Autocar - First for car news and reviews

My girlfriend is looking at buying a Saab 9-3 aero 2.0T convertible and i am wondering if anyone has any experiences of this car.  I have looked about a fair bit on the internet and there seem to be a mixed bag of reviews from owners.  Many complaints about reliability are the real worry for me.  We have been to a few garages and tested some cars so I am aware of the build quality and interior plastics (which I dont think are as bad quality as some reviewers would state).  

She's looking for a 4 seater convertible and this one seems like value for money.  She also looked at a 3 series but the price for a new model is prohibitive.

Just looking for any comments really, positive or negative about the car. 

You have hit upon a modern age problem, reading personal reviews of a vehicle on the internet.  Unfortunately, people seem to only want to write complaints and negative views on the internet.  It is less common that people write good or just average reviews about a car.

The Saab 9-3 is pretty much like any other mass produced car out there.  There may be problems, but on the whole they are pretty sound.  Personally I have heard of more issues with 3 series convertibles than I have with the Saab. 

The car itself isn't really a drivers car, so if that's what you want then I would suggest looking else where.  What it is, however, is different from the main stream and that in the UK purveys an image -  A sort of thinking mans / womans car.  

The rest of it is pretty standard used car stuff.  Do your home work and check the history.

Alternatively have you considered an A4 drop top or a Merc CLK?  I am not a particular fan of either, and like the 3 series have heard of more reliability issues than the Saab, but these may be a option that will float your boat. 

Best of luck.

TegTypeR:

You have hit upon a modern age problem, reading personal reviews of a vehicle on the internet.  Unfortunately, people seem to only want to write complaints and negative views on the internet.  It is less common that people write good or just average reviews about a car.

The Saab 9-3 is pretty much like any other mass produced car out there.  There may be problems, but on the whole they are pretty sound.  Personally I have heard of more issues with 3 series convertibles than I have with the Saab. 

The car itself isn't really a drivers car, so if that's what you want then I would suggest looking else where.  What it is, however, is different from the main stream and that in the UK purveys an image -  A sort of thinking mans / womans car.  

The rest of it is pretty standard used car stuff.  Do your home work and check the history.

Alternatively have you considered an A4 drop top or a Merc CLK?  I am not a particular fan of either, and like the 3 series have heard of more reliability issues than the Saab, but these may be a option that will float your boat. 

Best of luck.

 

Good point TegTypeR.  People never generally report on good things!  Although a lot of the magazine reviews are very average also.  

Shes not too bothered about it being a drivers car, I think she just wants a decent sized 4 seater convertible with enough boot space to put all her school books etc (I must add shes a teacher not a pupil!!).  Also a reasonably pull on the motorway.

The A4 was also on the list, but ofcourse you dont get the same level of spec and age for the same money as you do with Saab.  I have to admit I think she is also quite taken with the look of the Aero too.  

Ofcourse, I am trying to be the impartial adviser and guide her in the right direction!  I was just concerned about the amount of bad reviews previously mentioned.   

Ignore this shi te - go to carsurvey.org and have a read.

It's better than the armchair reviewer crud you'll get here.
 

nom de plum:

Ignore this shi te - go to carsurvey.org and have a read.

It's better than the armchair reviewer crud you'll get here.

Against my better judgement I decided to have a look at the web site you suggested.

Well well, what a load of cr ap.  Some pan global diatribe from people that haven't got a clue about cars.  Thats going to be really helpful when buying a car.

I also would have a little more respect if it was a solely british web site.  People in different countries have different views on cars.

These guys that have given their comments at least have looked at it from a british perspective.

ecokarter:

nom de plum:

Ignore this shi te - go to carsurvey.org and have a read.

It's better than the armchair reviewer crud you'll get here.

Against my better judgement I decided to have a look at the web site you suggested.

Well well, what a load of cr ap.  Some pan global diatribe from people that haven't got a clue about cars.  Thats going to be really helpful when buying a car.

I also would have a little more respect if it was a solely british web site.  People in different countries have different views on cars.

These guys that have given their comments at least have looked at it from a british perspective.

 

You can read? I'm astonished. 

ecokarter:

nom de plum:

Ignore this shi te - go to carsurvey.org and have a read.

It's better than the armchair reviewer crud you'll get here.

Against my better judgement I decided to have a look at the web site you suggested.

Well well, what a load of cr ap.  Some pan global diatribe from people that haven't got a clue about cars.  Thats going to be really helpful when buying a car.

I also would have a little more respect if it was a solely british web site.  People in different countries have different views on cars.

These guys that have given their comments at least have looked at it from a british perspective.

Ignore this trainspotter - listen to me - don't trust anyone who hangs out at the end of a railway platform with a cheese sandwich. He is like TOTALLY obsessed with me and wants my schlong.

I'm always right though even when I'm wrong. Don't forget it.

He's just a nutter with his 'British sites for British car's' xenophopbic nonsense. I don't feel well, I'm going to lie down.

MOTHER - I WANT MILK.

FRESH MILK. 

 

ecokarter:

Against my better judgement I decided to have a look at the web site you suggested.

Well well, what a load of cr ap.  Some pan global diatribe from people that haven't got a clue about cars.  Thats going to be really helpful when buying a car.

I also would have a little more respect if it was a solely british web site.  People in different countries have different views on cars.

These guys that have given their comments at least have looked at it from a british perspective.

I disagree. This is a very good site. There is no substitute for real life owners' experiences of owning a car. I like to read what the journos say but a lot of the time they don't get to run a car for enough time to make a proper judgement and, of course, they purely run brand new motors that are fettled by the manufacturer. Like a lot of people in this forum, this is why I like James Ruppert's musings so much and also I enjoy the reports on the cars that they run for an extended period of time. I was really surprised that the car survey site has so many contributors. Really useful.

nom de plum:

MOTHER - I WANT MILK.

FRESH MILK. 

Bitty ?

Readster - forget these losers - you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink. 

:-) 

The last SAAB I drove the radio nob came off in my hand.

They said I agitated it too hard.

"No the RADIO nob, not my nob!" I angrily explained further explaining that the SAAB wasn't that good.

The roof leaked too. Disappointing all round, I thought.

Ho hum.