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Ignition? The DI casette will fail if the plugs aren't maintained and the engine is allowed to miss a lot. That's maybe $400 a pop at a dealer. The DI should not have failed more than once in that many miles. If abused (allowed to miss a lot), twice, tops.
Brakes? TWO sets of rotors? Look, this begs the question: Does this car REALLY have only 70 K miles on it? The rotors should last probably 100 K miles if stock pads are used. If hard aftermarket pads are used, I'd still expect 70 K miles out of a set of rotors.
Fuel system? Nothing in the fuel system should fail in 70 K miles. Hell, the fuel filter doesn't even need to be replaced until 60 K or so, so even failing to do that shouldn't cause fuel problems. What kind of "fuel problems" has the car had?
Engine mounts? Weak area, admittedly. Two sets in 70 K miles? Quite possible, I suppose, if not modified as suggested by Townsend Imports, although I would have to assume abusive driving if two sets of mounts failed in 70 K miles. Does this middle aged guy have a son who drives the car occasionally?
Crank seals? I dunno ... Was the oil changed regularly?
So OK, $1500/year in maintenance/repairs. That's probably excessive, except that if you take the car to the dealer for all work, it might not be more than expected. Let's face it: Many, many dealers will clip you for all they can. I can easily see something like a BMW or Volvo costing that much in dealer maintenance as well.
I have some very strong suspicions here. First, I have to seriously wonder if the car has really only been driven 7000 miles a year, year in and year out. Doesn't that seem highly unusual? I don't drive a lot nowadays, but I still put about 15 K miles a year on my car. Second, any time you just take your car to a dealer and hand it over to them, it's going to be expensive. And as I said, many dealers will milk it for all it's worth.
I don't claim that Saabs are the most reliable and trouble-free cars on the road. Never have. Japanese cars truly are wonders of reliablility, but they are a bit pedestrian. I must say, though, that once I got the bugs out of my 9000 that were due to the previous owner's ignorance and abuse, it has been almost boringly reliable. (Except when I failed to put dielectric grease on the plugs and it missed a lot before I figured it out ... that learning experience cost me a DI cassette). I've had other surprises too. But I've learned, and I've maintained the car aggressively, and it has repaid me with great service. It ain't a Toyota Camry, but then, it doesn't drive like one either. If you're a savvy owner, if you're willing to be involved in the ownership, a Saab 9000 will be a joy to own. Maintenance is key. I've made every effort to suggest keys for success on my site.
, Sun, 28 Jan 2001 13:59:06
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