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Date: Tue, 17 May 2005 17:51:52 GMT
From: krhodesnospamnospame.rr.com  (Kevin Rhodes)
Subject: Re: So, would you say Saabs are reliable?


In article <3euidcF54bvdU2nospamvidual.net>, Dave Hinz <DaveHinznospamcop.net> wrote: >On Tue, 17 May 2005 14:56:54 GMT, Just Asking <fakenospaml.com> wrote: >> I'm tired of American cars and before I go Japanese I thought I'd look into >> Saab. >> Looks good but what about general reliability. Will I be in the shop for >> little annoying malfunctions like electric windows that don't work or small >> rain leaks, etc. > >The V-6 engines weren't designed by Saab, and use timing belts rather >than chains, so you'd do well to not buy the 6. The 4 has better >performance and tune-ability anyway. > >I'd suggest looking at a 3 year old lease return, it gives you the >best price to longevity point. A 4-cyl Saab with 200,000 miles >isn't remarkably high mileage, so you'll get plenty of years out of >it by buying it with only 3 years use. > >Other things to watch for will depend on specific model, but in >general, the parts cost a bit more than Japanese cars, but normal >wear items are usually what you'll be replacing. > The 4cyl in the 9-5 has some very serious PCV and oil pump related issues resulting in sludging and rather short engine life. Exacerbated by careless leasees and a rather stupid oil change interval recommendation on Saab's part. Go to www.saabnet.com and do a search on sludge and you will be enlightened. Also extremely short-lived direct ignition cassettes. The v6, which is based on a GM-Europe engine, has very few problems in comparison. Yes, it has a timing belt (just like almost every Japanese v6). The belt needs to be changed every 60K miles, and Saab pays for the first one. If you don't change the belt and it breaks, you will cry, as the engine will be severely damaged. No different than a Honda. Also it could be argued that Saab has NEVER had an engine that was designed completely in-house from a clean sheet of paper. The 4cyl is a continuous developement of the engine bought in from Triumph for the 99. Not that there is anything interchangable, but still... I will agree that a 3-4 year old well-maintained low mileage car is the way to go regardless of brand. Saabs in particular suffer truly horrendous initial depreciation. My 9-5 cost $39K new in 2000, I paid $9000 for it last month with only 41K miles on it, and it is near perfect. That's $7500 per year in depreciation - crazy! I will admit that I got a serious steal on it, but even at a more usual $12-13K they are very good value. And frankly, a good friend has an 03 Honda Accord v6 that has had it's share of issues fixed under warranty, so Japanese cars are not perfect either. The Saab is 2X the car that Honda is - though of course new it cost nearly 2x as much too! Kevin Rhodes '00 9-5 Wagon SE v6t

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