1999 SAAB 9-3 base 5-door review from North America
"If a small family selects one vehicle for all purposes and loves cars, a Saab is your best bet"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
It's been an expensive year for this Saab, but we still love it.
Any car can lose a neutral safety switch. Labor is the largest component here.
Anybody who runs with a low fuel condition as much as my wife has done perhaps deserves to lose a fuel pump.
A water pump is a common repair across all makes.
Springs do break and repairs can lead to other repairs where the front end is concerned (wheel bearing).
General comments?
We've never had a nicer car. We've owned 3 Swedish, 2 American, 4 Japanese, and one English car (an MGB) and across almost all measures, this has been the best one for us.
Sylish, fast, comfortable, utilitarian, safe, the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) is just superb and for winter driving is there anything as good in a FWDer? I don't think so.
With minimum maintenance, ours looking almost as good as the day the car was acquired, these Saabs are every bit as honest and unique as they claim to be and in my opinion, a real bargain for the money spent.
Recommended reviews
| Good car |
|
| Love Hate Relationship |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1999 |
| Year of manufacture | 1999 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0 liter Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 8000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 150000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Pontiac Bonneville |
| Date of Entry | 23rd January, 2006 |