2006 Saab 9-3 Sportcombi Aero?

[Cdnawacs]

Hi folks!

Haven't been on here in a heck of a long time, but I'm STILL shopping for a new vehicle!

We've decided to get rid of 2 out-of-warranty vehicles, and go down to one. This buggy will have to be able to haul our dog (like our Mazda pickup) and been fun to drive (like our BMW 323i).

One of our shortlist contenders is the Saab 9-3 Sportcombi Aero. I'd never driven a Saab before, but I gotta say it: Even as a BMW driver, the 9-3 Aero took my breath away. What a rocket! And comfortable, holy cow! Just about every toy you could think of, awesome leather seats, etc.

There's just one thing: the reputation. I've read lots about Saab's having a poor serviceability record in the past, of weird electrical probs, and of low resale values. (The BMW dealer insisted that Beemers have huge resale value -- then promptly offered me a piddly $11,500 for our 1999 323i w/sport pkge -- but that's for another topic.)

In contrast, I've read how Saab has supposedly learned its lessons with the 9-3 series, and that the Sportcombi is a huge success in the USA.

So, what's the consensus? I don't want to buy a lemon...

(And also: howcum Saab 9-3 buyers get free maintenance in the USA, but not here in Canada?)

[Cdnawacs]

Geez, c'mon guys... Doesn't anybody out there have an opinion about the Saab 9-3? Not even the General?

P'raps I should spend my time at the Car Talk Canada website... :(

[jww]

Geez, c'mon guys... Doesn't anybody out there have an opinion about the Saab 9-3? Not even the General?

P'raps I should spend my time at the Car Talk Canada website... :(
Good point - I have noticed that this forum has all but died the past 2 or 3 weeks especially. I have been spending way more time at CTC recently myself.

jww

[devinci]

Yes the 9-3 looks very nice, probably the best looking wagon on the market. Reliability has greatly improoved,but will never compare to asian makes. Saabs are about high quality engineering and design.
If you are aprehensive about resale values, you can either rent or get the extended warranty.

[The General]

I'm here, I'm here...

As you said, Saabs suffered through horrible year in the 80s and 90s. They were in fact some of the most expensive cars to maintain and some of the least reliable. Saab (GM) has leaned their lesson but they have quite a huge hill to climb. It is hard for me to belive that these cars are now good. I must admit though that it has been a while since I heard of a horror story from a Saab owner.

What about the 325xi wagon? The Mazda6 GT wagon or better, the Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Limited wagon?

If you do choose to get the Saab, perhaps leasing could be a viable option. 0$ down of course.

[driftor]

My friend loves her Saab here in Canada except for backroad speeding tickets, but she took advantage to get a good older car for a reasonable price. Depreciation is part of the cost and Beemers also depreciate. Here in Ontario these GM products share the Customer friendly Saturn dealerships. I was looking at the WRX Subaru based 92X. Sure the 93x has one of the world's best engines like BMW. I was shopping for the BMW325 and Subaru Forester. It is a real surprise except for the boring outside styling. I hat SUV's but this car is a real exception

I'd recommend you look at the Subaru Forester in regular or turbo, with excellent relibility record based on one of the world's 10 best cars along with the BMW 3 series

[ManRay]

Hi all

I'm just new here so forgive me if I screw up. I drove the 06 Saab 9-3 SportCombi last week and I loved it. Although I was driving the 2.0T it was awesome. The Aero version is even better. I think its a beautiful car carefully build as Saab is making a big effort to sell more cars in Canada. Dollar for dollar the Saab looks good. My dealer (in Vancouver, BC) was asking about 48k for a loaded (except for Nav) Aero SportCombi with 1% interest over 3 years. I have another year left on my 04 Jetta 1.8T with sport pkg etc but I like to take my time shopping and comparing. It's been a great city car, relatively cheap except for the premium fuel it needs.

I now want to go back to something more upscale, sporty with the comfort. Yes I believe you can have both. The Saab 9-3 Aero comes with real leather sport seats, sport tuned chassis, great looking side skirts plus performance brakes. I didn't notice any torque steer. I do think the new 3 series is beautiful but a similar equipped 325i would be about 7-10K more. BMW has a higher residual close to 60% vs about 50% for the Saab which means the BMW even though more expensive may be cheaper to lease over 3 years compared to the Saab. I'm still crunching numbers.

I drove the Passat wagon 2.0T which was not bad. quite a lot of power for the 4 cylinder turbo (200 hp), but felt it was quite noisey, rode a bit rough and the seats were so so. It pales compared to the Saab 2.0T, and the V6 Passat is just too over priced, even though its beautifully crafted in Germany.

As much as I love the BMW, something about the Saab design gets me worked up in a good way. The lines are beautiful, unique and the posture has a slightly aggressive feel. Plus you can carry a ton of stuff. Sure the Dodge Magnum has wacks of power and is cheap but really, try and parallel park one. I'm tired of this retro stuff. Why try and emulate the look of a car from 50 years ago when they had no idea about functionality.

I have'nt driven the Volvo S50 but it quite small over all for my 6' 1" frame.

Because I usually lease for 3 years, I 'm willing to chance to Saab and at the end of the lease, if the car has performed well, I might then consider buying it as the buy out will be much lower than the BMW.

I wish there was a wagon version of the new IS 250. At the end of the day I'd love to own a Lexus out right just from the quality and service point of view.

Thanks for listening