1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Would that I could manipulate time I would not now regret the money I spent one year ago to purchase a MY99 9-5 SE LPT 4-cyl. automatic. Because I was enamored of the "idea" of ownership of a European car with a performance pedigree I plunged blindly and blissfully into a relationship with a mechanical object that proved to be both frustrating and disheartening. I purchased my Saab from a private owner when the car had approx. 48K miles and a semi-comprehensive service history. However the 1.6yr. comprehensive warranty included in the price was the clincher. That document saved my sanity throughout my brief stewardship of this automobile. Straight away she needed new mounts for the transmission and a portion of the engine cradle. The SID unit was replaced at a modest cost of $575; new front end bearings were replaced shortly thereafter as were the front axles. Despite those procedures the front end produced a "whirring sound" that probably foretold imminent failure of the transmission's main bearing. I never found out why she required so many cranks in order to start on some cold and/or rainy mornings(or some warm and dry mornings for that matter) I always wondered whether her motor contained a fatal amount of sludge coursing around her pistons but the precedure to remove and inspect her oil pan is both painstaking and expensive (and not covered by the warranty). To engage "D"; "P" or "R" sent a shudder through the cabin that I would have considered inappropriate in an Escort much less than a car that sold for nearly $40K when new. I couldn't predict the circumstances under which her DIC would fail (although probably during my morning commute when I was 20 minutes late for work) and 0W-40 motor oil is rarely reasonably priced or widely available.Her Carfax showed no former damage and I observed a meticulous maintenance regimen during my ownership of this machine but I dreaded the approach of the day in which the wartranty coverage expired -so I traded her well before that occurrence. I aver that the purchase of a car is not entirely objective and that for many men it involves the heart and passion (I am an avowed "car nut") but I strongly caution you to exhaust all options of due diligence before buying a Saab of this vintage. Read the 9-5 owners anecdotes on Saabnet and consider the volume of these testimonies. These cars are generally unreliable and their failures are dispproportiontely electrical in nature. In my case were the car not covered by a worthy warranty I would have spent thousands to bring her to a state of mechanical operability that I would have barely tolerated for a Japanese car. Ponder carefully what I have written and consider the alternatives in the marketplace.
posted by 4.231.226...
, Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:44:04
, Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:34:34
, Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:51:55, Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:39:25
, Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:27:25, Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:05:03, Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:45:43
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