Alright well, I am looking for a car that handles well, has adequit power, attractive, built with nice materials, reliable... I see these 2003 and 2004 Saab 9-3's with 20-40k on them going for $11-15000 and I say to myself WOW... what a deal. BUT I then hear they are unreliable as hell and just not something I should be getting into. I like spirited driving, a car that can be aggressive or semi-aggressive when I want it to be... and civil when I want it to be. This car fits the mold as far as materials I'd think... appearence and overall appeal... I can get over the FWD thing too and I LOVE the Xenons. BUT! How unreliable are these cars from a REAL world perspective and owned by someone who does NOT drive like a grandpa, why is this car so cheap? When the sticker rivals that of 3 series BMW's when new... Should I be scared off? I need a NO BS Pros and Cons list of this car. Thanks

 

saab does make good car

 

look at the 03 9-3 Vector and the 04-05 9-3 Aero..... i want to pick one up as a DD... but im still lookin around... also need a lil bit more $$$ lol

 

My wife bought an '06 9-3 Aero and she really likes it. It's actually pretty fast. The one annoying thing about her '06 is the stereo. It always reverts back to the main screen when you select a song on the CD. Kinda hard to explain, but it's a little quirky and annoying. The 07's/08's have a different stereo so I dont know how they work. The pads also put out a ****load of dust, more so on the rear. You'll have to wash your wheels at least once a week.

As far as maintenance, I did an oil change at 3500 and 7000 miles. Its at around 8500 miles now and we haven't had one problem with it yet, other than it being a little low on coolant. Good luck when getting one. They ride nice and the seats are really soft.

 

I had a teacher that worked at a Saab dealer for 6 years (and toyota dealer for 8 years before that), and he said that most people can afford to buy a Saab, But they wont be able to afford the maintence.

If that answers you question at all.