RE: Shed of the Week: Saab 9-3 Aero
Discussion
Sad to say, I had a 9-3 Aero, fully loaded, and it was the WORST car I have ever owned. I was encouraged to buy it after owning a great 9-5, thinking it would be a nice luxury car. I really cannot find a single thing to compliment it on. I sold it on less than 6 months from buying it.
Problems:
rattles
brake replacement
suspension failure
A/C menu just disappeared off the computer system on the hottest day of the year
creaky plastics
poor durability of seats and trim
erratic electronic problems
had sat nav screen replaced 3 times, and still did not get one without failed pixels - and they were new units
Utterly terrible. A huge disappointment, but a massive sigh of relief the day I sold it.
Avoid.
Problems:
rattles
brake replacement
suspension failure
A/C menu just disappeared off the computer system on the hottest day of the year
creaky plastics
poor durability of seats and trim
erratic electronic problems
had sat nav screen replaced 3 times, and still did not get one without failed pixels - and they were new units
Utterly terrible. A huge disappointment, but a massive sigh of relief the day I sold it.
Avoid.
I reckon there must be a lot of lemons out there. I bought mine, albeit V6 one about 3 years ago and its been great, squeaks and rattles like an old pirate ship but hasn't missed a beat fortunately.
Mine is probably only worth about a grand so would be a great shed. Much better in my opinion than a knackered 3 series or god forbid A4 of the same vintage as they can be just as problematic.
Its not a true sports saloon by any measure, the steering wheel is also bloody massive, and handling has no feel. However chuck it on a motorway in some of the best seats in the business and soak up the miles with a bit of pace no problem!
Mine is probably only worth about a grand so would be a great shed. Much better in my opinion than a knackered 3 series or god forbid A4 of the same vintage as they can be just as problematic.
Its not a true sports saloon by any measure, the steering wheel is also bloody massive, and handling has no feel. However chuck it on a motorway in some of the best seats in the business and soak up the miles with a bit of pace no problem!
Seems decent; I bought a '05 Aero in 2009 when I was 25 - my first car with some decent poke (it too had a stage 1 tune up to 250). Went well, handled well and looked good - plus was a lot cheaper than it's competitors in terms of performance and kit (I manged to find a satnav model with power/heated seats which were rare in 2005). It's still in the family today; my dad bought it off me in 2012 and runs it as a shed. It's had a hard life - cosmetically it's pretty much run into the ground but mechanically it cannot be faulted; it's on 180k and still on original clutch, turbo etc etc. Sticking calipers are a common issue, the CD player doesn't work anymore and the ride is really harsh, but it just keeps on going.
FWIW my dad had a 1.9d as a company car a few years before I got the Aero and reliability was terrible; but he's had little issue with the petrol,
FWIW my dad had a 1.9d as a company car a few years before I got the Aero and reliability was terrible; but he's had little issue with the petrol,
Had no idea these were so cheap. The SportCombi goes for a lot more...
Handling is nothing special, it's not bad though. Comfy seats, in contrast to the ride on low-profile tyres and lowered springs, which isn't so hot. Nasty plastics on the handbrake and doors and I'd second any claims of creakyness from these areas. My combi has been dependable despite having over 135k on the odo. Overall it's a good motorway cruiser with enough power to shift when necessary, with 250bhp it'll be a giggle in a straight line.
All that aside, £750 is hard to argue with!
Handling is nothing special, it's not bad though. Comfy seats, in contrast to the ride on low-profile tyres and lowered springs, which isn't so hot. Nasty plastics on the handbrake and doors and I'd second any claims of creakyness from these areas. My combi has been dependable despite having over 135k on the odo. Overall it's a good motorway cruiser with enough power to shift when necessary, with 250bhp it'll be a giggle in a straight line.
All that aside, £750 is hard to argue with!
I’ve just finished shedding in one of these - albeit the later 2.8 V6 Turbo variant.
For the money... I can’t fault it. Bought for £1350 a couple of years ago and sold last weekend, a day before the MOT expired for £500 - it was leaking steering fluid from the rack and the windscreen washer motor had packed up, it had served its purpose to me and I didn’t have the time or inclination to fix her up, the lad that bought it will and will have a good car/make a profit..
I took mine on a few 1000mile round trips, including a holiday in Europe and it was great, air con never faultered, sat at speed with ease, super comfortable loads of space, plenty power for some fun should you wish. Mpg in the V6 wasn’t great but that’s something we know from the outset and the interior (seats aside) is lacking yes but it isn’t bad - my missus can be aright princess but she was happy in the old Saab, heated seats, A/C, auto box, no complaints from her.
For a shed at true shed money, I think it ticks lots of boxes, not sure what else you could get that could do the same? Mondeo ST perhaps?
For the money... I can’t fault it. Bought for £1350 a couple of years ago and sold last weekend, a day before the MOT expired for £500 - it was leaking steering fluid from the rack and the windscreen washer motor had packed up, it had served its purpose to me and I didn’t have the time or inclination to fix her up, the lad that bought it will and will have a good car/make a profit..
I took mine on a few 1000mile round trips, including a holiday in Europe and it was great, air con never faultered, sat at speed with ease, super comfortable loads of space, plenty power for some fun should you wish. Mpg in the V6 wasn’t great but that’s something we know from the outset and the interior (seats aside) is lacking yes but it isn’t bad - my missus can be aright princess but she was happy in the old Saab, heated seats, A/C, auto box, no complaints from her.
For a shed at true shed money, I think it ticks lots of boxes, not sure what else you could get that could do the same? Mondeo ST perhaps?
