1999 SAAB 9-3 S review from UK and Ireland

My Saab 9-3 2.2 tdi (1999), with just under 150,000 miles on the clock, has been diagnosed with major engine failure - piston 3 is not compressing fuel hence the black smoke from the exhaust.

I expected to it reach well over 200,000 miles being a diesel - a friend has an old Ford Mondeo which has done 240,000 and still going strong.

I have been meticulous in serving this car at every specified interval, and as a professional musician most of the mileage has been cruising on the motorway. I wonder what Saab can say that would inspire me to recommend their company to anyone? Reliability? High Mileage? I don't think so, despite high service costs...

With a quote of around £4000 for a new engine and £1500 for a secondhand one, my only option is to sell the car for scrap. Needless to say, I am unlikely to buy another Saab, which is a great shame as I've had a number of Saabs over the years.

Saabs are known for having good seats, and this car is no exception, but the problem here is that the steering wheel is not directly in front of the driver, but a few inches left of centre. This, combined with the fact that there is no-where to rest your left foot when it's not on the clutch (there isn't enough space between the clutch and the centre console to fit your foot through to place on the the miniscule "footrest") plus the long reach for the gearstick results in a permanently twisted driving position.

The diesel engine is noisy and unrefined by modern standard and the steering is heavy (definitely not for little old ladies). The brakes are excellent and the car holds the road well.

The enormous boot has proved useful, the rear seats split, but there is a safety bar which the seatbelts attach to which remains in place unless both seats are folded (and even then it still gets in the way).

The SID display always loses pixels - the same as on GM cars. This is a blatant design fault, but SAAB still want over £200 fora new display. Info on fixing it yourself can be found here http://www.saab9-5.com/howto/sidrepair.htm and here http://www.thesaabsite.com/93/Saab-Sidrepairs.htm.