Hi Christian,

As Ken and Steve have pointed out you are comparing apples and oranges. People don't usually pick reliability when comparing a 10 year old car and a 3 years old car. To me, they are not comparable. I am an owner of a '89 900 SPG and a '99 9-3SE. I have 283,000 miles on the SPG and if I could get the headgasket fixed, I'd hold on to it and run it for another 100K. But reliability of a car with so many miles on it is hard to compare to a newer car. For me, it comes down to other things: The 9-3 is reliable. It is still a quirky Saab. Not quite as quirky as the old 900's but quirkiness comes with a price. A lot of mechanics shy away from working on the old Saabs with their backwards, and 45 Degree angle down engine. If you are adept at fixing your old 900 then you know what it will take to keep it going. There will always be something to do on it.

As you, I contemplated long and hard before I made the move to the new 9-3's. I needed a newer, more reliable car. I knew I wasn't going to find an older c900 with a lot of reliability. I drive approxiamtely 35K a year with my job. The SPG had me on the side of the road a bunch. Although I knew what was wrong with it most time, roadside fixing was not my kind of fun.

I took me many months to warm up to the new car. I missed the old styling, the old quirkiness of the SPG. I miss the nods of old c900 owners who appreciated the old c900 and turned their heads when they saw it was an SPG. The new ones are less unique comparatively. They are less spacious in the hatch. But the new ones have a few more options and needless to say they all work well. Once I had done a few mods on the 9-3, I have grown to love the car. I now think it is stronger, more powerful then the old one yet very fun to drive, but it took awhile.

Contemplate long and hard and prioritize your needs. The old c900's won't be around forever so choose wisely, but from someone who has them both, you won't be dissapointed with the 9-3's.

posted by 208.235.174...

• 9-3 vs. classic 900, Christian, Sun, 5 Oct 2003 15:51:31
  • Re: 9-3 vs. classic 900, Mr. Science, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 11:51:07
  • Re: 9-3 vs. classic 900, Gene, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:27:21
    • I'm hoping the 9-3 will last as long..., Jeff in ATL, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:40:16
  • Old car issues...., Mike Lynch , Mon, 6 Oct 2003 10:25:47
  • More Reliable than my 83 900T 85 900 90 900 92 900S, Scott Paterson , Mon, 6 Oct 2003 08:45:56
  • I have both........, ChrisB, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 08:28:23
  • Re: 9-3 vs. classic 900, d44, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 07:41:33
  • Another person with both..., Jeff in ATL, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 06:34:06 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Re: 9-3 vs. classic 900, Ken Jensen, Sun, 5 Oct 2003 20:29:57
  • I have both, '01 9-3 and an '86 SPG............, steve, Sun, 5 Oct 2003 16:10:03
    • Re: I have both, '01 9-3 and an '86 SPG............, Christian, Mon, 6 Oct 2003 18:35:49

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