Saab 9-3 - Worth repairing

[Ekim2023]

Hi all,

We bought new car recently to replace our decaying Saab, but can’t help to want to cling onto it (was happy to replace it until now).

Some of the problems I could probably repair myself (certainly not mechanically savvy) but the big one is the subframes (I’m on a sloped driveway with not much room).

There aren’t a lot of Saabs around like mine so likelihood of bagging another in the future is next to none (TTID, £30 tax variant).

Money pit?

Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Nearside Rear Sub-frame has a fracture which is likely to adversely affect braking or steering (6.1.1 (a) (ii))
Nearside Rear Brake pad(s) less than 1.5 mm thick (1.1.13 (a) (ii))
Repair immediately (major defects):
Nearside Rear Service brake excessively binding (1.2.1 (f))
Rear Brake disc significantly and obviously worn (1.1.14 (a) (i))
Nearside Front Coil spring fractured or broken (5.3.1 (b) (i))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Rear Sub-frame is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))
Front Sub-frame is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))
Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))

Other issues:
Electrical issues (driver side rear passenger door knock doesn’t work intermittently)
Wiring for stereo is suspect (when it rains, it can mess about with the sound system big time)
Anti theft device is possibly duff (haven’t looked into it)

[Axe wound]

Labour cost will make or break it in terms how much it'll cost to put right, as most of those can be sorted at home by yourself with a bit of patience and elbow grease. The only thing is that rear subframes are particularly hard to come by compared to the fronts unfortunately.

[the-norseman]

Price up the parts with SAAB Parts directly rather than through a SAAB garage

saabparts.co.uk or Vauxhall I found quite a few parts for my 9-3 V6 were cheaper from Vauxhall.