Saab 9-3 Kombi 2.8V6 Aero

[Adenauer]

Anyone got any experiences with this car please? I'm thinking of getting one as my next car to replace an ST220 estate.

Good/Bad points?

Specifically, this one

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showDetails.html...

[900T-R]

Hmmm, at that price it'd be worth a punt surely. List price - no way... Nice car, nice engine but personally I'd wait for the Haldex-equipped AWD versions to emerge and trinkle through to the used market - the basic 9-3 chassis is quite agile for a car of its ilk, but the big V6 up front makes it a bit understeery... Interior build quality seems to be a bit variable too - at least with this one you can check things upfront, as opposed to the luck of the draw when ordering one.

[Adenauer]

I can't really wait, I need to get one in March. I'll go and have a look at it.

[900T-R]

Well in that case - it's a lot of car for 28K Euro; the brunt of the depreciation has been shouldered by someone else; as tintop, petrol-fuelled Saabs go the spec is about as desirable as they come (Sport Combi format good news) - be interested to see how you like it.

[Adenauer]

What are the issues with the interior that you mention, anything serious?

[900T-R]

Adenauer said:

What are the issues with the interior that you mention, anything serious?

Not really - it's just that the look and feel is more 'GM' than the hewn-from-granite feel we are used to from old-school Saabs and falls behind Audi and Beemer by quite a margin nowadays, some owners have reported more than their fair share of rattles and buzzes (which is disappointing given the company the badge sees itself in), and depending on the specification the stereo sound quality ranges from very poor to fair (and why the heck should one need a whopping 13 speakers to create a 'fair' sound?).

[Adenauer]

Righto, I'll shake it about a bit when I go to see it then

It has a Bose stereo so that can't be bad surely?

[900T-R]

The Bose is alright - a lot better than whatever the pre-facelift cars had, apparently.

[aeropilot]

Adenauer said:

Good/Bad points?

V6 is a nice engine....(aftermarket tuners such as BSR are getting 550Nm from ECU tweek) but this V6 does seem to have a high fuel consumption.