Approved used car schemes

I wonder what’s in it for a Saab dealer (or any other marque) to find faults in Approved Used cars prior to sale to a customer?

The reason I ask this is that someone will be paying to fix those faults. It isn’t in the dealers’ interest to do this surely; they either pay for their staff’s time out of their own pocket, or they claim it back from the manufacturer. I’d be fairly confident that the manufacturer would give each dealer a specific target each year (and perhaps a bonus) if they claim less than, say £100, on fixes per vehicle prior to sale. A dealer is not going to thank a member of its staff for finding faults wither – it’s just eating into profits.

What interest is there for a dealer to rectify faults I wonder? I’m no mechanic, but I’ve found so many blindingly obvious faults that I can’t help but think that no check was made to my vehicle.

I’m pretty sure that dealers wait for customers to identify faults themselves. It’d be very interesting to hear what other people think about this!

A letter to Saab

Overall my car is good. The suspension still rattles though. This should have been identified prior to sale, and I’ve now spent 2 days at the originating dealer in the hope that they can diagnose and fix the problem. We’re not talking rattles over bumps, but a continual chattering over what would appear to be smooth roads – the sort that exist on all roads. This is especially evident at low speeds. At motorway speeds there appears to be no sound made at all.

Earlier this week the engine also seemed to repeatedly surge and shudder at about 1500 rpm. No idea what this is about. I’ll keep an eye on it.

I’ve just written to Saab Uk explaining my situation. Hopefully they’ll reply soon

The last straw – 3rd January 2009

On my way home the car reported dipped beam failure. The headlamp appears to be working fine though!

On inspection the manual suggests that an incorrect bulb might have been fitted. Saab approved… I’m really beginning to wonder.

I called my local dealer this time to see what’s what. They’ll take a look but a bulb will cost me.

Hang on – I’ve got a 3 year warranty and a special Saab 1 year guarantee. I haven’t broken the bulb. Do Saab really think that a car with illegal lighting is acceptable within the first month of ownership?

I called Saab UK and they might consider a contribution.

We’ll see what they say.

Thinking of buying a Saab? Think very carefully would be my advice.

Garage visit number two – 2nd January 2009

I arrive at the dealers at 9.15 only to be questioned as to whether I’d arranged a courtesy car. After some discussion they agreed to loan me a Vaxhall Corsa. They called my insurer on my behalf and added the loan car to my policy. There was no warning or explanation that they were going to do this – just a request to see my insurance documents and a swift call to my insurer. How odd.

At 4pm they told me that the audio could not be fixed but that the suspenion had been rememdied. The car was so much quieter, but the dealer did say “let’s see how we get on”. Personally I reckon the fault is in a ball joint or a drop link (I’m no mechanic but people have offered this as likely causes for the problem).

Garage visit number one – 22nd December 2008

The 93 visited the dealer on 22nd to get the faults recified. 6 hours waiting at a dealership isn’t much fun, however:

• The suspenion rattle was indeed a known 9-3 fault requiring new top bearings at a date to be decided by the dealer. Parts are required.
• The driver’s window did require lubrication to “see how we go”
• The gear shift did require some adjustment and is far better now
• The technician can hear the high frequency buzzing and will address on the next visit to the dealer

The technican also spotted a slow puncture and remedied this ASAP. I reckon this wasthe reason for a lower than specified tyre pressure on delivery…

The dealer also washed the car – very good of them. This time they didn’t bother waxing the windscreen which I find rather thoughtful of them.

I await a call to arrange the audio and suspension fixes.

Another water in fuel alert

The water in fuel light has come up again.

Saab will be investigating a week on Monday.

If they can’t fix this and the suspension I feel that I’ll have no option but to reject the vehicle.

Double charged

My debit card has stopped working. A quick call to the bank has solved it – the car dealer put the sale through twice. How inconvenient

Water in fuel being reported

I’ve just taken the family out for a meal to a great local place I know. It’s very icy out, but inside the Saab it was warm, the ride excellent, and compliments from eveyone on the sheer quality of the car.

On returning home, however, the car momentarily reported that there’s water in the fuel.

Looks like a trip to Saab is needed….

Can this really be a Saab approved car?

