Saab 9-3 Aero Hot

Hi all I'm based in the UK and I am thinking of buying a secondhand 9-3 Aero Hot (the 210bhp model). Whilst I have always admtred Saab's from afar I have never driven or owned one before so I would appreciate feedbck on the plus's and minuses of this car. Also, what are peoples opinions on Saab dealerships as experience has taught me that a good dealer can maker a huge difference to the pleasue of owning a car.

Is anyone aware of any good second 9-3's that are up for sale in the UK (ideally in the south)?

Kind regards

Reply to
King Chilled
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Not sure how things are in the UK but I've owned both Honda's and Pontiacs which were great cars (believe it or not, the Pontiac was a great car). I now have 2 Saabs and here is what I love about Saabs.

They drive great. Good cornering with just the right balance of body roll and a good feel for the road. Accelleration is very good (especially my Viggen) and even with the Turbo, they get good mileage compared to most other cars. Interiors are just awesome. Very quiet ride, everything is laid out just right, and there is plenty of headroom. One of the best parts of the interior is the massive amount of room. You can cram a ton of stuff into 9-3 with no problem. My friend is amazed how seating room there is and how much stuff I can get in there, his X5 has very little usable room and it's an SUV (and it's a dog). My wife manages to cart around 2 kiddies and car seats with strollers and assorted other stuff with no problem in a 900SE. Other nice things are that you don't see Saab's at every stop light. I'm in Miami and BMW's are more popular than Honda Accords, everyone has one (or three). I've had more than one person ask me what kind of car I'm driving, they just have no clue. I've seen 2 other Viggens down here. One other cool thing...they are pretty easy to do routine servicing on.

My only beefs are that since they are not as common as a Taurus or Accord, there are few places that can really work on them. For the most part, you are stuck with a dealer or if you can find a good Saab mechanic, they are usually only a few. When I lived in Oregon I had to drive all the way across town to get work done but the dude was a master Saab tech and could fix anything so it was worth it. I have yet to find a good Saab mech in the Miami area other than the dealer. My other beef is the lights are always on, I hate DRL's because I have to drive on military firing ranges occasionally and I must have the car blacked out so I had to pull fuses to disable the DRL's. I seriously doubt anyone else has this issue. What else? The key fobs are kind of crappy. It's not that they break, they just have an odd shape. I have one integrated key/transmitter but the rest are these crappy fob thingys. Real serious issues as you can see. Oh yeah, the cup holders just plain suck. I don't use them often but they do suck. They look cool but suck.

Ok, I do have one big beef and that is torque steer. The VIggen has such a powerful engine that the torque steer is a problem. I solved the issue with a $150 steering brace and clamp (aka Viggen Rescue Kit) from MP Performance. It's pretty simple to install and does wonders for the torque steer. I also have a sub-frame brace but have yet to install it.

Hopefully this helps. Go drive the HOT, you'll love it.

Reply to
WitchDr

On the 2004 9-3's, you can turn off the daytime lights - it's a Tech II option.

When the light switch is in the first position (turned all the way clockwise (US, might be different elsewhere)), all lights are off. Front and rear fog lights will not work.

In the second (middle) position, just the parking lights are on. The front and rear fog lights will work. The parking lights will not shut off when you turn the car off. In the last position, full headlights and parking lights are on. Front and rear fog lights will work, obviously. Everything will shut off when you turn off the car.

Reply to
Shane Almeida

Well I have now owned my HOT 9-3 convertible for a couple of months (a 2001 model) and I love it! I started with standard petrol but switched to PULP and the difference is incredible. The engine runs so smoothly with PULP it is worth the small extra cost (here in Australia).

I think SAAB's are a love-em-or-leave-em proposition. For me, I love the quirky styling, sumptuous leather interiors and cool gadgets ;-)

I have to replace my company car next August and am seriously considering a second SAAB.

Reply to
indecisive

Cheers guys, that was most helpful. Especially the bit about space as I am 6'4" tall. Hopefully servicing won't be an issue in the UK as we seem to have a fair number of dealerships around, though I couldn't comment on how good they are of course. Now all I have to do is find one for the right price :)

Reply to
King Chilled

And on earlier models too.

That represents a "reprogrammed" car, AFAIK. You can also have the fogs reprogrammed to be on anytime so you can get combo #2 with fogs. Fogs still shut off when the car is shut off no matter what.

Reply to
Retro Bob

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