17th Jul 2014, 06:59
"Golly! What did you expect from a 13 year old car?"
I think, this question should be rephrased - What did I expect from 13 year old SAAB?
Indeed, silly me. Expect reliability from Saab? Gosh, I'd have to be a total loony to expect that.
I stupidly expected it to take me from point A to point B, without megabucks having to be spent on it. But, in vain.
Let's compare Saab and Eunos:
As an "in between car", when Saab failed, I bought a 1997 Eunos 500, that is an even older, 17 year old car, but the same mileage of 97,000km.
As I only paid few hundred dollars for it, compared to $3500 for Saab, I must admit I totally neglected it. Not even a vacuum clean or wash, and surely, no service - no oil, no filters, no plugs change. Tyres were new when I bought it.
Now, I put 14,500 km of a mountain road trips on it. Twisty, narrow, steep horrible mountain roads. With the loaded trailer! (had my bikes on it). Sometimes tow a boat. More than one year of use.
Result: Faults - NONE. Breakdowns - NONE. Tyres - worn, need new, but this is a combination of my driving style + mountain roads.
There was not a single time during 16 months everyday use when the Eunos let me down.
Now, I must admit - this is NOT what I expected from a 17 year old car. I expected it to break down (maybe once or twice) and use some oil. But it did not. It only used 800g of oil in 16 months and 14,000km. What a bummer.
I am sure, Saab would do much better, wouldn't it?
23rd Nov 2013, 22:41
To LAST and KEEP GOING, just like JAPANESE CARS DO? Ah, that was EUROPEAN... Sorry, silly me. Why indeed would you expect a European piece of junk to last? I had a brand new Mercedes (company car, I am not stupid enough to buy one) fail on me almost every week. Why would you expect a 13 year old one to last, indeed?
By the way, the transponder chip is not subject to any wear and tear, so should last indefinitely. Anyone heard of Toyota failing to start due to a responder chip???