Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 05:41:17 +0000 From: Johannes H Andersen <johsnopsamsafish.com> Subject: Re: 93 9000cse Question and 87 9000i FS in Holland
Andy wrote: > > Robin, > my car was also from the first owner - I was the first owner. > It also had all the service records. That was no comfort either. > As for the automatic transmission (Johannes wrote that those > by ZF were not reliable), I don't know either. I have visited > ZF many times in the past - various plants. QC is my job. > They have a very sophisticated and strict inspection scheme. > > Well, I have one more story for you here: > > A few years ago, my SAAB 9000 CSi had then about 180 thousand km, driving > slowly in the city traffic I have felt a slight stutter in the engine while > it was shifting from the first to the second gear. This is an automatic > transmission type ZF 4HP. At first I didn't pay much attention but then it > became stronger and stronger and I started getting worried. I have called > SAAB. They told me that at 200 000 km I should prepare myself for a new > gearbox. I was shocked! What!? These things are supposed to run half a > million with no sweat! And then the chap at the other end mentioned the > price: DM 7000.- I almost fainted. A three years old car. First, a major > crankshaft defect and now the gear box?! I wanted a second opinion. I went > to a SAAB garage in Neu Isenburg. They told me, they'd have to diagnose it. > I was asked to wait in the lounge. Almost one hour later the mechanic came > with the bad news. I had to pay DM 300 for > the test. They have changed the transmission oil and told me that they saw > the particles of worn out break rim (?) in the oil and this meant that the > gearbox was worn out and would have to be overhauled. The price tag was DM > 5000.-. Well, look at the bright side of it: it was DM 2000 less then for a > new one. Next day I spoke with a friend of mine and he told me that he knew > a garage where they specialise in automatic gearboxes. I have called the > workshop and they told me, they have overhauled gearboxes for sale and if Id > bring my car they'd take out mine and install a new one for DM 2500.- Wow! > Within just three days I have saved DM 4500 .- Not bad. But wait! There's > more. Next day I went to see a mechanic at a small garage in Schwalbach, > near Frankfurt a/M. He was in the past listed in the SAAB manual as an > authorised service but later SAAB had opened their own big salon and damped > the him. Well, if you're ever looking for and expert that can tell you what' > s wrong with your car just by listening to it, he's the one. So we went > together for a test drive. He drove around for 5 minutes, tried this and > that and listened. We came back and he just changed the spark plugs and > charged me DM 20.- Yes! That was it. Brilliant! Now, 130 000 km further my > SAAB is still doing OK (as for a SAAB) and only sometimes I wonder if then > in Neu Isenburg, if I had agreed to leave my car to them for an overhaul of > my gearbox, would they have bothered to take it apart or would they just put > in new sparkplugs? Or perhaps, once they would have "fixed" my gearbox and > found out that problem was still there and they only needed to put in new > spark plugs, would they have told me? > > So, remember! Always ask a second / third / fourth opinion. > Quite agree. We all have the same problem with finding garages which we can reasonably trust. You can spend a lot of time investigating and double checking, but on the other hand, the car should be for your convenience, not the other way round. You did right by immediately having a problem checked rather than letting it develop and causing more damage, but the garage exploited the situation. Obviously, this garage will not get your visit in the future. Johannes
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