1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
We have a 1999 9-3 SE, have had it over a year and have been plagued with intermittant problems. The first year the car was at the dealer monthly, with many electrical problems. The invoices, which were all covered by the warranty were high, lots of parts replaced. Also GM type problems, leaking sun roof where you would have to bring it in two to three times to get it fixed.
Periodically the car would just not start, for example it run great going to the store, but it would not start coming home. All I would ever get from the dealer, and Saab was they had no answers why something wouldn't work, but they would replace something that "might" fix the problem. I am always concerned when someone prefaces anything with "might".
One month Saab told the dealer to change to a different spark plug. The following month the dealer removed the spark plugs they had installed, and put in the old type because thats what Saab told them to do.
Lots of annoying problems, the LED screens on the dash have had to be replaced as sections of them have worn out. The seat memory switch and chip had to be replaced as it did not work upon delivery. Small problems like this make you wonder if the larger things were done properly.
Another time I brought the car in for another repair, I told him we had some sort of electrical problem, as the clock had reset. When I picked up the car I asked about the electrical problem, and he assured me it had been fixed. A week later when it did it again, I bought it back told him of the problem, and questioned why it had not been fixed before, he said that they had written "reset clock" on the work order, and that is what they had done, reset the clock to the correct time, and had ignored the what I had told them about the electrical problems.
We have sent emails, letters, filled out "customer satisfaction" surveys to Saab and have heard nothing. Actually that is not entirely true, now when we have warranty work done we no longer receive the surveys to fill out. I guess when you don't say what they want to hear, they stop asking.
The latest problem has been one of the tires has a bubble on the side, and I was not surprised to learn they don't cover that under warranty. I was surprised to learn that the dealer does not stock tires, and I would have to go to a tire store to have them fixed. I guess customer service is a thing in the past. Since the tires have to be ordered, and will take a week for delivery, I think Saab has really dropped the ball on this one. I know it is now customary in the auto industry not to stand behind items that wear out, but I think that since no tire store in town stocks the tire, the dealer could at least have one or two in stock for their customers.
The 9-3 is a fun car to drive, but I don't think I would every buy one again. I wish we had leased this one, so I could dump it after the lease term and find an equally fun car to drive from a company that understands customer service.
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