Motorpoint used to sell oodles, none for the last 12/18 mths then suddenly 80!
Did not strike me as reallly cheap as they have approx 20K miles and the SAAB Company has gone down for good.............
Who would buy a SAAB (Considering their unreliability and being BUST) unless they were really, really cheap nad £12K to £15K is not cheap.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 12 Sep 12 at 00:51
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Presumably people who don't get out or hear or read any news.
Or those whose Rover 75s are now life expired.
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Probably a few die hard fans who will jump at the chance of getting one of the newest they can find, and its a bit different from a mondeo / insignia / 3 series / a4
Were they unreliable? I always thought they were OK
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Assembled by a workforce who would have known their days were numbered. No thanks.
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Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra.
EDIT: I notice Motorpoint list the cars' insurance group. The insurers will know the current parts supply situation, would the IG be revised upwards in years to come if the bits get harder to come by?
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Wed 18 Jul 12 at 22:19
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"Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra."
Nuff said :-(
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>> "Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra."
The 9-3, the subject of this post, is not related to the Vectra.
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The 9-3 was heavily based on the platform used by the Vectra C (and Signum). And shared engines etc. What 9-3 are we discussing here then?
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>> Were they unreliable? I always thought they were OK
Patchy, as most cars. Mine has been totally reliable despite covering 110k in 5 years. Remember you only hear about the bad experiences, not the good ones.
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Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra.
The oily bits are the least of the problem. SAAB took standard GM electronics and re-engineered them so they were NOT the same . So GM diagnostics do not work.
Anyone want to debug a modern diesel without any manufacturer backup when there is an electronic fault? And no spares being made...
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So all those with second hand cars doomed too then I guess? I don't think so. The electronic equipment needed is available to non-franchised dealers. This sort of access is a reason why BMW's with keyless entry are being stolen so easily - discussion in another thread.
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I've heard of one nearly new saab being off the road due to an ECU fault which nobody has been able to fix. Hopefully they'll find a way to get it moving again.
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>> Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra.
>>
>> The oily bits are the least of the problem. SAAB took standard GM electronics and
>> re-engineered them so they were NOT the same . So GM diagnostics do not work.
Where did you get this from madf? Not 100% sure about the official GM Tech II, but with after-market systems like Opcom (which provides 99% of the functionality of Tech II, including full programming of new modules) people online who have one (either legit or not) have claimed that by selecting "Vectra-C" as the model (without autodetecting) you can program the car and perform diagnostics as normal. I guess any Saab specific features might not work, but I can't think of anything on the 9-3 that you can't get on the Vectra apart from the passive rear steering, which is not programmable.
Not tried this on a 9-3 myself, but no reason to see why it wouldn't work when people are saying it does.
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Just looked at the Motorpoint site - it'd nigh on 2 months when they shipped in 80+ 9-3s and they have just over 40 left - selling about 5 SAABs per week that is roughly 1 x SAAB per week per outlet - hardly flying out the doors but faster than many might have expected ............ another 2 months stock at the going rate.
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I agree with your original post that they seem far too expensive. The pricing looks "full" by any standards, and bearing in mind the risk in buying one with what's happened to SAAB they ought to be several £K cheaper.
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>> >> Most of the oily bits are the same as a Vectra.
>> >>
>> >> The oily bits are the least of the problem. SAAB took standard GM electronics
>> and
>> >> re-engineered them so they were NOT the same . So GM diagnostics do not
>> work.
>>
>> Where did you get this from madf? Not 100% sure about the official GM Tech
>> II, but with after-market systems like Opcom (which provides 99% of the functionality of Tech
>> II, including full programming of new modules) people online who have one (either legit or
>> not) have claimed that by selecting "Vectra-C" as the model (without autodetecting) you can program
>> the car and perform diagnostics as normal. I guess any Saab specific features might not
>> work, but I can't think of anything on the 9-3 that you can't get on
>> the Vectra apart from the passive rear steering, which is not programmable.
>>
>> Not tried this on a 9-3 myself, but no reason to see why it wouldn't
>> work when people are saying it does.
>>
Car Mechanics did a series of articles on SAABs.
Put me off them totally.
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>> Car Mechanics did a series of articles on SAABs.
>> Put me off them totally.
>>
I can only speak as I find, but having been driving them for 30+ years, I can only say that my experiences have, in the main, been good. I'm not sure what Car Mechanics said to frighten you off!
My current (and alas, probably last), Saab is a 9-5 Aero auto estate, 2004MY, and with 182,000 on the clock. Apart from a dead battery, it has never let me down. It goes like stink, as it should with 265bhp and 420Nm (chipped at 80,000), cruises as easily at 100mph (on the autobahn) as at 70mph in the UK. It's comfortable, roomy, and versatile. It has cooled and heated leather seats, and literally everything still works as was intended when it left the factory. The turbo and all mechanical components, apart from obvious consumables, are original. Trouble is, it's worth peanuts (webuyanycar offered me £446.01) and impossible to replace with a car of similar spec & performance at a sensible price.
If you look hard enough you'll probably find Fiat and Citroen owners with similar experiences - remember, you only hear about the bad ones!
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I wish you hadn't told me that Mike, I was dithering about buying a 9-5 Aero for years, but kept chickening out, now I realise I missed out on a good thing!
And there was me thinking I might hold on to this Mondeo..
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>> I wish you hadn't told me that Mike, I was dithering about buying a 9-5
>> Aero for years, but kept chickening out, now I realise I missed out on a
>> good thing!
Absolutely! But now is the time to go for it while there are still some good late examples around. And make sure you get an auto, much nicer to drive ;-)
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Trouble is, it's worth peanuts (webuyanycar offered me £446.01)
I'll offer you £450. Can't say any fairer than that :)
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Just be wary of the soft-top versions. Not that there is any particular problem with them, but parts availability is a major issue. There are micro-switches that you simply can't get any more.
So if its a soft-top and not working perfectly, bear in mind you may be buying a badly insulated non-convertible.
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>> I'll offer you £450. Can't say any fairer than that :)
>>
You're too kind. Sadly I must decline as, living in Austria, I only deal in Euros.
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SAAB 9-3 - Motorpoint - 80+cars 1/or 2 y.o. @ 1/2 list - Mike Hannon
