replacing serpentine belt and tensioner?

Nonsense. They are grubbing for more of your money. It may be wise to replace the tensioner based on mileage, but not because you have slackened the tensioner.

It's not that you *must* change the tensioner.

It does however make sense to have its condition checked to avoid unnecessary duplicated labour costs in case it fails shortly thereafter though.

Graham

Yes, just replacing the belt but not the pulley is false economy. Because by the time the belt needs replacement, the pulley is likely to be expiring soon.

That is simply not true. I found the tensioner, or the pulleys last much longer than the belt. Expect at least two to one, if not three to one life expectancy. The belt costs arount $30. Pulleys cost around $50 each. The tensioner cost around $120. For someone who relies solely on a dealer or an indy to do his or her maintenance or repair, it may make sense to do some preventive repair or maintenance. Where do you stop though? What about the tensioner bracket? What about the tensioner base bolted to the timing chain cover, and the timing chain cover itself? What about the AC compressor pulley, the power steering pulley, the alternator pulley, and the crank shaft pulley? The belt is riding on all these pulleys. Are they not suspect? You need to do a realistic assessment of the conditions of the parts. You don't replace them on a wholesale basis on account of one failed part.

Thank you everyone for your feedback! The follow-up question is of course, can I/my husband replace these parts ourself? He is quite handy and has done work on our other cars. I did a google search and found that other people have replaced the serpentine belt, but mention something about a special tool for getting it off the tensioner. Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks again! -llk

There are several SAAB owner groups on the internet each with a wealth of archive and owners ready to help you.