New owner - first questions

I don't think you have to have a mechanic do it if you can follow the same routine. I mean, an oil change is an oil change. So long as you can do the inspections and everything yourself I a sure you'll be fine. However, make sure to use a good oil. Also, there are mechanics around who can do it for you that are not associated with a dealer. You might also consider just letting them do the service for you when it comes around to the intervals, since your car should come with a few of the oil changes as part of the maintainence of the car early on.

This isn't necessarily unusual. I don't think it works that way for my

9-3 either. However, you can check fuses and such if the thing is not working at all. There should also be a hidden one around that may go on without stopping, but this isn't generally a very good practice.

Sound systems are not known to be really great in a Saab. ;-) I'm sure you can find all sorts of information about how to up the quality of your speakers. ;-)

I'd love to hear what you think of it! Is this your first Saab? What was your previous car?

Just wondering why you bought an auto in a new car when you say you prefer manual? Manual used to be fairly available in SAABs, especially the 9-3 as opposed to the 9-5. Has this changed? I hate auto.

For the warranty, I would have the 10,000 mile oil changes documented. And, yes, they might be free of charge with your maintence. However, I would recommend at least 5,000 mile intervals if not 3,300 mile intervals. Use a good synthetic oil and do the changes yourself or at an independent for the in-between changes. These newer engines are not as bulletproof as the older classic 900 and 9000 engines.

I dunno. Last time I bought a brand new car (SAAB) was in 1969 and it was 500 miles as I recall.

In my 99 Cherokee, only one is turned off with the key - the cig lighter. I haven't checked my 01 9-5's yet. This is common for radar detectors, for instance.

I have outgrown my audiophile stage about a decade ago, so I have no comment here.

Good luck!

Charles

Thanks for reply !

To me it's not as much the matter of cost as convenience, I can change oil in 30 min when _I_ have time.

I guess I'll play some more with it.

I had a Taurus, for 10 years. Before that, I had a Mitsubishi Galant with a stick shift (not much fun to drive), a Camry, Pontiac Bonneville etc. Also have a Chevy Tahoe, wife / family car, that's also fun to drive but in different terms.

On Mar 15, 11:43=A0pm, Charles wrote: Thanks for reply !

No, stick is readily available and costs less. But my wife doesn't drive manual, and when you have small kids it's imperative that either of you can drive any car at any time.

Change every 5K, use full synthetic.

The dealer is full of $hit. Change it yourself. Be sure to keep receipts for oil and filter. Best place to get filters is

- order a bunch at get them with no shipping (USA).

Is that in the manual? They actually don't use a break in oil anymore as far as I know so it can go for a while on the original. I think this is just a "half period" considering the recommended 10K standard interval (that no one in the USA runs with). I would change at 2.5K at the most.

still just me (still just me ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

First oil change on a brand new 9-3 run to the manufacturer's service schedule here would be 18,000 miles.

Replacing good quality SYNTHETIC oil every 5000 mi is INSANE. It's simply a waste of money and resources down the drain. 10 k is just fine. The oil will easily be good for 15k in fact.

Graham

Waste of time and money.

Graham

Americansa re weird when it comes to oil. They've been using 'dino oil' so long the message about synthetics doesn't seem to have got through.

Synthetic oil has NOTHING in common with mineral oil (and its wear-out mechanisms) WHATEVER. It's an 'engineered lubricant' with phenomenally improved performance.

Graham

Eeyore (Eeyore ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Even then, they're still ridiculously anal. Yes, 18k is stupidly over- long, but 10k's perfectly fine.

I guess she is not inclined to learn how to drive a stick, eh? I think the kids would get a kick out of Mommy trying to get the stick working. ;-) Hehe. I know my friends tell me fun stories about watching their parents drive stick.

My manual (a different model) did give a break-in period that suggested that the motor oil should be changed after the break-in period.

I think that very much depends on your driving style and conditions. According to the manual, the automatic interval monitor should be somewhere between 7,500 and 15,000 for a change.

I think they tend to either not believe it or just think they are different. Many of them don't even see the color of the oil when they service the vehicle, so they wouldn't realize the condition it is in when they change it. If they did, they might feel better.

My wife is Irish but raised in England. She doesn't know how to drive an auto. And I don't plan to teach her!

Charles

Agreed. I'd not really be happy with 18k myself either. At least not if you want the full benefits of synthetics over mineral oil.

Graham

First, you can't tell anything about oil by the color or feel, except perhaps that it's brand new when it's translucent. After that, color is not important.

The only thing that matters with oil is the condition and containment level. If you want to follow some people who follow contaminant levels in some oils very closely over time (lab tests), check out

Some folks there do have remarkably goodexperience with long term use of synthetics, although most changefilters every 5K or so. But, those people also test their oil and watch it. Me, I figure it's pretty cheap insurance to change it every 5K and just not worry about it. I sleep better at night knowing there's nice clean oil in there at all times.

As a footnote... anyone wonder why the price of synthetic oil continues to rise while dino oil rises? There's no petroleum in Mobil-1, but it still goes up. It couldn't be the oil companies screwing us, could it?

It's called capitalism. I never fail to be amazed how Americans dislike it.

I expect the raw materials for synthetics are oil derived as many chemicals are.

Graham

Eeyore (Eeyore ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Even if they aren't, I would suspect that the production and distribution costs probably haven't fallen.