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!