I’m on my third Saab 93, two of which have been NG 93 Aeros. Admittedly they have also been convertibles, but they have both been fantastic. Creaky suspension, butbtend# to be bush’s and arb’s, otherwise sound cars. Comfortable, reliable, quick and not the ubiquitous German. Yep, another is on the cards as a replacement, so say what you want, they’re bloody brilliant.
If you're interested in one of these, don't discount the smaller turbo Vector. These usually have a higher spec than the Aero (Aeros surprisingly in this shape Saab do not have all the bells and whistles)
When you map the smaller Turbo 9-3's they hit really hard in the midrange, they can feel more brutal than the Aero and on the road there is little in it between the two.
Hell if you bought a boggo 9-3 1.8t (the most basic version) a stage 1 map will give the car a 70bhp kick up the arse. These are hilarious!
Anyone familiar with tuned VAG 1.8t's I guess it's similar to the K03s vs K04
When you map the smaller Turbo 9-3's they hit really hard in the midrange, they can feel more brutal than the Aero and on the road there is little in it between the two.
Hell if you bought a boggo 9-3 1.8t (the most basic version) a stage 1 map will give the car a 70bhp kick up the arse. These are hilarious!
Anyone familiar with tuned VAG 1.8t's I guess it's similar to the K03s vs K04
Edited by exgtt on Saturday 3rd March 01:13
mrpenks said:
I should like this: 200bhp plus for £750 with MOT and decent history.
But I don’t. Anything SAAB from the mid 90s on is ruined by the GM link (and parts bin) in my mind.
I had a 57 plate 9-5 Aero hot estate. For the money it was epic. Agricultural but fantastic. I'd have another any day over a Skoda/Bmw etc. But I don’t. Anything SAAB from the mid 90s on is ruined by the GM link (and parts bin) in my mind.
fuchsiasteve said:
Doesn't do it for me. When you consider you could have an Accord type R for similar shed money which is way better to drive (better engine, steering, gearshift, handling etc) it's a real no brainier.
You might have been able to a few years ago but most have rusted away and the rest have massively increased in value. There's nothing else that's this cheap that offers similar performance but still looks modern and respectable.Jimmy Recard said:
J4CKO said:
Instead of doing their own thing, which worked well, comfy seats, not overly stiff, flexible turbo engines, not too showy but still smart, they tried to do a sort of German Sports Saloon, it looked the part but the ride was dreadful, a lot of S line Audis were as well but this was a step worse, plus it didnt have the really rather good interior, it looked ok but paint came off surfaces , bits fell off and it creaked like a galleon on the high seas.
They did a good job of the car itself but were left with a limited budget for interior fixings and Sporting Saloon owners used to the German offerings dont expect the handbrake trim to come off when they take their seatbelt off or the glove box button paint to scratch off the third time they use it.
I had an earlier 9-3 LPT and I preferred it in many ways despite it handling like an elderly obese Labrador on a parquet floor, it wasnt trying to be sporty, the 9-3 SS Aero was and it missed the mark, they made it fast and corner reasonably well but it missed out on being enjoyable.
Does that go anyway to explain ?
I was questioning how Swedish is not Germanic They did a good job of the car itself but were left with a limited budget for interior fixings and Sporting Saloon owners used to the German offerings dont expect the handbrake trim to come off when they take their seatbelt off or the glove box button paint to scratch off the third time they use it.
I had an earlier 9-3 LPT and I preferred it in many ways despite it handling like an elderly obese Labrador on a parquet floor, it wasnt trying to be sporty, the 9-3 SS Aero was and it missed the mark, they made it fast and corner reasonably well but it missed out on being enjoyable.
Does that go anyway to explain ?
Germanic
d????man?k/
adjective
1.
relating to or denoting the branch of the Indo-European language family that includes English, German, Dutch, Frisian, and the Scandinavian languages.
I have a very similar car for my commute, same colour and trim.
Its an 07 plate vector sport 150bhp (can be mapped to 200 iirc) with 32k miles on the clock. A bargain at £1500.
It has half leather, dual zone climate control, cruise control, reversing sensors, a 6CD changer, courtesy lights. It's a lot of car for the money.
The downsides are that its not very economical, and it tramlines like crazy.
Its an 07 plate vector sport 150bhp (can be mapped to 200 iirc) with 32k miles on the clock. A bargain at £1500.
It has half leather, dual zone climate control, cruise control, reversing sensors, a 6CD changer, courtesy lights. It's a lot of car for the money.
The downsides are that its not very economical, and it tramlines like crazy.
Edited by 98elise on Saturday 3rd March 10:07
A said, my dad's old one (my brother had it for a few years and now my sister does) has been fine. Needed nothing over any other normal car.
I had a manual aero for a while which I sold on when the alarm system packed up. I was using it for work at the time and I didn't have the time for it to be sat waiting repairs so I sold it and used my M5 for a bit before getting an S80 diesel. I considered another and would have another as a stop gap between cars. If I sell my e55 this weekend then I may go look at this if there are no E60 M5's for me to look at.
I had a manual aero for a while which I sold on when the alarm system packed up. I was using it for work at the time and I didn't have the time for it to be sat waiting repairs so I sold it and used my M5 for a bit before getting an S80 diesel. I considered another and would have another as a stop gap between cars. If I sell my e55 this weekend then I may go look at this if there are no E60 M5's for me to look at.
fuchsiasteve said:
Doesn't do it for me. When you consider you could have an Accord type R for similar shed money which is way better to drive (better engine, steering, gearshift, handling etc) it's a real no brainier.
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