The Rob Saab

[SJ_GTI]

Congrats! That looks like a beautiful car. I always dug the 9-3, such a shame there won't be any new ones.

[SVT_Power]

Volvo, Saab, and Mercedes. 

Toyota/Lexus.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Congrats! That looks like a beautiful car. I always dug the 9-3, such a shame there won't be any new ones.

Umm, where did you hear that?

Jason Castriota was hired by Saab as their lead designer to help with the redesign of the 9-3.

http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1006_2013_saab_9_3_news/index.html

"It's absolutely vital we get this car right," Castriota told Automotive News. "This is Saab returning to its roots, not having to worry about being part of a much larger machine that they were before in the GM organization."

Castriota isn't just getting his feet wet. According to Spyker-Saab CEO Victor Muller, the design of the new 9-3 will be completed within weeks and the company hopes to get the car on the road by 2012 as a 2013 model.

"The 9-3 design as made by him is basically done, and I can tell you it is spectacular," Muller told Automotive News. "It is truly aircraft-inspired and Swedish-clean."

Saab should be fine. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford another one.

[SJ_GTI]

Umm, where did you hear that?

Jason Castriota was hired by Saab as their lead designer to help with the redesign of the 9-3.

http://www.motortrend.com/future/future_vehicles/1006_2013_saab_9_3_news/index.html

Saab should be fine. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford another one.

I thought they closed up their plant already...guess I haven't been keeping up with the news!

[cawimmer430]

A Saab? Dude, don't you read Consumer Reports!??!?  j/k

Nice ride. Congrats. 

[Vinsanity]

cool, $13.5k seems like a great price for a 2008. a close friend of mine had a 2005 9-3 convertible with the 2.0T and it was a neat car. I wouldn't have minded one of those myself.

[TurboDan]

Ha, weird thread. I've officially had my Passat four years this week. Bought it at like 30-some-thousand miles and now have 129K on the clock. I'd like to have it another year or two. My previous car, a '97 Saab 900, got up to about $180K before blowing up.

Anywho, I found myself looking at the 9-3 this week online and realized how much I loved it. I'm not ready to buy anything new right now, but I would not mind picking up one of these in a year or two. WOR - keep us informed about this car's reliability. Because I have to be honest, my old 900 was a bomb. Always something. Sometimes something big, sometimes something small, but always SOMETHING with that car. I loved the car, but it was an unreliable money pit and I swore never to buy another Saab in my life. I've heard the newer ones are WAY better, so if I hear positive news I'd love an excuse to convince myself to buy another.

Either way, awesome car and good luck with it!

[TurboDan]

Here's something I do not understand. The stock radio system on this car is fantastic and yet I read it sucked. I'm more than slightly confused. Oh well. Then again, I am only used to really crappy, old radios and the Jeep's blew out awhile ago.

My old Saab's stereo was awesome. Better than almost any car I've ever been in, but it was an upgraded one, not base. One question - does your 9-3 come with sat radio built in?

[WookieOnRitalin]

Ha, weird thread. I've officially had my Passat four years this week. Bought it at like 30-some-thousand miles and now have 129K on the clock. I'd like to have it another year or two. My previous car, a '97 Saab 900, got up to about $180K before blowing up.

Anywho, I found myself looking at the 9-3 this week online and realized how much I loved it. I'm not ready to buy anything new right now, but I would not mind picking up one of these in a year or two. WOR - keep us informed about this car's reliability. Because I have to be honest, my old 900 was a bomb. Always something. Sometimes something big, sometimes something small, but always SOMETHING with that car. I loved the car, but it was an unreliable money pit and I swore never to buy another Saab in my life. I've heard the newer ones are WAY better, so if I hear positive news I'd love an excuse to convince myself to buy another.

Either way, awesome car and good luck with it!

The reliability I feel has everything to do with how you take care of it. If you're hard on a vehicle, you'll probably have more problems than most. From what I read, the 9-3 is excellent. I bought a 6th model year 9-3. So while it changed cosmetically significantly, at its core, its the same car that came out in 2002 so they had 5 years to really take a look at the kinks. Most of the problems I saw were in the earlier incarnations.

