Faults:

When the car hit 80,000 miles, problems started to pop up.

The entire AC unit had to be replaced, the windshield wiper rack had to be replaced, the CD player no longer works properly, the car bangs into gear when backing up and going into drive, it bangs or hesitates occasionally when shifting from second into third gear, and when shifting from third into fourth gear.

I have had it to two Cadillac/Saab dealers for repair, and neither has fixed the problem.

General Comments:

I am a Saab fanatic and love my car. The 2006 9-3 is my third Saab, and I love driving the car. The handling is excellent and it's a fun car to drive. Up to now it has been very reliable. I take excellent care of my Saab's and make sure that it is serviced at the required intervals. However I am finding it difficult to get good servicing when something goes wrong with the car.

Faults:

In-Warranty: front doors rattled.

In-Warranty handbrake failed - charged for re-adjustment, told it was not part of the warranty.

July 2009 (1 month out of warranty) - handbrake failed, linkage replaced, cost £282.89. Mileage 42,439.

December 2009 - gear shift mechanism seized. New mechanism fitted, cost £363.40. Mileage 47,478.

February 2010 - Fly wheel broke, damaging clutch slave cylinder. Being repaired as I write. Estimate cost of repair £1200.

General Comments:

Very unreliable mechanics.

Appears to be designed to fail after the warranty period.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car, and the maintenance has been free up to now. Have a bumper to bumper warranty until 5 years or 100,000 miles, whatever comes first.

General Comments:

The car has great handling, almost as good as a BMW 3 series (and the best for a front wheel drive car). The car is fun to drive and gives you a good feel for the road, with a little under steer at the limits. If I drive aggressively, only BMWs can keep up, and that is only if the driver is willing to push their car to keep up as the Saab 9-3 is no slouch in the corners.

The turbo lag is nearly non-existent, and is only there for a brief 0.5 seconds from a standing stop, as it picks up speed rapidly after you push the accelerator down. It is nice that this car gets much better gas mileage than the Acura TL I used to own, but has the same acceleration with its turbo 4. In addition, it has been far more reliable as the 2001 Acura TL blew out its transmission at 61,000 miles due to a chronic unit failure that Acura recalled and reimbursed me for (but the car was out for two weeks while the transmission was on back order - I was behind 6 other Acura's waiting for the part).

The Saab is comfortable with good seats and support. The handling comes at a price however as the ride is a little more rough than one would expect, but the trade-off is acceptable in my mind.