9-3 Turbo X Values and Ownership

[T5GRF]

I am thinking of changing my 9-3 Aero for a Turbo X but I am struggling to justify the premium charged by SAAB dealers over a "standard" V6 or 2 litre Aero. Most of the cars available in the dealer network are priced comfortably over £20,000. My view is that they are probably really worth between £16-£18k but the 2 dealers I have spoken to recently were unwilling to budge more than £1k on cars priced at £25995 that they have been sat with for months, has anyone managed to do better?

Secondly, can I expect better levels of build and reliability from the Turbo X when compared to my 53 plate Aero?

[aeropilot]

T5GRF said:

My view is that they are probably really worth between £16-£18k but the 2 dealers I have spoken to recently were unwilling to budge more than £1k on cars priced at £25995 that they have been sat with for months, has anyone managed to do better?

I really don't think you'd find any dealer willing to drop down to 'your' idea of their value
Most 9-3 Turbo X's were listing new for close to the 40k mark in showrooms, and so even dropping down to mid 20's means there must be no margin left on them.
Of course if Saab does go t*its up next month and isn't bought off of GM, then desperate dealers may well reduce further to shift what stock they have left while looking for another franchise.

T5GRF said:

Secondly, can I expect better levels of build and reliability from the Turbo X when compared to my 53 plate Aero?

I would say, yes, the new post 07 cars are a bit better in this respect.
53 plate would put yours in the first year or so or production, and these are generally considered best avoided for this very reason.

[T5GRF]

Aeropilot thanks for the reply, certainly looks worth holding on until the future of SAAB is decided, there could be one or 2 cheap nearly new cars available...

In terms of value I missed an 08 plate Sportswaggon at a main dealer over the weekend with a pretty full spec and only 1400 miles that sold for around £19500, Glasses guide "books" these cars way below that figure at trade in prices and not all stock out there is unsold dealer demos, pre-reg cars etc which I can understand dealers being reluctant to sell at anywhere near my thoughts on valuation. Some of these cars will be customer trade ins, distressed sales etc and as such I can't imagine your average main dealer offering anything over "book" in the current market so it does then make cars priced at £25k look very expensive.

[NST]

my local dealer reckons the mpg is quite alot worse than the than standard 2.8T.. and a hirsch'd 2.8T is faster than a Turbo X once rolling.

[Torauk]

The first time i drove a Turbo X it did feel slower than a Hirsh'd 2.8T, but after a while and once i got a better idea of exactly where they are quick i started to prefer them.

Fuel economy in my experience is not as good as the standard 2.8T, but then being 4WD i would think it weighs quite a bit more. it has a lot more and grip than the 2.8T if you throw it about a bit.

Guess it kind of depends what you are going to do with it

Edited by Torauk on Tuesday 19th May 12:36

[T5GRF]

Torauk I will be using it for commuting. My Auto 9-3 Aero saloon with Hirsch remap gives 29 mpg on runs, what would you expect from the Turbo X?

How have you found the build quality of the car, has it proved to be reliable?

[Torauk]

As far as build quality goes Aeropilot is right, the later cars are of much better quality than the early ones,

I would think you are unlikely to achieve the same fuel economy as your current car as even the Saab figures say you will return an average of 25-mpg, and i my experience the best you can hope for is to match the manufacturers numbers.

Saabs numbers are better than most, i worked at a Honda dealer for 5 years and their figures were hopelessly inaccurate.