anything else as my daily driver ever...
I need Saab to keep making making them so I can keep buying them.
Saxon
It's so nice I have two other airline captain friends who have bought one because they so liked mine. Another has said if I ever sell it he wants first refusal.
I've owned a variety of nice cars - Jag XJ8, Landy Discovery, TVR Griffith, Toyota MR2 T-bar, Audi, but the Saab is by far the best all round vehicle I have ever owned. The TVR is more rewarding to drive, faster and more beautiful but it is not as dependable, isn't as safe, it chews more fuel and we can't all go out as a family with the roof down in it. With the Saab we can cruise the lanes of England all together with the roof down - it's a superb summer car but in the Winter you wouldn't know you're in a convertible and the interior is bone dry. The Jag was far more unreliable than the TVR, was starting to rust around the wheelarches (it was a mere 6-7 years old!) but it was even quieter and more refined than the Saab - just. Overall though the Saab is the only one that can do everything that any of the others can do nearly as well as they can and at a cost that is far less to run than the others. It's so good I was devastated when they went into receivership because I see myself being a Saab man for life now. I don't want anything else as my daily driver ever...
I need Saab to keep making making them so I can keep buying them.
Saxon
The petrels a hugely more reliable than diesels.. Mainly because of them being on timing chains and have none of the issues that the diesels have with chewing belts etc.
Broken front springs is a very common issue.. I replaced all 4 on mine.
Some electrical faults. 99.99999% of them cured with a new, quality battery.
Broken front springs is a very common issue.. I replaced all 4 on mine.
Some electrical faults. 99.99999% of them cured with a new, quality battery.
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