1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Haha, you asked for *opinions*, so here you go!
There are TWO kinds of mechanics out there:
1) they grew up banging random things with a hammer until they figured out the problem and fixed it, then got an ASE cert when they needed to find work and now they think they know everything about vehicles. These guys are great for working on your boring Honda Civics and Chevy/Ford/Dodge trucks.
2) they grew up loving to take things apart to see how they worked and then putting it back together, they are more into the how and why, they go find the service manual or ask for help when they aren't sure about something and they always keep an open mind about new technology. These guys are great for fixing Saabs and other quirky cars that have close tolerances and are fun to drive, like Italian supercars. And German sport sedans. (Had to put that in since I'm in the process of buying an Audi S4!)
95% of the mechanics that I've run into during my 30+ years (20+ years of Saabs) fit the first description. When they work on my Saabs, they do stupid stuff like:
"Hey, we didn't bother reading the service manual on how to bleed the brakes, so we just drove around town pulling the e-brake alot and that seemed to change SOMETHING, so here's your car back, just keep doing that and we're sure your brake pedal will stop going to the floor SOMEDAY."
Or
"You said to use a torque wrench on the alloy wheels, so we dug up some random torque sticks for our impacts and used those, you should be fine!"
Or
"We can't change your oil because we couldn't get our floor jack under your aftermarket body kit." (This is at a "European" specialty shop. They haven't seen those 3 different choices of low-profile floor jacks at their local Napa store?? Plus it's a stock Viggen.)
Or
"We know you said to use "sticky" weights on your nice Viggen rims, but we just pretended to know what that meant when you asked (twice) and went ahead and hammered on the regular ones instead, scratching the finish all up. And we couldn't hammer the ones on to the outside of the rim like the balance machine told us to do, so you may get some vibration on the highway."
So to most mechanics, "saabs are shiz", but I say something similar about their skills when their backs are turned, so HEY!
ANYWAY!!
That all being said, an 8 year old convertible with 109k on the clock is bound to be a bit more of a money pit than normal. I'd get a newer base model 9-3 with fewer miles.
posted by 209.193.1...
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