Faults:

Clutch drive. Went twice, but not much else.

General Comments:

The 99 looks nice. No way these rust, they are made of real steel!

Heavy to drive; steering and clutch are weighty items. A 4 speed manual; perhaps an auto would be nicer? The heavy theme is extended to the instrumentation. No flimsy switchgear here. The interior is really well thought out, with such neat touches as the ignition key placement.

Mine had the much-maligned Triumph fuel injected engine, but it gave me no problems.

In Australia, parts for Saabs and therefore repairs are expensive.

Faults:

This remains the worst car I have ever owned.

- Clutch master & slave cylinder twice (18000 & 62000).

- Front brake pads 6500, 13500, 20,000. Finally found a harder compound, which made it all the way to 35000. Brake master cylinder twice.

- Engine mounts broke, entire drive train would move back and forth even before & after repair.

- Entire exhaust system 3 times. Exhaust manifold fell off the engine.

- Fuel injectors leaked. Windows fell off lifts, crank handle broke. Seat heater failed.

- Primary shaft to transmission and gear both failed at 41000. Waited 2 months for parts from Sweden.

- 2nd gear synchro 42000, had to shift 1-3 most of the time.

-Tach stopped at 23000, windshield wiper motor twice, other electrical problems.

General Comments:

This car was fun for a few minutes a month, then reality would slap me in the face. It only made it to 62K miles before it was finished. The only thing that worked decently was the Triumph engine.

SAAB made planes. I said I would never fly in one because of all the problems I had with this horrible car. I did fly on a SAAB/Fairchild turboprop years later and survived.

Faults:

The slave cylinder would go about every 25,000 miles. It was an easy fix that my dealer showed me how to do. No matter where I was, I could tell the mechanic how to change it even if he wasn't familiar with the vehicle.

General Comments:

Never had anything so reliable or comfortable to drive. Could (and did) drive it all day and never get tired.

Handling and safety were top notch. The cabin was roomy and the trunk space was awesome.

Faults:

Previous owner replaced drive/spline shaft at 45-50k, suggested that I do the same before too long. Well, indeed. I limped home stuck in 2nd gear at 94k.

General Comments:

Engine/ drive train were not quick from dead stop, but what do you want for ~110hp and ~3400 lbs? (Hmmm. See above, and note that I was age 22, previous owner female and 55!) However, from 30 mph to 80 mph, this same little box would out-perform others handily.

And handling/road stability? Wow. The V-8 sleds with no sense of direction would be quite frustrated as I slipped away from them on back roads. Yes this was a fun car.

Way ahead of it's time with cab-forward design. And what ever happened to understated sophistication in cars? Simply everything was at-hand, with no silly schlock. What a joy.

Oh, and room for 4 with 25+ miles per gallon. 30 at times, back in 1977. Hello, Detroit, anyone listening???