Saab? please share any personal history.

I am looking at buying a used saab. I have never owned one, or known anyone who has. I like the price and mileage, and speed, and comfort. I am just a bit concerned about how cheap they seem to be. Should I be worried, or are they great cars that last?

I owned a 99 93 Viggen. Fave car besides my 92 Corrado.

My thermo went and that created some minor problems. Make sure the car has been regularly serviced too. They are temperamental and need to be well taken care of. Heh sounds like the ol lady. Stay away from the autos till after 03-04 I believe. 5 speed is the way to go..

Not really sure on the quality of Saab but i would check into some of the normal costs for repairs and maintenance. Repairs on foreign cars can get pricey.

I like the look of SAAB, especially the 97 or 98 i think it is, a very nice looking car
I have heard no complains about it, but try autos.msn.com, and look up by model/year and it will tell you everything you need to know about that car, and its efficiency, reliability, mileage, and any problems that a particular model had, if any.

The only saab owned i even remotely know had lots of bolze. Me and my friend were in his Saturn, and old 3.2l i think it was, and we were flying down the road at its top speed of 170km, pushing her hard, and the saab was right beside us, he had toyed with us before, not expecting my friend to get as much as he did out of the saturn.. He was in the right lane, we in the left, there was a transport truck in his lane, coming up behind it.. He dropped down a gear and climbed ahead, and pulled in front of us with mere inches between the bumper of his car and the rear end of that truck.

My heart was in my throat, i thought honestly that he was going to smack the truck and go flying, but no, he stuck to the road as he pulled in front of us and vroom, off he went after we let off the gas.

My friends poor car, it was screaming, glad he has a civic back.

Stay as far away from the 03+ Saab 9-3's. I won't go in to depth as to what exactly is wrong with the car, as it would be a thread of it's own, just do some research on them. I know the pre-2000 Saab's were of decent quality, but it seems they slightly trailed off that path.


The Saab 9-2x is a great car, but that is because it's basically a Subaru WRX wagon rebadged as a Saab.

I would hold off buying a saab at the moment as it looks like they are going to go under.
I hear geely (the chinese car maker) has been bailing out saab (possibly to get development tech) from saab.
Then at a later date let saab go under and then buy the company at a fraction of its value.

This has happened here in the uk with the company 'rover'.
Last minute talks failed then rover went under back in 2005.
Then china brought up 'rover' for a fraction of the value

If your buying a second hand saab, spare parts may be ok for now but in the future could be a problem unless a deal is done.

Hope it helps and good luck on your purchase

They'll be cheap because Saab have gone bankrupt, the warranties might well be worthless and no-one wants the hassle of sourcing spares way down the line.

I've got a 10 y/o Saab 9-5. The LCD display has been replaced once, common fault, apart from that I've done over 100,000 with no problems of any kind whatever. The bodywork looks brand new, only things replaced have been tyres, brake pads/discs ... the usual wear and tear.

I'm tempted to change car now that prices are on the slide, pass my current car to my nephew.

I have a 99 Saab 95 wagon. I bought it used. I would recommend that you stay away from them. I have had the car for a year. It had been well cared for. In the time I owned it I had to replace the fuel pump Cost almost 1000 bucks. Not long after,The turbo went out and it was blowing oil smoke every where. Turns out that even though the previous owner had replaced the turbo the car has an inherrent problem related to the pcv system. With a little reasearch on some Saab sites. it seems that Saab used an incompatatible material in the Pcv system. Over time it breaks down and causes the oil screen in the crankcase to clog up. Sometimes this will cause the engine to seize.

What happened to me was that the rubber particles caused the seals in the turbo to give out. New turbo costs around 450.00 for part, New updated pcv system around 175.00, flushing and cleaning crankcase and oil screen and oil system around 600.00. That doesn't include the labor for installing the turbo and Pcv system.

Seems that Saab knew about the problem but never issued a recall or even told anyone about it. They put out an updated pcv system and if a customer came in with their oil light on they recommended the change.

So now I have a car that is undriveable sitting in my driveway which I can't afford to repair. They are cranky and mostly undependable. I have several friends who have owned them and they told me I should have asked them about Saabs before I bought this one. I wish I would have. GM ruined Saab when they bought them. I still have a 16 year old mercury station wagon which runs like a champ. it gets 23 to 25 mpg all the time. Starts great every time. I have had the merc for 12 years and had very few problems outside of routine maintenance.

reply to post by network dude


I would stay away especially being in N.Carolina where parts will become a problem.

Especially since Saab as a company is teetering on going out of business after GM drove them into the ground.

They are good solidly built cars ...but in looking at consumer reports dating back to 1997 they have electrical problems across the board....in the 900 and 9-3 series Saabs.

My Neighbors have a Dead Saab 9-5 wagon in their driveway. It's been there for over a year now presumably dead beyond repair. Because it hasnt moved and they bought a new vehicle (GMC) since.

I am certain that they'd give you a very good deal on it especially if you could haul it away !

A guy I worked with years ago drove one that belonged to his parents....it died due to a failed transmission.

He later bought a used 900 for himself and the engine seized...most likely due to the oil starvation problem.

As other posters here have noted the Turbos tend to go and that can get very expensive like as much as you'd pay to buy a used car expensive.

From an engineering perspective I don't recommend turbo cars period....simply due to the added heat and complexity they contribute to the engine compartment which isn't good for anything mechanical.

It simply expedites engine failure. Leading with breaking down of your motor oil.


that combined with the company itself teetering on going out of business doesn't look like a good long term investment to me.



Peace

reply to post by network dude
saab ........... gasket blowing is common, gearbox might stick,fuel relay fuse blows,tie rod ends wear but all up good cars for the price.

Thanks for all the replies. This is what I was looking for. I plan on getting a 5 speed, whichever car I get.