Now, I've never been in anything other than domestics really minus my 929. So I have absolutely no previous experience with anything European let alone Swedish. I took a hard look at this car's reliability before buying it. When I stepped inside and out, saw the build quality, I was sold. After a couple owners, my 9-3 was still looked and felt great. Interior was handled gently. The mechanicals are in order. From my perspective, it's got at least 100k good miles left in it before I think I'll experience some really major issues. I'm more worried about something going wrong with the water pump or the transmission as those are going to be pricey fixes if something goes bad.

My old Saab's stereo was awesome. Better than almost any car I've ever been in, but it was an upgraded one, not base. One question - does your 9-3 come with sat radio built in?

XM is built in. Onstar is built in. However, no bluetooth which was an option package (drat). I can still install it from Saab if I want, but at this point, I could care less. The GM headset it really easy to use. In fact, the 9-3 is just so cleanly laid out. Big knobs that are easy to adjust. Everything is super intuitive.

My biggest complaint and only one really is that there is a massive problem with the driver's left blind spot. If you look over your left shoulder to check out the blind spot, you are staring right into a thick B pillar which sucks. I've adjusted the mirror to help a little bit, but it's not nearly as efficient as my GC. In terms of visibility otherwise, this car has great visibility from every other direction except THAT one. I'll get used to it I'm sure.

I really am waiting for some dry weather so I can really open it up a little bit. The turbo is simply brilliant in almost every situation. I have power whenever I need it. I really want to push the handling a little just to get a feel for the limit of the vehicle, but the roads have been ice or wet this week. Blah. The one dry day we had, I took it barreling down an om ramp at about 80 expecting the tires to give, but she held true. This car is really tuned for the driver in mind. I bet you guys who love sticks would love this car. I do think it's really well balanced. It's a slightly smaller, sportier, premium Accord.

Best way I can describe it is it's like a girlfriend who you can take home to mom because she's smart, good looking, charming, classy, but she's the girl who wants to go drinking with your buddies, hit the club, and get down without being too slutty. Sex is good, if not straight forward. She's not going to be too adventurous or wild. But hey, compromises must be made.

[SJ_GTI]

I almost bought a 9-3 2.8T when I was shopping for my last car (ended up with a GTI). I actually haven't driven a Saab 2.0T since they first came out, but I remember it really pulled like a freight train once the turbo spooled up. It was a very fun car (its was a 2003ish 9-3 Aero if I recall), and I still think its one of the nicest looking cars on the rode inside and out.

[WookieOnRitalin]

First fill up:

Premium (93) @ $2.83
12.97 gallons
$36
325 miles
25.05 mpg.

About a 75-25 highway/city split. The blizzard on Sunday really killed my mileage this week. I spent an hour and half going traveling 5-6 total miles. What a waste.

[saxonyron]

Nice ride Wookie! Great color and that's one of the best looking Saaaaabs out there.  Now where do you live where you're buying 93 octane at $2.83??  I just filled up near Boston at $3.21 and that's the best price around. Suck!

[Colonel Cadillac]

I just paid $3.56 for premium down here in CT (ouch!). I was paying $3.29 in New Orleans, but if I go just a little bit outside the city it get's down to the high $2 range.

[WookieOnRitalin]

I live in Nashville. I filled up at Kroger. 93 was $2.93, but I used a 10 cent gas reward cause I also get my groceries there. Nice.

[the Teuton]

Regular is $3.09 in Pittsburgh right now. Fucking ridiculous.

[The Pirate]

Just filled up for $3.29 (87 octane).

[Colonel Cadillac]

I live in Nashville. I filled up at Kroger. 93 was $2.93, but I used a 10 cent gas reward cause I also get my groceries there. Nice.

Why is gas cheaper up there when it's refined and pumped all through Louisiana?!

[The Pirate]

Why is gas cheaper up there when it's refined and pumped all through Louisiana?!

Different state fuel tax rates.

[Rupert]

Gas is cheaper in Seattle than it is in Bellingham, WA, which is an hour north. Also, there is a refinery literally within sight of Bellingham.

[TurboDan]

I filled up with premium today at a Wawa station and it was $3.01.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Gas tank 2:
2.95 premium for 41 bucks
367 miles at 14.1 gallons for 26.05 mpg.

So far, I'm doing well against EPA estimates. The Saab sips fuel on the highway.

[WookieOnRitalin]

Just warshed the 9-3. All the damn snow, rain, bs, made it look like dung. It was covered in salt and dirt, so I had to wash it. Took some nice shots afterwards.

