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Hi all,
After 7 years with my trusty '91 900 I'm making the move (hopefully) to a used 9-3. For all my love of Saabs I'd never actually been in a NG900/9-3 before today. The car I test drove I will NOT be buying given the high miles and some potential mechanical problems I'll discuss below.
The car was a dark blue, auto, '00 9-3SE with 82,000 miles. I was really suprised at how nice the interior was while remaining true to being a Saab. It even had the same headlight switch my 900 does, which brought a smile to my face. The beige leather, which I haven't had before, seems very nice, and I will have to give it serious consideration with the car I buy. Liked the driving position, love the dash layout, I'll be very comfortable buying one. Only major interior issue was a break in the plastic seat "rim" where the power seat controls attach on the drivers side. I can see the power seats being problematic with time and may consider that a strike against the SE (along with the wood dash).
The main problem with the car was a pronouced wobble/vibration that seemed to be coming from the back. We don't have great roads in Michigan, but the ride was rougher than I would have expected for the road we were on. The car also seemed to lack any of the "spunk" I'd expect from a HOT engine, even allowing for some turbo lag. So I'm wondering if there was a siezed brake or some other more significant issue. It's probably worth noting the car had aftermarket 16" rims, which I've never driven on before and might account for some of the odd ride. Aside from the acceleration it seemed to drive well in the very short test drive I was able to take, but the performance didn't leave me with the impression I'd hoped for.
I have a second test drive scheduled for Monday night on a '01 (or '02) SE that just came off lease. Dealer's doing to list it at $17k which is a little high for me, but there are only 32k on that one. Hopefully it will be in better shape and they'll work with me on a price. I'll probably check in after that one too to see what you all think.
Hope to be graduating to this board soon, thanks in advance for all the advice I'll be asking for =)
-NateinAA
'88 900S
'91 900
'01 9-3SE(???)
, Sat, 15 Jan 2005 20:47:55
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