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, Tue, 4 Aug 2009 18:47:18
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Well, since I've owned/leased 14 Saabs since 1999, I'm probably not the one to ask as I am biased as hell. Maybe that's because a 99 9-3 saved my daughter's life in a head on collision at 70mph. My daughter was treated in the ER and released and the drunk who hit her went straight from the scene to the morgue. The best insurance is the kind that saves your life and as long as Saabs keep being just about the safest car in their weight class, I will continue to buy them.
Yes, they are a pain to maintain. But I decided that since I was going to own them I better find a good mechanic, especially now since Saab's future is in doubt. A great mechanic can make you feel good about these cars and a poor one can make you hate them. If you don't think your mechanic walks on water, find one that you think does. My mechanic is a degreed engineer who loves cars and loves European brands. There is nothing this guy can't fix. And the greater the problem, the better he likes the challenge. In the last year he just put in two new turbos on my 99 9-5 and 00 9-3. Upgraded them both from Garrett t-17's to t-25s. As he told me, they weren't plug and play, but he manufactured the necessary tubes to make them work. Both are now running great and much peppier than original. The 99 now has about 145,000 miles and when I bought it at 105,000 it was in poor shape. Now it is in great mechanical shape. That's what a good mechanic can do.
Both of my older cars are my daughters' cars and one of them carts around my granddaughter.
So since I have a great mechanic, I am in the market for more as my son-in-law drives a coffin that carts around my granddaughter.
There are so many deals on Saabs now. I have had two 9-5 sixes and though I liked them I turned them back in (both leases). All the rest have been four cylinders, which I think are more reliable and certainly easier to get parts for. And the 99 9-5 was probably the poorest 9-5 for reliability -- lots of bugs that needed to be ironed out. I had one I leased in 99 and had lots of warranty work during the lease. I have had none on my 04 ARC that has about 40,000 miles. The 9-5's two or three years after the slight model change in 2002 seem to be particularly reliable.
So, for the sake of your family's health, I would ask you to reconsider. Look for a very reasonable 04,05,06 after you find a good mechanic. Based upon what you wrote, I'm not impressed with yours. He may be the reason you are having so much trouble at 126,000 miles. A mechanic who does not know what he is doing with these cars can really screw them up.
Caveat: I am a Plaintiff's personal injury lawyer (30 years) so safety is important to me and I realize not everyone shares my safety concerns. But I am also evidence that bad things can happen to anyone; if it hadn't have been for Saab, it could very well have happened to me.
posted by 75.65.91...
, Tue, 4 Aug 2009 18:47:18
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