2000 SAAB 9-3 from North America

Faults:

Blown engine.

Blown turbo charger.

General Comments:

I purchased a SAAB 2000 9.3 Convertible, drove it mainly on the weekends, the car has 66K on it. While on the highway, it lost power and died. Took it to the mechanic, only to find out that the engine was blown and the turbo shot. He’s now trying to find an engine for me.

I called SAAB wanting to why an engine would blow up at 66K, and to my dismay, no help. This is my second SAAB. The first was a 900 Turbo - great car, ran like a bear!!!

After checking the Internet I’m finding that I’m not the only one with this problem. I’m fed up with the runaround that the SAAB dealers and corporate have given me, and ready to file suit, so if anyone wants to do a class action suit, I’m all for it.

This is crazy… I don’t understand why SAAB doesn’t just cop to the problem and fix it, as people like myself (just an average Joe) can’t afford to purchase the car then with a few months or miles dump another 5K,6K or, 9K into it due to a design problem.

LET’S SUIT!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th August, 2006

15th Nov 2007, 19:45

Thanks for sharing your experience with Saab Inc. I thought I was interested in the 9.3 until I read your review Thanks.

23rd Dec 2008, 04:30

I love my Saab 9 3,2000 convertible.

It has over 147000 miles and the engine still sounds good.

But, I do understand your feelings. I am so sorry..

I must repair my car too, and it is not cheap to repair, so every time when my car was in trouble, I used to get fear attack.

LA has many shops for Saab, but Saab is not such a cheap car when it comes to repairs, but I think it is worth it, especially if you can drive over 150.000-200.000 miles easily.

And the model-design is really not bad as the car gets old. So, your choice to decide... after reading all of review here, I think I am going to keep my car little bit longer and trying to repair them for now, because I feel like it is worth it!!! It is really matter of finding an honest, good mechanic.

2000 SAAB 9-3 2.0 turbo from North America

Summary:

Good car, if you don't mind paying for Saab ownership

Faults:

Turbocharger (Garrett) @ 69,000 miles, replaced with Mitsubishi turbo from a Saab 9-5.

Head gasket.

Some sensor or valve (can't remember which one)

General Comments:

Thought I was just sorting out a used car, but I understand that all or most Saabs have the same problems mine has had. DIC and head gasket were replaced by previous owner. Local independent Saab shop did both jobs and actually repaired my head gasket leak for free even though the original repair had been done for the previous owner.

On the good side, the car handles surprisingly well and is fast as stink. On the street I've beaten late-model Mach 1 Mustangs, and I've put the car on a road course track (with a set of sticky Kuhmo's) to test the handling. It has the usual understeer you'd expect for a comfy FWD sedan. Some chassis stiffening is in order, as are bigger brakes.

Mine is a base model, with cloth seats and manual heat/AC. Still a very nice and comfy car. Ergonomics are great. I'll admit that I'm an aggressive driver and have put a lot of miles on it, but that's what I bought it for.

If anything else breaks though, I'm trading it for a '95-'97 XJ6.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 22nd July, 2006

27th Aug 2008, 20:12

Is your 9-3 an SE, because the SEs have a metal head gasket, that shouldn't need replacing, but some Saab's came from the factory with loose cylinder head bolts causing leaks. I found this out from a Saab master mechanic. So I ended up re-torquing the bolts on my SE and the problem went away.