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Tom and Ray from Car Talk recently discussed what I presume is an 03 9-3, they don't mention model number. I don't recall this inoperable door locl issue being addressed before, so I thought I'd share the transcript that was reproduced by the Boston Herald - link attached.
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Dear Tom and Ray:
My 80-year-old father owns an â03 Saab. About two months ago, the electric locking mechanism on the driverâs door stopped working. Now the door cannot be opened from the inside or the outside. The Saab dealer has had the car for six weeks, with no hopes of getting that part in the near or distant future. So my father canât open the door, and at his age, heâs not going to be hopping over the passenger seat to get to the driverâs seat. Saab has told him that no other vehicle uses the same part, and there is no solution. Any ideas? He canât afford to buy a new car.
â John
RAY: Well, my first idea is that he should go collect his car from the Saab dealership before the bank takes Dadâs car as part of a foreclosure settlement and auctions it off.
TOM: It probably would get auctioned as parts to someone else who needs a door lock for an â03 Saab!
RAY: Itâs tricky business, now that Saab is in bankruptcy. GM, which owned Saab until a couple of years ago, says it will honor warranties on the Saabs it sold. And Saab says itâs putting some kind of program in place to help other customers with parts, but who knows if that will work out or not? Itâs not a good situation.
TOM: So in the meantime, hereâs what I would do if it were my fatherâs car. Iâd rescue the car from the dealership and have it towed to a body shop.
RAY: Then Iâd ask the body shop to âget inside the driverâs doorâ and disable the locking mechanism permanently, so that the door never can be locked again.
TOM: There are three ways they can get in there: They can use a âslim jimâ or similar device, like tow-truck drivers use. They can pry off the interior door panel. Or they can take a saw and cut through the door skin on the outside.
RAY: The skin â the sheet metal that goes over the doorâs frame â is replaceable. Once theyâve disabled the locking mechanism so you can always open the door, they can repair the sheet metal and paint it to be just like new. Or, if you want a conversation starter, you can leave the hole there, and Dad can unlock the car every day that way.
TOM: If you go for âpermanently unlocked statusâ (which is what Iâd do), your dad will just have to forget about locking the car. And heâll have to stop leaving anything valuable in it. Thatâs an inconvenience. But not as much of an inconvenience as having no car, right?
RAY: And itâs unlikely to be stolen. First of all, the carâs going on a decade old. And second, even car thieves know itâs almost impossible to get parts for Saabs now!
TOM: Your other option is to look for a used part for the door lock. Call a good junkyard and ask them if they can find one for you. After all, you donât need a new one; you just need one that still works.
RAY: And if they find one, tell them youâll take the rest of the car, too. You never know what parts youâre going to need next. Good luck, John.
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posted by 96.57.12...
, Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:43:23
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