Great Value, Good Mechanic is Key
Louisville Vicar
on 02/16/2016
Comfort Rating: 4
Performance Rating:
5
Interior Rating: 4
Reliability Rating:
3
Safety Rating: 4
Technology Rating:
3
Value Rating: 5
We've had our 2001 Saab 9-3 for 10 years now, and recently thought about saying good-bye. It's worth about $1500 to a private party, but it's way more more car than that!
The truth, as I see it is this: If you have a mechanic who knows Saabs, owns the right equipment, and understands how to fix them, you are good-to-go. We are lucky to have Ray and Rich at Auto Works of Knoxville in our area. Ray bought all the right equipment to service Saabs years ago, and customers come from as far as St. Louis, MO to have their Saabs worked on here. Ray and Rich know these cars and keep us up and running.
Saabs are Saabs...quirky and sometimes frustrating to own. Ours, we call her "Sadie", will suddenly decided she's going to turn on the check engine light and stay in second gear. The fix is a reset with a code reader. Works great for six months, then she does it again.
Then about every two years, she'll just stop running at a stop sign. Suddenly starts idling rough and shuts down. Solution? Rich cleans the throttle body and resets the computer. "The next time, though, the throttle body will need replacement" says he. Ray says we can still keep driving her, he can still get parts, and anticipates he will be able to for years to come.
Stellar performance, especially from a car valued at $1500....Oh yeah, we spent $600 last year to fix a tiny, flimsy switch that lets the top go down successfully. You have to be able to cuss in Swedish to get your fingers in the place this thing goes, and the flimsy switch is replaced by another...flimsy switch. But hey, it still works and is fun. "That's cool!" observes our Grandson Sam as he watches the top cycle.
It is. We're keeping her.
VIN YS3DF78K217000596 may have been
recalled. Check full report for more information
