2000 SAAB 9-3 from North America

Faults:

I bought the 2000 9-3 with 93 thousand miles.

Replaced turbo.

Window fell out of door in an ice storm.

Both front coil springs broke.

Transmission is intermittent for a sensor or something.

Oil and tranny lights come and go.

3 oil leaks, my garage is a mess.

Coolant leak.

Throttle cable electronic module broke.

Rear speakers blown.

Dash lights are blown out in certain areas.

Left brake caliper sucks, it is digging into rotor even though the pad is new. It still looks good, but how can I get rid of it, my conscience would bother me.

** The Saab has 140 thousand now. My buddy's 1996 Honda Civic is going strong with over 200 thousand miles, no major issues ***

My last Saab story, never again!!!

General Comments:

This purchase of Saab by GM is exactly why GM is going under. Americans want a quality car, with big horsepower. Not that Saab was ever known for its reliability, but this is a total bastardization of the 900 model. I had to buy a AAA membership to cover the towing each year. Unbelievable.

I am looking into a Honda or even a Hyundai. I will give up 20-30 hp for a foreign import that gets me to work and back.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 9th June, 2009

9th Jun 2009, 11:08

In the interest of fairness, I would suggest that since your Saab had over 90,000 miles on it when you purchased it, some of the issues just might be due to the way it was driven and maintained prior to your purchasing it.

I can state with all honesty, that my experience with Saab has been extremely positive. In fact, I'll go so far to say that my Saab 9-3 has been the best car I've ever owned, and I've owned over 20 vehicles over the past 3 or 4 decades.

2000 SAAB 9-3 2.0 turbo from North America

Summary:

Nice car. Poor quality

Faults:

Driving lights both broke.

Neutral safety switch quit working.

Turbo now needs replacing.

Frequent spark plug replacement.

Front engine seal leaked.

Fuel pump failed.

Purge valve circuit open.

Broken engine mount.

Something broke in the sunroof.

General Comments:

I used to commute 140 miles round-trip each day on mountain highways. The handling in both summer and winter is great. This is a good car when it is running properly.

The cost of repairs has been extremely high. This car left me stranded in Wyoming when the fuel pump died at 103,000 miles. Now the turbo has completely failed. The neutral safety switch failure was extremely annoying until I figured out what was going on. The check engine light is always on because I cannot locate the open in the purge valve circuit. I did replace the valve and it made no difference.

Lexan might have been a better material for the driving lights since they are inches from the pavement and the highways in Montana are covered in gravel 9 months of the year.

I get approximately 10,000 miles from a set of Bosch platinum spark plugs before the mileage and performance starts to drop off. I have run Mobil-1 in this engine from the start, and from what I can tell reading online, that has been a good move. I have had no sludge problems yet. An engine mount failed at around 75,000 miles.

Factory speakers are somewhat substandard. Cargo space is good for a car this size. The sunroof inside cover will disappear inside the headliner if I open the sunroof all the way. Something broke one summer afternoon and a piece of plastic fell on my head. I just stopped opening it all the way. Book value on this car has plummeted.

I like the car, but the quality is terrible. I wish I had bought the Subaru Impreza that was sitting next to it on the lot. If you buy a Saab of this vintage, plan to budget an extra $2,000 per year for maintenance and repairs.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 3rd April, 2009

21st May 2009, 11:13

Yeah,

I would like to see what you would've said about the Impreza had you commuted 140 miles per day in that!

You know you did buy the 9-3 with nearly 70,000 miles on it. Do you know how it was driven & maintained before you bought it?

I feel that Saabs (especially of this vintage) are getting an undeserved bad reputation in these reviews. I cannot argue that this is your experience with the make, however there are plenty of satisfied Saab owners out there who don't go on a site like this and vent - because they have nothing to vent about.

I've owned my Saab 9-3 for almost 3 years now, and it has been the best car I've ever owned (I've owned over 20 vehicles). It is comfortable, quiet, it handles well and has plenty of power. The gas mileage is fantastic (over 30mpg highway), and it has been extremely reliable.

It is well-engineered and assembled well.

I hope that the Swedish government steps in and saves Saab from the GM scrap-heap. Saab is a fine marque and deserves to go on building exceptional premium automobiles.

In reply to 21st May 2009, 11:13

31st Jan 2012, 20:40

I've been around Saab's since 1998.

My first was an '86 900 hatchback; still miss that car.

The 1996 NG900 was an awesome car, but poorly maintained by previous owner, I got short end of the stick on it - sold off.

I found and own a 1990 900 convertible, which I really do not want to get rid of, ever...

In a 2005 Hyundai Sonata GLS now, but found a 2000 9-3 convertible, never winter driven. Going to see her this week, and probably will get rid of Hyundai. There is something to be said of the fun driving Saab, as well as the uniqueness of the look of the vehicle compared to everything on the road today...