Ian Allen Saab, Virginia Water. Quite impressed.
Discussion
Well, picked the car up about an hour ago from its service.
I must say, I am quite impressed actually. The car feels much tighter, goes like a rocket and feels generally 'newer' to put it a better way. They also did a full valet and wash (although they didn’t do as good a job as me over the last weekend)
They changed the Oil, Plugs, Air Oil and Cabin filters, de-bugged the Air con (no longer smells of cheese), Adjusted the steering toe in and lubricated and re torque the joints (no more creaking going over bumps), centralized the steering, they must of done something with the turbo because it feels smoother than before, sometimes it used to cut the fuel and over boost, but now its much more stable at holding the charge pressure due to boosting correctly, giving more reliable smoother acceleration. The needle no longer goes three quarters into the red, and jerk, it sits there just under a quarter into the red and pulls like a train. YAY
The seats need new cables inside as they have stretched to such a point that you can’t fold either of them forward without manually pressing forward the catches on the base of the seats. They quoted £50 for parts, which I have ordered, but £270 for fitting....hmmm I think I’m going to ponder on that for a while.
They said that my car is one of the nicest examples they have seen for a long time which was nice to hear. I also got to drive a 56 plate Hirsch Saab 93' Tid sport for a day or so, which was fun and powerful.
Deffo tons more low end torque than mine although it:
a) Really lost the 'oomph' and turned into a tepid but regular plod above 70mph, where my 900 turbo would be really giving the beans at that point up to around 120.
b) Is rather bland inside with a stupid radio thats far to complicated where you can’t turn the traffic announce off, and the car has lost all Saab character. MY NG 900 has at least some Saab qualities left, before GM completely destroyed the brand.
c) The centre key no longer locks the gear lever, but the steering wheel. So why have it there?
d) The diesel engine is noisy, sounds like a taxi cab in my opinion. I have driven an Alpina BMW d3 before and that sounds nice in comparison. This Saab diesel sounds like a bag of rocks and nails being stirred with a spanner, especially when cold. YUK!!
e) The cup holder is rubbish, i think its made from chocolate. Looks cool but that’s about it
f) The seats are nice
g) 37 MPG is attractive when you’re used to seeing 22 MPG
h) TCS function is a bit pointless
I) The headlight level is on the headlight switch, very weird. So I guess that’s a new Saab quirk.lol
j) The plastics are awful, glovebox feels like a tescos bun packet.
I must say, I am quite impressed actually. The car feels much tighter, goes like a rocket and feels generally 'newer' to put it a better way. They also did a full valet and wash (although they didn’t do as good a job as me over the last weekend)
They changed the Oil, Plugs, Air Oil and Cabin filters, de-bugged the Air con (no longer smells of cheese), Adjusted the steering toe in and lubricated and re torque the joints (no more creaking going over bumps), centralized the steering, they must of done something with the turbo because it feels smoother than before, sometimes it used to cut the fuel and over boost, but now its much more stable at holding the charge pressure due to boosting correctly, giving more reliable smoother acceleration. The needle no longer goes three quarters into the red, and jerk, it sits there just under a quarter into the red and pulls like a train. YAY
The seats need new cables inside as they have stretched to such a point that you can’t fold either of them forward without manually pressing forward the catches on the base of the seats. They quoted £50 for parts, which I have ordered, but £270 for fitting....hmmm I think I’m going to ponder on that for a while.
They said that my car is one of the nicest examples they have seen for a long time which was nice to hear. I also got to drive a 56 plate Hirsch Saab 93' Tid sport for a day or so, which was fun and powerful.
Deffo tons more low end torque than mine although it:
a) Really lost the 'oomph' and turned into a tepid but regular plod above 70mph, where my 900 turbo would be really giving the beans at that point up to around 120.
b) Is rather bland inside with a stupid radio thats far to complicated where you can’t turn the traffic announce off, and the car has lost all Saab character. MY NG 900 has at least some Saab qualities left, before GM completely destroyed the brand.
c) The centre key no longer locks the gear lever, but the steering wheel. So why have it there?
d) The diesel engine is noisy, sounds like a taxi cab in my opinion. I have driven an Alpina BMW d3 before and that sounds nice in comparison. This Saab diesel sounds like a bag of rocks and nails being stirred with a spanner, especially when cold. YUK!!
e) The cup holder is rubbish, i think its made from chocolate. Looks cool but that’s about it
f) The seats are nice
g) 37 MPG is attractive when you’re used to seeing 22 MPG
h) TCS function is a bit pointless
I) The headlight level is on the headlight switch, very weird. So I guess that’s a new Saab quirk.lol
j) The plastics are awful, glovebox feels like a tescos bun packet.
Edited by mashhead on Thursday 14th June 12:17
mashead, was the service cost reasonable? and i agree about those newer 9-3'3, i parked my ng cab next to a 9.3cabriolet and compared the two and not only do i think mine looked better but i couldnt see anything the 9-3 had inside than i have mine in my own car- besides the roof worked on the newer car.
We bought a 9-5 ex demonstrator from Ian Allan, six years ago at 7.7k miles, it's now just coming up to 157k with no complaints. We moved to mid-Wales shortly afterwards, but I was down Bracknell way a coupleof years ago, just about to leave my appointment when the CEL light came on and the car went into Limp Mode. It was now 4pm. Rang Ian Allan who said if you can get it here in the next half hour, we'll have a look at it. Duly did, they (correctly) diagnosed a failed DI cassette, checked a load of other things, replaced the DI cassette and I was on my way for the 200 mile drive home. Great Service.
Since moving I've used Westbury in Shrewsbury who I've been equally impressed with
davidy
Since moving I've used Westbury in Shrewsbury who I've been equally impressed with
davidy
K321 said:
mashead, was the service cost reasonable? and i agree about those newer 9-3'3, i parked my ng cab next to a 9.3cabriolet and compared the two and not only do i think mine looked better but i couldnt see anything the 9-3 had inside than i have mine in my own car- besides the roof worked on the newer car.
Well, the service cost was £250. Which i felt was nearer the upper bracket of services. Admitadly I was a little aprehensive at first, so I made sure they got a copy of the service checklist and made it visible in the car. But overall, yes I am very pleased with them. They rang me today incidently about some new cables for the fold down seats that i had on order. The parts have now come in so im deciding on getting those fitted at £270. but i am confident that they will do a fantastic job...so looks like i will next month.
Gassing Station | Saab | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff