saab 9-3 any good?
Discussion
hey all thinking of getting a new car in the coming few months was thinking about a saab 9-3 anybody on here got one or had one? just wondering what they are like to run, best spec etc. petrol or diesel not bothered as i dont do a lot of miles maybe 4k per year hoping to spent about 6 grand. any opinions would be helpful.
thanks greg.
thanks greg.
If you want a derv they are great cars
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-54-SAAB-9-3-VECTOR-SPOR...
If mpg not an issue you can have one of the rockets.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-SAAB-9-3-2-0T-Aero_W0QQ...
Not sure what sort of depreciation they will have now with the demise of Saab
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-54-SAAB-9-3-VECTOR-SPOR...
If mpg not an issue you can have one of the rockets.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2004-SAAB-9-3-2-0T-Aero_W0QQ...
Not sure what sort of depreciation they will have now with the demise of Saab
Look nice/mechanicals Ok/nice seats But the interior is very poor & will creak & rattle. Also the stereo's are hopeless & near impossible to upgrade as integral to a lot of functions with pointless fibre optics etc. If you are hard of hearing they are good cars!! check out saabscene.com
I ran a Vector Sport 150 diesel as an everyday hack for 11k miles for a few months earlier this year and thought it was brilliant, good strong engine, very economical (even with my heavy right foot I was averaging 44mpg and on a long run 47-48). In the time I had it all it cost was a pair of front tyres and a new EGR valve (around £100).
My dad's company X type is up for a change in May and he was so impressed with the Saab he is fancying a 180 Aero diesel.
My dad's company X type is up for a change in May and he was so impressed with the Saab he is fancying a 180 Aero diesel.
I bought an 05 9-3 Aero in November for £5k and am very happy with it; a lot of car and power for the money, plus I managed to find a well spec'd one all the bells and whistles, most notably a hirsh engine upgrade and sat nav which is fairly rare if you're looking at early models.
There are horror stories about the front springs shearing on vector sports (see Saabscene.co.uk and saabcentral.com for threads)but Saab do fix through goodwill as it's a well known problem. The interiors are a plastic and squeaky, but I've found mine to be ok; the stereo is rubbish though!
There are horror stories about the front springs shearing on vector sports (see Saabscene.co.uk and saabcentral.com for threads)but Saab do fix through goodwill as it's a well known problem. The interiors are a plastic and squeaky, but I've found mine to be ok; the stereo is rubbish though!
I've got the 150 1.9 Sportwagon as a company car, had from new, now 2 1/2 years old, 45k miles and never missed a beat. Cracking engine.
The interior is ok, seats are comfy but dash quite cheap feeling, although mine does not rattle at all. Stereo is very poor, mine is the basic one with 4 speakers.
Chris
The interior is ok, seats are comfy but dash quite cheap feeling, although mine does not rattle at all. Stereo is very poor, mine is the basic one with 4 speakers.
Chris
Old 9-3s ('98-'02) look and feel like Saabs and are as good as one can make a car based on a Cavalier platform i.e. don't expect any dynamic miracles. Best with a 150/154 bhp low pressure turbo engine.
'Current' 9-3s are a sharper drive (although the steering lets the side down a bit) as the 'Vectra' underpinnings everyone talks about is actually a Saab-deisgned platform that Vauxhall/Opel/Chevy et al applied some cost-cutting measures to for their own version - but now the GM pennypinching is sadly in the interior and trim fittings. A more upmarket interior built with nicer materials and to tighter standards was proposed but would have cost an additional $600 per car - thing is for most of the lifespan of the model GM had to wield several grands' worth of sales 'incentives' to shift them for their lack of upmarket appeal against BMW/Audi et al. Pennywise...
'Current' 9-3s are a sharper drive (although the steering lets the side down a bit) as the 'Vectra' underpinnings everyone talks about is actually a Saab-deisgned platform that Vauxhall/Opel/Chevy et al applied some cost-cutting measures to for their own version - but now the GM pennypinching is sadly in the interior and trim fittings. A more upmarket interior built with nicer materials and to tighter standards was proposed but would have cost an additional $600 per car - thing is for most of the lifespan of the model GM had to wield several grands' worth of sales 'incentives' to shift them for their lack of upmarket appeal against BMW/Audi et al. Pennywise...
I ran a 54 plate 9-3 Aero for 10 months or so. Loved it at first, got bored very quickly. Mine had the Saab approved Hirsch stage 2 tune (intercooler, exhaust and rempap) which gave it ~255bhp.
Comfy seats, not as spacious as you would think, really s
t auto (with "paddles") box, thirsty, decent grunt for overtaking, grippy enough but uninvolving, crappy plastics. Looked nice though and was "different"
Depreciated like an F14 in a flat spin though.
Comfy seats, not as spacious as you would think, really s
t auto (with "paddles") box, thirsty, decent grunt for overtaking, grippy enough but uninvolving, crappy plastics. Looked nice though and was "different"Depreciated like an F14 in a flat spin though.
My wife's had one for about 3 years now and all the comments are valid.
On balance it's a good car for the money. It's smooth and handles the miles easily.
+ points
Confort, easy to like seats with great upper back + headrest support.
Fast (ours is remapped)
Spacious - Seats 5 without any problem and you can fit dead bodies / suitcases in the boot easily.
Fuel economy - even with the remap and a heavy right foot we get over 30mpg with super unleaded. 2ltr turbo engine.
Easy to live with, good visibility and you don't end up with too many clots trying to race you.
Handling is very good but by no means up with the leading Germans or Ford / Renault. It will understeer quite readily if you push on too much.
- points
Sound system (a bit poor)The sound system was improved no end by an amp and bass tube.
Damping - the suspension with sport setting is a little brittle.
Overhangs - On speed bumps the front of the car hits everything. And I mean everything, unless you c-r-a-w-l over speed bumps at a pace that would make a milkman get impatient.
Interior plastics - A bit crap. Money clearly has been saved here.
Electrics - it sometimes has a paddy and decides that something isn't going to work. We then stop the car and restart it and it'll be fine. No idea why.
All said, my wife loves it. It still looks good and nothing has let go aside from the springs as has been said here. We both find it very easy to drive and a nice alternative too many more mainstream cars.
Certainly worth a decent look although I'm not sure what the parlous state of the company will do for cars in the future.
The Reverend
On balance it's a good car for the money. It's smooth and handles the miles easily.
+ points
Confort, easy to like seats with great upper back + headrest support.
Fast (ours is remapped)
Spacious - Seats 5 without any problem and you can fit dead bodies / suitcases in the boot easily.
Fuel economy - even with the remap and a heavy right foot we get over 30mpg with super unleaded. 2ltr turbo engine.
Easy to live with, good visibility and you don't end up with too many clots trying to race you.
Handling is very good but by no means up with the leading Germans or Ford / Renault. It will understeer quite readily if you push on too much.
- points
Sound system (a bit poor)The sound system was improved no end by an amp and bass tube.
Damping - the suspension with sport setting is a little brittle.
Overhangs - On speed bumps the front of the car hits everything. And I mean everything, unless you c-r-a-w-l over speed bumps at a pace that would make a milkman get impatient.
Interior plastics - A bit crap. Money clearly has been saved here.
Electrics - it sometimes has a paddy and decides that something isn't going to work. We then stop the car and restart it and it'll be fine. No idea why.
All said, my wife loves it. It still looks good and nothing has let go aside from the springs as has been said here. We both find it very easy to drive and a nice alternative too many more mainstream cars.
Certainly worth a decent look although I'm not sure what the parlous state of the company will do for cars in the future.
The Reverend
We really liked ours but the seatbelt retraction mechanism (recall for some VINs but not ours) went, and it needed new front springs at only 44K miles 
The stereo was the worst we've had in a car since my mum's Astra in 1988... interior plastics not that great but then we've been Audi drivers of late. Other than that, very comfortable, quite economical and drove well - nice and quiet.
The stereo was the worst we've had in a car since my mum's Astra in 1988... interior plastics not that great but then we've been Audi drivers of late. Other than that, very comfortable, quite economical and drove well - nice and quiet.
Well, the former poster edited out the proviso "on a Cavalier platform". 
It's loads better than the GM900 on which it was based (the '97 models of those being sort of an interim model with some of the updates for the 9-3), though and for the sort of prices they go for I'd have a 9-3 2.0t as a smoker over the usual cr*p any day of the week.
It's loads better than the GM900 on which it was based (the '97 models of those being sort of an interim model with some of the updates for the 9-3), though and for the sort of prices they go for I'd have a 9-3 2.0t as a smoker over the usual cr*p any day of the week. Edited by 900T-R on Sunday 3rd January 20:51
I saw this thread and thought, having one that I would have to half heartedly fight its corner but I have to say the vast majority of the comments are spot on.
I have an Aero, 2003 six speeder, remapped by "BSR" to an alledged 247 bhp/288 lbs ft, it does move and it will corner pretty quickly but it isnt the last word in fun, the ride is brittle but it does handle the power and put it down as well as can be expected, in the dry its not an issue on decent tyres, in the wet the light will flash or spin the front up if the tcs is turned off but its so much better than the old model I had, which was the LPT model and I have to agree with the poster who said it was best sampled with that engine, brilliant unit and power delivery, fast enough to keep a CTR honest !
The trim looks nice but is badly made, Audi and BMW are leagues ahead, bizzarrely it doesnt seem as good as a Vectra, the stereo is ok at best in mine and there are creaks and rattles but these can be sorted with a little work, shouldnt need to do it but its not insurmountable.
The engine isnt as characterful as the old Saab unit, I think its the same as the Vectra/Astra 2.2 but 2.0 and turboed, it pulls well low down but doesnt sound nice, a bit nondescript. The six speed gearbox is a bit notchy sometimes. Mine only does short journeys at the moment and I tend to hoof it, being mapped it requires Super Plus otherwise it tends to judder under load, it really doesnt like supermarket petrol, like a fussy, spoilt little dog ! I get 220 (20/22 mpg) per tank at the moment but it can be quite economical (35 plus) if careful on a long run.
I think they are a handsome thing, not as distinctive as the old model, but still a looker, aging fairly well, perhaps the wheels arent big enough by todays standard !
I had this before and loved it, ok it was a cavalier platform and didnt handle that well, neither was it so bad, the ride was great and being more pliant it was easy to go faster in than the new one on UK road surfaces, i.e. poor. Also, Saab did use the platform but with better components, for example the 9-3 had loads of modifications and things like the wishbones were pressed steel on the Cavalier but were cast alloy on the 9-3, so its not as simple as its a Cavalier/Vectra platform.
I think mine, as a "sports saloon" or for someone looking for loads of driving pleasure its probably not for you but as a decent mile muncher, with the 150 td engine and standard suspension you could do a lot worse.
I bought in haste really, I dont make any excuse to drive it and look forward to changing it for something with more character but they arent a bad old tub, good value and they are a bit more upmarket than Vectra's, what they arent (or werent) is a credible competitor for the Germans but they are a lot chepaer second hand.
I have an Aero, 2003 six speeder, remapped by "BSR" to an alledged 247 bhp/288 lbs ft, it does move and it will corner pretty quickly but it isnt the last word in fun, the ride is brittle but it does handle the power and put it down as well as can be expected, in the dry its not an issue on decent tyres, in the wet the light will flash or spin the front up if the tcs is turned off but its so much better than the old model I had, which was the LPT model and I have to agree with the poster who said it was best sampled with that engine, brilliant unit and power delivery, fast enough to keep a CTR honest !
The trim looks nice but is badly made, Audi and BMW are leagues ahead, bizzarrely it doesnt seem as good as a Vectra, the stereo is ok at best in mine and there are creaks and rattles but these can be sorted with a little work, shouldnt need to do it but its not insurmountable.
The engine isnt as characterful as the old Saab unit, I think its the same as the Vectra/Astra 2.2 but 2.0 and turboed, it pulls well low down but doesnt sound nice, a bit nondescript. The six speed gearbox is a bit notchy sometimes. Mine only does short journeys at the moment and I tend to hoof it, being mapped it requires Super Plus otherwise it tends to judder under load, it really doesnt like supermarket petrol, like a fussy, spoilt little dog ! I get 220 (20/22 mpg) per tank at the moment but it can be quite economical (35 plus) if careful on a long run.
I think they are a handsome thing, not as distinctive as the old model, but still a looker, aging fairly well, perhaps the wheels arent big enough by todays standard !
I had this before and loved it, ok it was a cavalier platform and didnt handle that well, neither was it so bad, the ride was great and being more pliant it was easy to go faster in than the new one on UK road surfaces, i.e. poor. Also, Saab did use the platform but with better components, for example the 9-3 had loads of modifications and things like the wishbones were pressed steel on the Cavalier but were cast alloy on the 9-3, so its not as simple as its a Cavalier/Vectra platform.
I think mine, as a "sports saloon" or for someone looking for loads of driving pleasure its probably not for you but as a decent mile muncher, with the 150 td engine and standard suspension you could do a lot worse.
I bought in haste really, I dont make any excuse to drive it and look forward to changing it for something with more character but they arent a bad old tub, good value and they are a bit more upmarket than Vectra's, what they arent (or werent) is a credible competitor for the Germans but they are a lot chepaer second hand.
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