In a basic sense, it means that the car starts and gets you where you need to go. You go out in the morning, it starts. It gets you to work. It gets you home. It's a tool, an appliance.

The next level is that it needs little beyond basic maintenance, like oil and fluid changes, filters, plugs, belts etc. Toyota and Honda are great at this and are really the benchmark. And in fact, some domestics aren't all that bad here--and can have a staggering indifference to maintenance.

Related to that is engineering and design so that the car runs correctly over time and doesn't need a new head gasket, tranny or other major work at a comparatively early age. This is a place where Saab (along with many other makes sometimes comes up short.). My wife's Exploder has been overall very reliable, but it needed a tranny at 77K due to a dumb valve design in the trans.

Next is the absence of nickel and dime repair needs. Saabs seem to fall short here, but it is balanced out by the next level--longevity. My indy and I have talked about this and mostly think longevity wins out.

Longevity of components and the car overall is important, but not to all car buyers. Can the car last and work well for 7 years (average age of car in US), 10 years or even 15 years? Is it durable? What do you have to replace over time? Some of longevity comes with good maintenance, but you still have to have a good core vehicle. A Kia lasting 15 years and 200K? Not likely. Plus, what is an individual owner's tolerance for repairs versus just changing cars? Many people dump a car at 100K, but there is a lot of life left in many cars at that point.

I think the exceptional reliability of Toyotas and Hondas has set the reliability bar so high that almost anything else looks "unreliable." But Saab looks good against MB, Audi, BMW. And all Euro brands cost more to maintain. I don't see why this has to be, but it's a fact we all live with. Higher maintenance costs doesn't necessarily relate to reliability, one way or the other.

My usual .05 or so.

Noel

posted by 69.163.4...

• SAABs unreliable???, Finch, Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:07:02
  • Re: SAABs unreliable???, Brice, Sat, 25 Dec 2004 08:33:25
  • Re: SAABs unreliable???, JohnInAtl, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:09:06
  • Moving into the mainstream....., Mike Lynch , Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:07:19
    • Well said Mike..., Viggenator , Thu, 23 Dec 2004 14:07:02
  • How do you define reliability?, Noel, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:55:49 <-- Viewing This Message
    • Re: How do you define reliability?, Ed W, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:41:15
    • Re: How do you define reliability?, Bill in VA, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:36:10
  • My 1985 900 is VERY reliable n/m, Henri Lefebvre, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:49:42
  • Re: SAABs unreliable???, Harpua, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 02:00:29
    • Very well written Harpua. A little more on that?, JDSaab, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 07:44:59
      • Re: Very well written Harpua. A little more on that?, Harpua, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:03:56
    • A matter of perception and choice, Henri L, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 07:17:29
      • henri, do tell, i have a '75 tr6, email me details? nm, baggsly , Thu, 23 Dec 2004 15:29:44
      • do you live in CT? i saw a TR6 at a SAAB shop>, prodigal son, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 08:27:30
        • Re: I live in Alberta, Canada n/m, Henri L, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 15:21:29
      • Which clutch on the TR6?, BobH, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 08:03:24
        • Re: Which clutch on the TR6?, Henri L, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 14:26:10
          • Thank you, Henri <nm>, BobH, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 20:45:55
            • Re: Thank you,, Henri L, Mon, 27 Dec 2004 07:44:39
    • Reliability is Improving, Greg Abbott , Thu, 23 Dec 2004 07:05:18
      • Re: Reliability is Improving, Harpua, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 09:42:06
        • I think he was referring to, Finch, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:07:11
          • yep, Greg Abbott , Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:28:46
  • Re: SAABs unreliable???, Willy, Wed, 22 Dec 2004 22:09:48
    • electrical problems..., isobel, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:43:37
  • Don't know. Overall very good luck here., saw, Wed, 22 Dec 2004 21:56:19
  • Like all machines it depend on how they're maintained, Saabpilot , Wed, 22 Dec 2004 20:59:15
    • Re: Like all machines it depend on how they're maintained, Spiros Trianta, Thu, 23 Dec 2004 17:02:17
      • dude, early 2nd gen 900s were notoriously bad>, prodigal son, Fri, 24 Dec 2004 22:02:59
  • Not in circles out here, I guess..., Scott Paterson , Wed, 22 Dec 2004 20:06:11
  • Re: SAABs unreliable???, Dean, Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:59:35
    • i would agree......they ain't cheap, but here's why:, prodigal son, Wed, 22 Dec 2004 21:01:49

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