In my previous blog today I mentioned a knocking noise, and also the issue of low tyre pressures and wax on the windscreen that I can only guess that the Saab dealer put on.

I’ve just removed the wax from the windscreen and checked the spare tyre is at the correct pressure. It wasn’t. 52psi instead of 60psi. I doubt that they checked this tyre either.

I did, however, discover some free goodies! Sticky boiled sweets, a broken pen, a broken coathanger, a screwdriver, a padlock, and a number of other objects – see the photograph. How they checked that my toolkit was complete I do not know – perhaps they didn’t bother to check, or perhaps they did but simply didn’t bother removing the junk next to it that shouldn’t have been there.

Perhaps the knocking from the suspension was the padlock rattling around? Who knows!

Junk that came with my "Saab Approved Used" Saab 9-3. A padlock, chewing gum, a broken pen, imperial mints (I think), wine gums, a broken coat hanger, a business card, a Cafe Nero loyalty car, a towing eye, a screwdriver. See what else you can spot!

Saab 93 purchase – Saab Approved Used Car

After many years of driving Citroens I’ve moved to Saab, and bought a second hand 9-3. The buying experience has been reasonably painless, and I hope that the ownership experience will continue to be similar. I’ll note my progress as time goes on…

Briefly:

17 November 2008

Noticed a Saab 9-3 Vector Sport going cheaply at a local non-Saab dealer. Until this point I’d always considered Saab to be hugely expensive. This is where the idea of ownership started.

29 November 2008

Test drove a blue 93 TiD with a cream interior at Cox Saab. Very good to drive, but probably a pain to keep clean.

30 November

Test drove a grey 93 TiD with a drak interior at Quest Saab. Felt quicker than the same car at Cox. I made an offer and negotiated towards a price that I’d be happy with (which was also fair – as supported by www.whatcar.co.uk). We spoke for a while and were £200 apart on what could be agreed on, so I thanked the dealer and we both said we’d think on.

Upon leaving, I took one last look at the Saab. Both front tyres had side wall damage – so much so that I wouldn’t be happy driving it! I also noticed a few dings and deep scratches that perhaps could be worked into the deal. I spoke again to the dealer who said the paint could be touched in with a pen (a propper fix would have required 2 doors and the entire rear to be sprayed. Strangely the dealer said that the tyre damage was within Saab guidelines. I wonder whether they’d say the same if my tyres were in that state during a service?!

Essentially I suggested that if they replaced the tyres and fixed the minor dents and paint I’d buy it – which I did!

6th December 2008

I collected the car. It had new front tyres, the dents had gone, but the paint fix wasn’t great. I can live with that.

Things that I wasn’t so pleased with were:

• The warrantly document was incorrectly completed – the car had done 14631, not 14360 miles as stated on the document. A misreading I think.
• The rear tyres were underinflated. The car states 2.4 bar all round. The new front tyres were spot-on. The rears were 2.05 and 1.75 bar… 14% and 27% underinflated. For a “Saab Approved” car I’m surprised at this.
• There’s a hint of knocking from the suspension on rough surfaces. Other Saabs I’ve driven don’t do this. The car has a 12 month warranty so I may well mention this.
• Buzzing! Continuous buzzing. A high pitched whine from the dashboard, all the time. Regardless of whether the engine is on or off. Regardless of whether the key is in the ignition. It’s massively annoying.
• The radio. It doesn’t appear to support mp3 files. That’s just wierd on such a modern car.
• The service history book is missing.
• The dealer appears to have waxed the windscreen. This resulted in minor terror when the wash-wipe made the world go blurry.

The dealer said he’d call in a week to check that I’m happy. I’m sure that they’ll address these issues. Quest have been excellent so far, and I have no doubt that this will continue to be the case.

The good bits are:

• It drives beautifully.
• I’m getting about 50mpg
• It has ESP
• Leather seats
• Parking assist
• Air conditioning
• 5 star NCAP rating
• It’s Scandinavian and rather cool
• It’s not a usual car. It’s a lot of car for modest money. It’s very good quality.
• The wash-wipe automatically turns the air con to recirculation for 30 seconds so that occupants don’t smell it!

Essentially I’m delighted!