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Well I'm sure you'll get 100 differing opinions on this, but here's my 2 cents having experienced this situation up close (warning: this is gonna be long)...
First of all I know what the stats say but I have never *personally* seen a Saab that was as reliable as a Honda or Toyota. But having said that, Saab has made great strides in reliability over time. When I say Saabs are not as reliable, I don't mean they're all basket cases, it's more like "few failures" vs. "no failures". And as with any brand, some particular cars are going to be worse than average, others are going to be better.
My wife's experience sounds a bit like yours. A few years back, she bought a brand-new Accord, didn't like it, and I talked her into trading it on a used '99 9-5 (this was in 2003). She absolutely loved how the 9-5 drove but mechanically it was a disaster, and when it was unable to pass MA emissions inspection she finally got fed up and traded the car on a Subaru. To try and make a long story short, she missed her Saab so much we're going to pick up her new one (an '02 9-5) tonight.
Pretty much opposite to the above is my mother's experience. I got her into a C900 a number of years ago, then into a 9000 when the 900 was rear-ended and totaled, and about 2 years ago when the 9000 finally wore out she bought a '99 9-5. It's had a very small number of glitches and she absolutely loves it, as she loved the other Saabs.
My own experience is even better. I've owned Saabs for years, and finally got a 9000 in 1997 (an '86 with about 120K miles at the time). That car gave us good service until February of 2004 when I replaced it with a '97 Aero. At that time the '86 had 260K miles and still ran fine, was just getting kind of ratty. And since I got it, the Aero has needed a few small repairs but generally has been a model of reliability and is a blast to drive!
As far as choosing between the 9000 and 9-5, that's a tough one. If you like a hatchback the choice is easy - there's no 9-5 hatchback. And IMHO the later 9000's have benefited from years of refinement, whereas the early 9-5's seem to have some technical glitches. On the other hand, the 9-5 generally rides a bit better and is more "refined" overall, and has more bells & whistles. So it depends on what you like, but if you're leaning toward the 9-5, I'd recommend getting an '01 or later model.
Eric Law
posted by 209.192.137...
, Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:22:53
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