Faults:
I've had a lot of the same problems most have had; steering wheel shaking between 65 and 70 miles per hour, head light bulbs, tail light bulbs, the passenger window fell off the track, but I love it, and if all that breaks on me is the little stuff, then so be it.
I also have a problem with the throttle body. The car likes to "start hard" when the engine is warm. However, we found a solution to the problem; clean the throttle body about once a month and the car will run perfect. It surely beats buying an $800.00 throttle body. It doesn't take long and it's well worth it. If you don't know how to do this, there are tutorial videos on "You Tube" that'll show you how to do just about anything. *Caution* - there is a specific throttle body cleaner that you have to use on turbo cars. Valvoline makes a good one. Be sure you read the back of the can. Many will say right on them that they are not safe to use with turbo vehicles.
Also, we have to use the highest grade gas available at the gas station, or the car won't run the greatest. It idles funny. We also use "Lucas" or "Seafoam" in the gas about every third or fourth time we fill up. As long as we do this, the car runs awesome.
So, as long as you do the regular maintenance on this car it'll treat you well. It just acts like a spoiled brat. It's not like a lot of cars, which you can drive with a few things wrong (I also have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with 300,000 miles on it, and a million things wrong with it; i.e., anti-lock brakes are constantly working even when not necessary, we never change the oil, transmission fluid, or take care of it the way we should, but the engine runs like a top).
In conclusion, I love my SAAB. We are going to buy another, even though it likes to nickel and dime us, but it's worth every penny.
Also be sure to read the owners manual front to back. You will find a lot of information about the care of your SAAB that isn't necessary on a lot of other vehicles.
You will also find many interesting options the vehicle has that you may not even know exist. We did, but we have a 1999 9-5 Griffin, so yours may be a little different.
General Comments:
Most of the problems my boyfriend can fix in two minutes on a couple of dollars. I love it too much to care about its little quirks.
Every time I walk out and see it in my driveway, I think "man what a beautiful car".
It handles nice around curves.
It's an extremely comfortable ride (the seats are anyways).
The manufacturers have thought of every possible safety precaution they could. I'm comfortable knowing my family is pretty safe in it.
It's loaded with options. So many in fact, it took me about two months and reading the owners manual to figure them all out.
I love my precious SAAB.
15th Feb 2012, 23:51
My 1999 95 SE wagon has 130km with full Saab history.
I have had 5 Lexus's, and thought cars just worked and are nowadays reliable! Although I was wrong, driving cars like Lexus gives you a false sense of reliability. None of my cars ever had a problem even after 400,000km. Obviously I had to spend money on maintenance, in fact a lot of money on maintenance including a recent service of $3500. However, it never broke down.
I have had my Saab for 1 day, and it has broken down 3 times, and the water pump broke along with the air-con compressor, and as a result overheated. There is also a problem with a sensor now. This all happened within 24 hours of owning it, and it was serviced before I purchased.
Why I ever strayed from Lexus is beyond me. The only thing I can say about a Lexus is it is totally boring, maybe because it always goes and never stops!! The Lexus's I had were GS300, LX470, 2 LS400's and a LS430.