Used car advice

Well, mine is a 2005 Saab 9-3, and it's great, but I recommend that you be pretty careful about buying them. I checked out a few of them before hand and found strange problems that could have been easily missed. Things like Sunroofs stopping midway, drink holders that had gunk in them and the like.

On the other hand, I do love my little Saab, and it's quite comfortable.

When I was hunting around, I was checking some of these out, but they were more expensive to maintain overall (factoring in price of maintenance and likelihood of maintenance). But maybe this is different for you if you are in Europe and not the U.S.

Also, space was a factor.

I have heard good things about this car, but I don't know much else.

I've also heard good things about this car, and they look pretty good driving down the road. ;-)

Seems like you've made some good choices there. Of course, BMW makes a care that kind of fits this range, so you might look at that, and even Mercedes has a car that kind of fits as well. If you like alternative fuels, Chevy is making some nice looking alternative fuel based cars along the same lines as these, though I don't expect quite the same feel. If you like the look of some of the Dodge vehicles, that may also be a way to go. There's also a particular Ford model that had some nice ratings in that year range, but I don't remember the name.

I'd love to hear your comparisons of these and others as you go along, especially driving and overall feel comparison to the Saabs.

I'm biased as I've just (yesterday) collected a 2004 9-3 1.8t to replace my

Well built but they need to be, because the ride is harsh. Too hard. Decent range of engines but most four cylinder donks are tepid. Has "that" car park image.

Great machine: this is the car that the 9-3 Sports Saloon has an unofficial benchmark. In my opinion it has great five cylinder engines but isn't so fluid in the corners.

Lost out on points compared with my 9-3 SS.

Not in the same league as the others in some respects. Not as well made as they ought to be, tepid to drive.

What country? What do you want it for? Long haul trips on the motorway?

A Mondeo would make a good choice, but stick with the four cylinder petrol engines. From June 2003 the Mondeo is well equipped with cruise and climate as standard in all models.

What was the final selling point for you on the car? How do you like it? I have a 2005 9-3 Linear and I love it. Any complaints? My only complaint (that I can think of) would be excessive brake dust.

Where do you live ?

Graham

Atlantic Canada.

I wish more diesels were available in North America.

My brother-in-law suggested BMW or Mercedes. Prices are comparatively high, plus it is a bit ostentatious.

I like a car that handles well, a responsive engine, and styling that appeals. That sort of rules out the VW and any North American car.

I think the Saab 9-3 and 9-5s are good values. This would be my forth Saab, but I don't like where the company has gone in terms of styling. I really wish they would go a bit retro like some other European car companies. It is as though GM has stymied the imagination of Saab engineers.

I love everything about the A4, except for the smallish interior--and the used-vehicle prices.

I still find Volvos a bit stodgy, and my parents are Volvo people. I think the S60 is somewhat sexy, but I

SAAB brake pads. Change to something else as soon as the 3 year warranty is over :-)

They will come to you too ;-)

Answering having in mind some of the comments you made elsewhere in the thread.

In the UK SAABs are heavily discounted when brand new. In fact I doubt if many cars are sold as brand new. More often than not, dealers register them (i.e. put them on the road although they do no miles) and are effectively bought as 2-6 months old cars. So in 3 years time (a benchmark commonly used) a car may be worth only 40% of its original value. That is GM for you.

Other companies, notably BMW, volvo, and the VW group (which includes AUDI) refuse to drop prices of new cars. So their second hand cars have higher prices (as the buying price was higher to start with).

As a result of all this I would guess (entirely amateur observation) there are many more SAABs in the UK than ever before. I hope it explain one reason for the difference in prices you see. It also means that another three years down the road the SAAB will be worth again less than some of the other cars you like ... although that difference will be closing as they get older (i.e. they will all be worth nothing).

:-) Charles

PS. Driving a nearly 11 year old 9000 which I have owned for 9 years.

The seamless way that the 1.8t donk works, which is just like the S60 2.0T, but easier on fuel and insurance.

It feels a bit sluggish compared to my TiD...

But really it's too soon to call it. Today is day two of the commute. :)

I guess that depends, I do think that some of the Cadillacs have a rather interesting look to them, to some extent, but I've not had good experiences with their quality coming off the line. Maybe if you find a good used one, though.

If you like responsiveness, I have had a lot of enjoyment from some Infiniti's. They're good cars.

Well, maybe you could check on some Infiniti's, but I guess the Saab is still pretty good even if they do have a bit of a different direction these days.

Drop it into Second Gear and punch it through 25 - 60 MPH. :-D That's pretty fun.

Nah it gets boring after a while...

Infinitis have one of the highest resale values in the near-luxury class. I realize there are valid reasons for this, but on the other hand you are paying a premium for people's perception. I'm not sure a used G35 (and I think the second generation has lost the attractive styling of the first) is going to be worth the premium.

That's true. On the whole, I'd say Saabs present an amazingly good value.

Yes... It's a popularity issue. One of the reasons Saab resale values are lower :-) A buddy of mine just went through a similar buying exercise and ended up with a 9-3.

Also, I seem to recall that Audi only offers a manual tranny in the "S" package.

If you do that too often, it will wreak the CV links or other drive links. I always engage Third Gear before thinking of pressing the pedal.

I'm sorry, details? :-)

Remind me not to buy one of your used cars.

And the 1.8t model has a lighter duty drivetrain compared with the 2.0t /