Saab story here.

So, because you are too busy to get the top fixed (at the expense of your insurance company) you will take a $1500 hit and trade the car in? Get the insurance company to pay a SAAB dealership to fix the top. Then sell the car privately if you feel you must part with it.

By the way, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but, a '99 convertible is only worth about $7700 in a private party sale *if* the top is full functional *and* it is in otherwise great shape. KBB values are a complete joke. SAABs unfortunately have a very rapid depreciation and convertibles especially so.

Also, the longer you wait into the fall the lower the price will be. But you knew that...

I don't really understand why you are upset with the car. It isn't the cars fault it got wrecked and it isn't the cars fault you didn't get the top fixed in a timely fashion while the insurance company was on the hook for the repair.

Could be that the system was leaking and is now out of fluid. You could check the fluid and top it off if low. The top would work a few times until the fluid leaked out again. Not the morally correct thing to do but that is a decision for you to make.

The only other thing you can do is take it to a Saab dealer or very good Saab specialist and have it repaired. Be forewarned that the expense to repair is utterly ridiculous. The motor assemble is like $2800. The cylinders are around $400 each. You may be better off just to trade it with a broken top.

The numbers you are quoting for trade-in are more like retail numbers. No new car dealer is going to keep a car like that on the lot. They are going to give you less than wholesale value for it and then take it to the auction. It will show up on a buy her pay here lot somewhere in the near future. Having been repaired from a wreck is not looked at as a good thing nor is it a selling point. Any car that has been wrecked has a lower value and your case is a perfect example of why. It was fixed but the top doesn't work right anymore and who knows how many other things were half assed just to make it look shiny and pretty. Not your fault... just the way it is.

Good luck to you on this one. I also have a '99 convertible that is having top problems so I feel your pain. Luckily I bought the car right so the repair isn't going to kill me, but it still hurts.

Steve B.

Thanks for all of your advice. I really don't expect to get the KBB price but it would be wonderful if I did. Other than the convertible top, the car is in fantastic condition (it should be for all the money I've put into it). I would be perfectly happy with a sale of $7500. Does anyone know if a rear end collision would in fact affect the convertible top? AND...what's this fluid that was mentioned by someone here? TELL ME MORE!!!

The reason for me being deliquent in getting the top looked at by Saab is because the rear end accident occurred at the end of Spring and it was a while after the accident that I tried to use the top. Then, within a couple of months after the accident, someone else hit me from the rear. The second fender bender only scratched the new bumper that was put on after the first accident. Not to make excuses but I had some major health problems which had me in and out of the hospital for a few months during all of this. By the time my health improved and I brought my car to a mechanic to ask him what he thought I should do, he suggested trying to sell it or trade it in (that's when the top was still somewhat functional)...then I came here to ask for advice.

The insurance company has tried to have an adjuster come and give me a final inspection twice since the first accident and both times I told them that the top had not been working correctly since the accident and I would contact them after I contacted a mechanic. Do you think it's been too long now? The first rear end accident was in April and the second in June.

Today I'm going to see the mechanic I spoke earlier about to see if he might be able to get a second hand piston for the top and put it in for me. He might even make the call to the insurance company telling them that the problem with the top is due to the rear end collisions.

The car uses a hydraulic system to raise and lower the top. The ends of the hydraulic cylinders all have seals and those seals wear and start to leak. Once the fluid leaks out of the system the top doesn't move anymore. More fluid can be obtained from a Saab dealer if this was the case and is often a "good enough" fix. If the car only leaks one $40 bottle of oil a year that is better than a couple of $400 pistons. Eventually the leaks will get bad enough that the pistons have to be replaced.

Good luck on the 7500. I paid about 3k less than that for mine this spring and it hasn't been wrecked.

Doesn't sound like much of a fun summer for you.

Why would you want him to get a second hand piston? Which piston would you have him get? At this point you don't have any idea what is actually wrong with the system. You need to take it to the mechanic and have it diagnosed then decide what to do about repair. When you take a car in and ask them to replace a specific part they will often just replace that part as you asked instead of diagnosing the system. Find out what is wrong with it and let us know. Hopefully someone here can help with a source for parts or a workaround.

Steve B.

It's never too long. Have the insurance pay for the repairs, and also fix the bumper from the 2nd accident.

"Good luck on the 7500. I paid about 3k less than that for mine this spring and it hasn't been wrecked."

Wow...Well let me tell ya. If you found a 1999 9-3 SE w/74K for mileage on it and it was in the same condition my car is in (minus the convertible top) for 3K...you got one HELL of a good deal. JC, even the dealers offered me TWICE that for a TRADE IN!!! Lucky you Mr. Steve B. You must have some connections! BTW...the send rear ender was just a scratch (no where near as bad as the original accident).

"When you take a car in and ask them to replace a specific part they will often

Trust me, I might sound stupid posting here...but I know enough to take my car to a mechanic to have him take a look at it to tell me what's wrong with it instead of telling them what to fix...LMAO. But thanks for the advice anyway. My car is actually in the shop today so I will have the answers to all of my questions very soon (Thank GAWD!!).

After all of this is over with...I'll come back and tell you what kind of deal I got on it Steve B! I garentee ya you, the deal I get will be more than 3K!!! Otherwise, I won't sell it. Maybe your car isn't an SE or it doesn't have all the features on it mine has.

TTFN, Jo Ann B

THANKX SO MUCH FOR TELLING ME THAT FRED!!! I CERTAINLY HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THE INSURANCE. I LIVE IN BOSTON MA WHERE THE INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE REALLY DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH. I WILL SOON FIND OUT IF MY INSURANCE COMPANY IS WILLING TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW!

TTFN, JO ANN B

To anyone who's interested in my "Saab Storry" out there... My mechanic fixed the convertible top!!!YEEEHAWWW! The fluid had leaked out (as some of you suggested my be the problem), that's why it wasn't working. He charged only me $200.!!! Does anyone want to buy a 9-3SE convertible??? hehehehe! I'll let you all know what I end up getting for it!

Jo Ann

Glad to hear it is working and didn't cost you a large fortune! Thanx for following up and letting us know what was wrong. Sell it quick just in case it is still leaking somewhere!

Steve B.

Mine did the same thing. The pump, which is under a cover behind the rear seat, has a plastic oil reservoir, which continually blows its seal and after a few weeks loses enough that the roof stops working (initially by judderring and jerking). It seems to happen as soon as the system has been opened and atmospherically damp air is allowed into the top of the reservoir.

Try topping it up, then re-fit the pump onto its housing and putting a pin hole in the highest point of the reservoir (so that any gas pressure can escape rather that forcing the reservoir off its seal and starting a leak). Did this with mine 2 years ago and it hasn't failed since.

Good luck