2003 SAAB 9-3 Linear from North America - Comments

1. Brakes failed after 10,000 miles.

2. Headlights didn't work first 6 months (gravity sensor)

3. Wouldn't start on the 2nd day I had it.

4. Wouldn't start the 5th day I had it after getting it back from the dealer.

5. Wouldn't start the 8th day I had it after getting it back from the dealer.

6. Dealer refused to honor CPO warranty saying fuel was contaminated. I hadn't even purchased a tank of gas yet ($500.00) + could not return the car according to dealer (later learned this was BS)

7. Bad battery, stranded 3 times.

8. Alarm malfunctioned (=300.00$ "noise violation" ticket plus $150.00 tow.) dealer did not reimburse.

9. Sunroof wouldn't close. Pinch protection?

10. Temp sensor located beneath front air dam (!?!) broke during a rain storm, leading the cars climate control system to fog up all windows, essentially disabling the vehicle (couldn't see) = $600.00.

11. Front plastic underneath bumper all fell off including wheel wells = $400.00. This was like this from the dealer.

12. Brake failure x2. Nearly crashed on the highway when vehicle went out of control (nearly).

13. Vehicle unbalanced, when accelerating all over the place.

14. Steering wheel unbalanced (see 15)

15. Car was in an accident prior to purchase, which I wasn't notified by the dealer about (note that this vehicle was sold "certified").

16. Grille fell off. Dealer wants $180.00 for it, claiming that it isn't under warranty due to prior body work. Since I refuse to pay this, I've had a large hole in the front of my car for almost a year.

17. None of the "stated" recalls had been done by dealer, none of the service bulletins done. See 18.

18. Difficulties shifting into and out of first. "repaired" at least 6 times.

19. Dealer called me an asshole when they refused to fix the headlights or brakes under warranty during the first month. HIGHLY INSULTED.

20. Saab refused to do ANYTHING for me. Wouldn't buy back car or pay any kind of service. Stupid operator laughed at me... HIGHLY INSULTED.

21. Headlight gravity sensor bad again. Dangerous to drive at night again.

22. "Ghosts in the machine" random warning lights, random problems, random noises, etc.

23. Radio is terrible.

24. Dealer is a total a-hole (see 19 & 20). (

25. Did I mention how many times it went away on a flatbed?

26. Missed at least a week of work between all of these issues. Nearly fired.

27. Customer service ran out of space for all the complaints.

28. Tires were bad from the dealership. They were new when they sold it to me, but appeared severely worn after the second or third service.

29. Expensive to service. Supposed to be certified with warranty. Why have I paid $3000.00 on top of all regular service?

30. Seatbelt retractor works sometimes... sometimes...

31. I wonder if the seatbelt will fail the next time the brakes or headlights fail... Will I die a horrible death in this "5 star" rated vehicle? Probably.

32. Scared to drive vehicle due to safety. See numerous lines above.

33. Scared to drive the car because I will probably get stranded.

34. Scared to drive to my parents house on the vineyard for Christmas, because there are no Saab dealerships to "rescue" me when it dies the next time.

35. I've spent at least $3000.00 on service, at least $500.00 on tows when, say, street cleaning happens and I can't move my vehicle. Or when the alarm goes off randomly, etc.

36. Alarm will go off if you leave the windows down: car locks itself when you leave it... good thing? alarm gets armed, goes off when the wind blows... won't shut off.

37. Running out of space and time. I'm at work.

38. I could probably go to 100 if I remember everything.

Horrible.

Terrible.

"Saab story"

Unsafe.

Scary.

Expensive.

Terrible service.

Expensive.

Terrible service.

See 1-38 above.

Letter to company & dealership stated "Did I purchase a KIA and nobody wants to hurt my feelings by informing me?"

Perhaps you could've done more homework before purchasing this particular 9-3. You did buy a pre-owned vehicle.

My 2003 9-3 has been a delight.

Ultra-reliable, powerful, great handling & comfortable.

I couldn't be more pleased with it.

Wow, wow, wow, wow nothing I can say. I have never seen too many problems on any car. I love Saabs I would have kicked the dealers manger ass and hunted down the sales man. You got screwed.

Have you called GM's Detroit office? I live in Detroit and GM is better here about lemons, since 20% of metro Detroit works for them in one way or another.

Good luck with everything. Don't give up on Saab, just lease, never buy. Way tooo much in repairs as you have seen first hand.

Heap of crap car.

Every that can go wrong has. We have a 4wd that was cheaper and has not broken down yet, and is 7 years older.

Would never buy one again.

The are heaps of crap. Can't wait to get rid of it and buy a BMW.

Oh yeah, like a BMW is going to be more reliable or cheaper to service & repair.

My 2003 Saab 9-3 is extremely reliable.

I certainly would not trade it for a BMW.

My Saab has a very comfortable ride, handles well, get superb fuel mileage, and the interior is gorgeous. As I said it's extremely reliable. I honestly couldn't ask for a nicer car - plus it's a convertible.

I'm very satisfied with my Saab and the Saab dealership where I bring it for service.

So an update to my original post:

In the months since I wrote this the car has only gotten worse.

Problems seem to have abated for a while until the clutch springs blew up when I was driving.

The worst thing I've come across yet is when I had to take it to the body shop for some light cosmetic damage...

When they took off the bumper they realized it had been damaged in a prior accident and wasn't fixed properly... the bumper is held in by wire ties and the headlights failed again.

I called Saab and got nothing until I calmly kept bringing up more and more issues and made mention of taking further steps... they finally said take it to a dealer and MAYBE they MIGHT think about fixing something.

Essentially they said, not our problem, not our problem, not our problem... "it's a business"

Well, lets see what happens when it goes into the dealership.

I hate Saab, I hate GM and I really hate my Saab 93 "Sports Sedan"...

Its terrible... it really is.