Saab 9-3 diesel - worth a punt ?

[Nattyboy888]

As per the title - just looking for an estate car to do the weekly airport run and dog/family stuff.

Been looking (predictably ?!) at an e90 m sport for around £7500 (early car/90kish miles) but it looks like I could get a decent Saab with lower miles for about a third of the price.

Done my homework and appreciate the normal alternator/DPF/parts availability issues etc but would value any opinions !

[thespannerman]

Used to have one, a 150bhp 1.9TiD... Fab car, potentially one of the best we've ever owned! Used to get 60+ mpg on long hauls even with a family of 4 and lots of luggage. Also had enough poke to have some fun with the local youths in their modded up euroboxes, much to their amazement that a family wagon could outgun them from the traffic lights!
As for reliability... ours got to 160k before we had any trouble, the same engine is used in the Vectra, however in true SAAB fashion they tweaked it a bit and made it alot more reliable!

If you're not one for badge snobbery you'll get just as good ride quality and interior quality for much less money and a well maintained one should take you round to the moon and back! I'd say go for it!

P.S. You don't know how many points and tickets the cruise hold saved me from! Haha

[Zedboy1200]

thespannerman said:

Used to have one, a 150bhp 1.9TiD... Fab car

Totally agree... I took a '57 facelift convertible from 0-90k in 18 months. Just needed wiper blades! Not that quick, very well built outside, cheap feeling inside, but never broke. Splendid Xenons and o/e Sat Nav too... Recommended for the job you want it for, perfect choice and value for money. Badge prestige fine too. I know it's an inside out Vauxhall, but Saabs are always left-field cool aren't they?

[morgrp]

Look out for the usual old diesel problems, EGR valves block, the swirl flaps in the manifold are particularly problematic on the 150bhp 1.9 and are expensive to put right. Obviously DPF filters are a known pain in the arse on all diesels. I'm not a Saab fan or indeed expert but the trade suggest the 120bhp is a better engine than the 150bhp - but like I said I'm no expert. The engine is widely used in vauxhall, saab and all manner of Fiat products too (being a fiat developed engine)

[kuro]

I had a 6 speed auto vector sport. It drove nicely on the motorway but I found the sports pack suspension quite harsh on poor road surfaces. In fact my lowered mx5 doesnt feel as bad. It also had problems with an occasional lumpy idle and the autobox developed a fault with sticking valve bodies that wouldn't let me engage drive for 5 to 10 minutes on cold mornings. I heard also that there were problems with swirl flaps, egr valves and injector wiring. I may have had a lemon which is a shame as it spoilt my enjoyment of the car.

[bigdom]

I had a vector sport as a company car in 2006, chipped it to 195bhp. Completed 65k in 11 months, fine on motorway, suspension wasn't great on 'A' roads, poor on 'B' roads. Averaged 43 during my ownership, and would hit an indicated 160> on continental roads.

Drivers seat became a little squeaky, apart from that, all good. I did like the night time dashboard mode.

[littlebasher]

bigdom said:

I did like the night time dashboard Stealth mode.

Corrected you there!

[Nattyboy888]

Thanks for the advice so far - appreciated!

[Jonwm]

Also a plus 1 for the 9-3 I had a 55 1.9 linear, very basic, stereo was awful but I loved it, still one of my fave company cars, did 120k in it, needed alternator, water pump and various bushes after about 80k, it had a hard life, I was young and immature when I had it.

Fond memories of trying to get tyres, they were 205/50/15 if I remember right, no one stocked them, wheels looked tiny :-)