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This is a tough one, because you are dealing with used cars, not new ones...so much is dependent on how the PO maintained the car before you get it. Even a car with 20k on it may be a bad deal if poorly maintained. Especially Saab, which does not tolerate deferred or sloppy maintenance well.
As you know, this car had a very long production run from the latter 90's to 2008. The car went through a couple of facelifts, namely 2004 and 2006. Generally first year models get problems worked out over time, but the car also went through some decontenting and cost cutting over the years. So there is a bit of tradeoff.
I have a 2004 9-5 Aero, but most of us here see the same types of problems at similar mileage, pretty predictable. And most of the posters here are pretty good at maintaining their cars.
My advice would be to find the newest, lowest mileage, best maintained 9-5 you can find, probably the 06 to 08 model.
We gave up on finding any more Saabs a couple of years ago and Bought a 2 year old Volvo S80 with 28k on it and good service records. Now at 56k, not one problem and still under factory warranty. Resale values for Volvos are low here like Saabs were, so in a slightly used one 2-3 years old you can get a great car for less money than a used Accord.
Yeah it is not as engaging to drive as the 9-5 Aero, but the IIHS safety data is better than the 9-5. The seats are also better. The car is a virtual tank and my wife loves it. But I am not kidding myself that this car will also have to be meticulously maintained to get a good long life out of it. Looking under the hood it is clearly more Audi than Saab and will be more difficult to DIY.
We shall see, if you cant find a pristine Saab, I would give the S80 a look, at least Volvo is still in business, even though owned by Chicoms. And I do worry about the Saab parts supply to begin to dry up in the coming years.
If all you care about is reliability, get a Accord or Camry, maybe a Mazda 6.
Hope this helps a bit.
I
posted by 24.42.180...
, Wed, 31 Dec 2014 07:53:31
, Wed, 31 Dec 2014 08:36:54
, Wed, 31 Dec 2014 03:12:03
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