Faults:

I had to replace the following items on my vehicle:

Ignition Coil Pack

Throttle Body

A Gasket

Turbo Kit

Hood Emblem

MAP Sensor

O-Ring

Trunk Latch

Driver's Side Mirror

Driver's Side Seat Trim

Front Headlamps

Tail Lights

General Comments:

In 2 years, I have taken this car into the dealership 8 times for repairs.

During the 2 years that I have had this car, I have only put 23,000 miles on the car.

The interior and the exterior of this car is gorgeous; it just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by its cover.

Faults:

The battery has failed twice, it was not detected by the monitoring equipment until the it failed.

The headlight module failed and had to be replaced.

The alternator had to be replaced at 110,000 km.

The right front turn light housing fell out, although the car has no collision history.

Various instrument lights no longer work.

The LED displays have digits that sometimes cut in and out.

Sometimes when the air conditioning is on, the rear vent is producing heat. The dealer doesn't know why.

General Comments:

This car has all the bells and whistles, including heated and air-conditioned seats.

I only dealer service, because that was how it was maintained prior to my ownership.

I have had some serious repair bills, though I am beginning to suspect at least part of it might not be the car, but the competence of the dealership. They replaced a headlight three times before figuring out it was the module and not the bulb.

This car is hard to service. When the alternator failed (a rebuilt cost $700.00 , new would have been $1400.00 ) I was shown that the engine had to be lowered out of the car for the service people to get at it.

Faults:

Twice the turbo blew.

Front passenger window failed.

Some paint blemishes.

Good note on all SAAB's, their badges peel, I can guarantee always if left outdoors.

General Comments:

The car is deceptively quick, when you drive straight. You're always going 30km/h faster than you think you are.

The interior is sensible and long distances are too easy to accomplish in this car as a driver or passenger.

Faults:

The environmental control vents failed at 58,000 miles causing loss of temperature control. Although it was past the warranty period, SAAB kicked in $1000 toward the repair.

The informational display was replaced at 48,000 miles. It has since failed to the point the display is unreadable (since the 65,000 mile mark), but I'm unwilling to have it replaced again.

Power window switch failed.

Rear brake calipers and rotors were replaced at 98,000 miles after the rear driver side set failed by locking up.

General Comments:

I've been a long time SAAB fan, this was the fifth SAAB we've owned since 1980. In general, they have been long time reliable performers with an occasional, rather expensive, problem.

This car, however, has turned me off to the new line of SAAB's for the foreseeable future. The technological complexities have made the cars unreliable and costly to repair. When problems appear in parts of the car that shouldn't be a problem until they've reached a ripe old age, it becomes too big of a nuisance to enjoy.

From an operational standpoint, it feels like a big powerful luxury car with sport-like responsiveness. Highway driving is comfortable and stable, all while getting better than 30 MPG at standard freeway speeds. Driving fatigue is never an issue. There is some delay in acceleration, but once it gets powered up, it smoothly ramps up in speed. I don't know how many times I've felt like I was going 65 MPH and looked to see I was actually going 85 MPH. In town, the car maneuvers well, but the gas mileage drags the average down a bunch.

If SAAB would offer a 120,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, I'd buy another one, but otherwise, I can't afford the downtime or repairs.