2000 SAAB 9-5 SE review from North America

Replaced the battery at 48 months of service.

In 2002, I bought a used Saab 9-5 SE Wagon from the local Saab dealership. It had over 45,000 miles on it, so it was well-broken-in. It came with a factory certification extending the standard warranty from 50,000 miles to 6 years or 100,000 miles, whichever came first. The warranty covered virtually everything. The car was serviced regularly until well after the 60,000 miles service which required replacement of belts, hoses, etc. In spite of having the supposedly less reliable Opel V-6 engine with light boost turbocharger, the car never let me or my wife down.

It was a faithful mode of transportation through snow, sleet, rain, and dark of night for over 50,000 miles. With the winter traction package, heated seats, excellent lighting, it was perfect for bad weather driving. It only rode a tow truck once.

Last year, we gave the car, with almost 70,000 miles on the clock, to my 17 year old son. One night, on the way home, he fell asleep (yes, for real) while traveling a highway with the cruise control set on 65.

He plowed into the end of a steel NC DOT highway guardrail. Needless to say, the car was totaled. The amazing thing of it was that my son walked away from it with only a buckle fracture of his right wrist. His wrist was broken because it flew up and hit the rearview mirror, detaching it from the windshield and injuring his wrist.

All the front and side air bags deployed as promised, and although he had glass all the way into his under shorts and shoes, he had nothing in his eyes and no other injuries or bruises except for a seat belt bruise across the lap and chest. The car properly sacrificed itself, as designed, to save the life of my son.

THANK YOU SAAB!