[dazzleman]

Nice, Wookie.  I really like the look of the Saab 9-3 and 9-5.  Best of luck with it! 

[68_427]

WHO'S SUNFIRE CABRIOLET? 

[SJ_GTI]

Very nice!

You have (roughly) the same color as Laconian, no?

Only thing I would do if I were you would be to get nicer wheels...and maybe a more aggressive (lower) suspension...just something to consider. 

[CJ]

Get those wheels clean!

[WookieOnRitalin]

Very nice!

You have (roughly) the same color as Laconian, no?

Only thing I would do if I were you would be to get nicer wheels...and maybe a more aggressive (lower) suspension...just something to consider. 

First expense is going to be a bike rack for my bike. I really wish I could have gotten a Combi. Damnation!

[WookieOnRitalin]

3 month ownership report: 6,000 miles driven.

Let's start with the bad stuff.

I have had only two quality problems with the vehicle thus far. One, the center and passenger side windshield washer are non operational. I have not had much time to go about fixing this problem as it does not impact the regular operation of the car. The other quality problem is the case covering for the rear defroster system. It's essentially a cheap piece of about the size of a chess board (though not the shape of it) and just slides and locks in. It will stay in place in almost every situation except one. When I drive over 55 mph with the windows down, it comes undone because now that the weather is warming up, I'd like to have the windows down. I'm at a loss for how to fix this. Any suggestions would be welcome.

The last problem I have is that my rear bumper got scraped by somebody. Only paint damage. No biggie (lucked out).

Good stuff:

It is completely clear that this 9-3 was NEVER given much of anything besides 87 octane gas and non synthetic oil changes. Performance over the first month was just blah averaging around 25-26 mpg. Dumped the oil, put in synthetic a month ago and have been hitting it with premium since I've owned it. Performance is much, much better and I'm now averaging 28-29 mpg easy (1-2 mpg over EPA).

The car itself has just a lot of thoughtful touches that would typically go unnoticed. One, the trunk size is fantastic. I get so much stuff in there it's great. The only thing I cannot get in there is my bike and I'm still trying to figure out how to take off one of the wheels to do just that (the braking system is in the way of allowing me to detach the front wheel and I'm not sure how to get around this). The auto windows for all four windows is fantastic though the placement for the switches on the driver side door are not exactly convenient.

-Driving position: I cannot say enough about this. Having the ability to adjust the seat in a variety of combinations is a lifesaver. I cannot imagine not having power seating or being without a telescoping steering column and the seats are just butter. I will say that the padding on the driver side door is a bit lacking, but that's a minor quibble.

-Front seat pockets and other storage. In the front seats are pockets that I tend to put little things like tissue or receipts. It's a clever little spot for storage or garbage. Keeps most things out of sight and organized. Glove compartment is also awesome as well as the seat back pockets, the door side pockets, center stage storage, and the center console storage. Everything has a nice little spot.

-Fuel cap holder. The Saab has a holder for the fuel cap when you're pumping gas. Nice.

-I honestly love everything about the ride, steering feel, quietness, etc. It feels like a premium sedan. I love most of the materials on the interior. It drives great. Feels great. It's a great driving experience. Would a little extra power be nice? Sure. For the MPG hit? Nah. I like the good combination of premium, performance, and frugality. I also love the sport mode. It can haul ass in sport mode which essentially just holds the gears longer for bigger revs.

So far so good. I wash and vac it by hand every week. I clean the interior every other week. I also wax it once a month. It's got some paint chips, but it's also got over 60k miles on it. If anything goes completely out of wack, I'll update it here. Otherwise, essentially problem free. Wish I had it new!

[WookieOnRitalin]

So, ran into my first hiccup with the Saab. Having some starting issues. Not sure if it's the alternator is not charging the battery, the starter, or the battery. Was dead on Monday (I didn't leave anything on or open). Jumped it. Was running fine until this afternoon where it was dead again. I'm thinking it's just the battery, but we'll see what a second opinion gets me as it will won't cost me anything.

It's currently at 77k miles. I've put on 18k in 8 months. I do a lot of damn driving.

[Laconian]

Might there be a short somewhere?

I think your dashboard lights will illuminate if the alternator starts failing.