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Every car has some known issues - don't let these scare you. Better to know than not. If you're projecting keeping the car to 80,000 miles or so, these 3 are probably the ones to think about:
1. The Direct Ignition cassette tends to fail between 40,000 and 80,000 miles. A lot of 9-3 owners seem to be buying a spare. When it goes, you will probably find the car will not start and you'll have a slight burning smell. It sits on the very top of the engine and is just a couple screws to replace and ANYONE can do it. Easier than changing a tire. And, compared to a tow, downtime and dealer markup, buying your own for $250-300 isn't a bad idea.
2. The SID (Saab Information Display) is notorious for failing. This is the screen displaying miles to empty and so forth. Not cheap to replace but not especially necessary either, though I suppose I'd be bothered by not knowing what track my CD player is on... If it fails, wait until the last minute of your warranty and get a new one then. Good for 30-70,000 miles I think.
3. The heater control box fails, especially on base model cars so I think you'll be ok if you get an SE. This is the most disappointing one to me since it's $500+ to fix.
On mine, I've had the DI cassette and SID replaced. I *hoping* the heater control box goes in the next 9 months or so that I've still got a warranty.
Those seem to be the big ones. Even knowing those, I still bought a '00 9-3S and am very happy with it. The one thing that really bugs me are the rental-car tires the dealer put on it...they're terrible and I know I can't wear them out fast enough, but that's a personal choice.
I have no idea about issues with the convertible.
Bryce - Twin Cities, MN
'00 9-3S - 32,000 miles.
posted by 63.142.221...
, Fri, 24 Oct 2003 13:15:23
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