The 2003 SAAB 9-3..a bad year?

Question

So far (knock on wood) I'm delighted with my 2000 9-5 (v6). My sister-in-law drives a 95 Buick Le Sabre which is dying, so she is looking to replace it with something. I'm not sure having another SAAB in the driveway is a good idea , but she likes my 9-5 and I notice a number of used

9-3's for sale. Oddly most of them are 2003's...Looking at Consumer reports I see a lot of black dots for that year (but then the 2000 9-5 didn't win any prizes for reliability either) So was this a particularly troublesome year for the 9-3??

Rich

th · Accepted Answer

The first model years of a car are in most cases not known for their reliability. I have a 2000 9^5, which is the worst car I have ever owned from a reliability point of view, My friends and colleagues having about the same MY have experienced similar problems. Compared with my 1997 9K which is one of the last models years and that just runs and runs without any problems.

If you are looking for a 9^5 you should probably start with MY2004, from where the for instance most of the 4-cyl engine problems and the SID problems are gone. I also believe that the rear suspension has been improved from this MY.

Still Saab is fairly reliable: compare the 95 Buick Le Sabre with a 95

9K. There are not so many 9Ks of this date that are dying.

Fred W · Answer

Reliability issues I have had with my (2) MY2003 9-3 Sport Sedans:

'03 9-3 Vector (now ~45k miles) Missing pixels in Infotainment display Lumbar support adjustment in Drivers seat Heated seat not switching on/off

'03 9-3 Arc (now ~80k miles) Check Engine light caused by bad gas cap (recall)

All of these horrible problems were covered under the 4year 50k mile warranty. My dealer even gives me a new SAAB 9-3 to drive while it is in the shop.

The 2003 SAAB 9-3..a bad year?

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