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Consumer Reviews for the Saab 9-3
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Still The Best Saab I've Owned!!
John, 03/30/2016
2005 Saab 9-3 Arc 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 5M)
Let me start by saying that a Saab is not a car for everyone. If you don't know anything about them you shouldn't buy one.! I'll give you an example. When I first bought this car I went to do an oil change and realized for the first time in my life that I owned a car that was too low profile to put up on ramps. I called every auto parts store in the area and no one had any kind of ideas … so I went to YouTube and found a solution by using two long boards. When I bought the car the entire audio system was not functioning. The dealership told me that the amp underneath the driver seat was damaged due to corrosion a common problem. Replacing was $1400 or rebuild $600. Again I went to YouTube and found that I could remove the entire amp and fuse the fiber optics together and solve the problem no cost just an hour's worth of work. Now I have a permanently fixed working radio and audio system. But those are not things that most people would want to do or could do. If you are good at doing things yourself this is a great car for you, if you're not you're going to get taken to the cleaners by people that overcharge and take you for a ride literally. It's good to do your research first to know what you're getting into and find some mechanics you can rely on and rely on yourself for most of the repairs that are small!
Few other things. It needs synthetic oil every 10,000 miles. Fresh battery every few years even a little bit off will make it run funny. Needs all fluids and filters checked frequently to make sure they are all clean and in good shape. If you do this the car will last pretty much forever! My old Saab has 209000 miles and I'm still driving it everyday. I bought the 93 and it's like a new car inside and out! Some people say the interior is cheap by comparison to other Saabs but I disagree. Although some plastic parts may appear a little bit cheaper they can be well maintained and look great. The seats and interior are great...very comfortable.... excellent gas mileage too. Most of these cars will have to have the suspension worked on by a hundred thousand miles. When I purchased it I put on some new sway bar links which typically wear out fast. They cost $18 apiece. I also put on a new flex pipe on the exhaust. Total of about $100.
Also had to clean the throttle body due to a rough idle issue because it was dirty and never before cleaned. Replaced the spark plugs and the air cleaner as well. All should be good now for the next hundred thousand miles except for oil changes. If you purchase one do yourself a favor and buy an OBD2 code reader so if a light pops on you can easily identify the problem rather than being ripped off by a dealership!
The car is reliable and rides great. Its fast and looks great. It's 11 years old and could not have run better when new.
Update: Still feel the same a year later. Unfortunately this is now my only Saab since my older 900 was ruined by a Tuffy oil change place that overfilled it by almost 2 quarts and killed the engine. I will never trust them again.
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