2008ish SAAB 9-3 opinions?

Hi all. I'm considering purchasing this car. Does anybody have one and what do you think of it! From looking at online reviews etc., it appears to be a very solid vehicle and good value for its price. Unfortunately I won't be able to afford the 2.8L V6 version, so will be looking at the 2L Turbo, or 2L Biopower Turbo. Thanks a lot.

I've driven one, bloody awesome car to drive, good power from the turbo engine, but, I'd hate to work on one. This one only comes in for WoF checks.thankfully.

Good to hear. The Biopower version produces 147kW of power which is quite a lot for a 2L car. Although if I do get it, I'll probably just put 100% petrol in it, as apparently it can run on any mixture.

Walk away.

Please explains what that means marcos.

saab is bancrupt and there is no one who can repair or will reair saab in new zealand is a good answert to supplement post 4
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/12/19/saab-bankruptcy.html

Nobody who can or will repair Saab cars!

You are talking out of your arse mate.

watch out, you will get banned by the trademe po po

147kw is ok for a non turbo but in 2008 everybody else is around 200kw. For a 2 litre turbo.

Avoid this and other saabs actively

Not nice to work on that's for sure. Have had the dubious "pleasure!" A few times. You know its going to be fun when you get the welder and grinder out to modify spanners just to get at one bolt.
Yes SAAB have gone (this time for good I hear) but parts will still be available for a while.
Would I own one! No, but that's only my opinion

Hi michalqian,

Thats a ticky one to ask advice for on here. Pretty much asking about anything not Japanese is going to attract the usual "haters", the vast majority of which will have never even sat in one, let alone worked on one or owned one.

BUT. there are a few annoyances with the Saab so you will have to sort the real from the imagined.

(So far its been pretty good and constructive but don't be surprised if you wind up with a whole lot more of those useless "run away" comments)

Firstly, in terms of mechanical parts. I don't see that as being an issue. Sure there may be occasions where its best to jump on ebay for a part etc but I have lots of cars like that and it has never resulted in the car being off the road while I wait.

Also. that engine is used in the likes of the Vauxhall/Opel vectra so plenty of bits around. Not sure if we got many of that version of vectra here but that shouldn't matter much.

That transmission (if automatic) I am pretty sure is the quite common 5 speed unit that is used in the likes of the Volvo's and a bunch of other cars. Its a really nice unit. BUT. it has one fundamental flaw. It was supposedly "sealed for life" but the reality is you need to do regular transmission servicing or it WILL fail.

So. assuming it is an auto and it has not just had a transmission service take it for a good test drive and make sure there is nothing weird going on with the transmission before you buy the car, even better get a pre-purchase check from someone familiar with those cars. If in doubt an independent Volvo/Vauxhall type garage might be good for a pre-check as they will be a bit familiar with that transmission etc. Its absolutely imperative that those transmissions are serviced with the correct fluid, so no taking it to "oil changers", "Midas" or any other Monkeys.

From memory the fluid is made for Saab and Volvo etc by Castrol. If you do some online hunting you can find out what its called when sold by Castrol. I have done that in past and saved some money, although I did need to order it in to a local supplier but that was easy enough.

Pretty sure from memory there was a replaceable filter etc with that transmission so get one of those as well.

Now after all of that. if you are talking about the post-facelift Saab. I think the transmissions is possibly different again on those, but do your research as it may have similar foibles. As a rule of thumb. "sealed for life" transmissions don't last unless maintained so if it has that setup again do your research carefully.

With regard to the rest of the car. That GM running gear is O.K. Certainly very nice in terms of operation/comfort/performance but they do tend to have the odd annoying niggly problem come up now and then.

Traditionally those GM motors from the likes of the Vectra had to have their timing belts changed quite frequently. the later one as used here though I am pretty sure is a timing chain unit. (Check to be 100% sure though).

Anyhow. overall if it is really what you want and you are not expecting it to be as convenient as a Honda Accord to look after then its worth some consideration IMO. However make sure you don't pay too much. SAAB's traditionally have really high initial depreciation compared to other cars so you should be expecting to get a lot more car than pretty much anything else for your cash.

So. if you can buy a similar thing from Audi/VW/BMW etc with a similar year/km's for about the same money. Then I reckon don't do it, buy the other brand instead.

Best of luck!

The Castrol trans fluid for them is called Transmax E.

yep transmax E

the ' E 'stands for Exploded
Expired
Expensive
or just plainEx

these things are just euro trash !they should be painted nipple pink and sold to suckers !don't do it mate.
how's that jazz !

LOL,

That is pretty funny, take care rubbishing that transmission though. its a Japanese made Aisin (Who are partnered with Toyota) unit thats also used in a bunch of Nissan's (like the Maxima) among other things.

But yeah. there is a bit of truth in it not being the greatest stuff on the planet.

Eurotrash! No. not really more of a feral/mongrel beast of mixed origin. I would consider it more GM than Euro and with a Japanese transmission thrown into the mix. This sort of collaboration rarely produces the best of things.

BUT. if its as cheap as some of the ones I have seen, then it could be well worth the extra effort to maintain.

Another thing to be wary of, Vectra and GM bits often won't interchange.
Saab were supposed to be building what GM wanted but had changed so much stuff before manufacture it was nothing like what GM envisiged. A third party Chinese crowd is making parts but I'm not sure of the availlibility.