Anyone like and/or miss Saab? (insurance, vehicle, windshield, motorcycles)

[Freshflakes757]

I just got a 2003 9-3 arc with 93K for $6,300 at a dealership. This car is great! It's awesome in the snow, gets great gas MPG at high speeds and the turbo rocks. Anybody else miss these fine machines?

[SpeedyAZ]

I've always wondered who the Hell bought these cars in the first place. I mean honestly...who thinks to themselves "Boy, I've always wanted to own one of those Saab's!" ?

I've always found them ugly, boring, and overpriced. For the money, there were so many better alternatives on the market and the dealership network for Saab wasn't ever very extensive. I can honestly say I've never known a single person who has EVER owned a Saab automobile and I have friends that drive everything from Toyota's to Ferrari's.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by Freshflakes757

I just got a 2003 9-3 arc with 93K for $6,300 at a dealership. This car is great! It's awesome in the snow, gets great gas MPG at high speeds and the turbo rocks. Anybody else miss these fine machines?

Just wait for a few months and many $$$ to pass.

I never had a more comfortable and fun car, but all of mine were so confoundingly problematic. I swore them off years ago.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I've always wondered who the Hell bought these cars in the first place. I mean honestly...who thinks to themselves "Boy, I've always wanted to own one of those Saab's!" ?

I've always found them ugly, boring, and overpriced. For the money, there were so many better alternatives on the market and the dealership network for Saab wasn't ever very extensive. I can honestly say I've never known a single person who has EVER owned a Saab automobile and I have friends that drive everything from Toyota's to Ferrari's.

Not surprisingly Speedy we disagree on taste.

Saabs were nice-driving unique vehicles for those who wanted something that drove and handled very well but didn't want a snob-mobile or a fire-breathing American boat. It was a niche market from the start, and not for everyone.

[Me007gold]

yes


The only issue you are going to have is with parts. I work for an insurance company, and we just totaled a 'brand new' 9-3 for a windshield, no one makes them. Could not find one any where, not new, not use'd. The parts just arnt there

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

In the early 90s, besides the Saab 900, there weren't a lot of cars that could more comfortably and nimbly get 30 MPGs while hauling an entire apartment's worth of stuff. The driving position was superb and great for late-night driving (the button that dropped and dimmed all guages other than the speedometer was a nifty if not entirely vital Saab feature).

Additonally the rear seat folded completely flat with just over 6' of legroom. Plenty of room for two back there ;-D

[jtur88]

I really miss the Saab 95, front-wheel drive with the 2-stroke engine, in the early 1960s. They were extremely popular in Maine, where for several years they outsold Volkswagens. (Similar to and contemporaneous with the DKW, the predecessor of Audi.) I never had one of those Saabs, but people loved them and I always wanted one.

http://img.favcars.com/saab/95/saab_...photos_1_b.jpg

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by Me007gold

The only issue you are going to have is with parts. I work for an insurance company, and we just totaled a 'brand new' 9-3 for a windshield, no one makes them. Could not find one any where, not new, not use'd. The parts just arnt there

BS.

Parts are still readily available in the secondary market for these cars. I call on a couple of shops that specialize in this marque and they have a steady clientele of cars they're keeping on the road with OE parts from a couple of major national import car parts distributors that have warehouses throughout the USA.

As well, just for grins ... I called my local Safelite shop. They have a new front windshield, OE spec, on the shelf at $254, installed internet price, including the new reveal trim molding that is replaced along with the glass. I could have had it installed yet this afternoon if I'd have taken the car into their shop.

There are other reasons to not want to drive a Saab ... and a number of niggling failure areas that I don't think had them very competitive with their marketplace in the last few years they were built. In the 1980's, they were probably a bit more uniquely competitive at their price point, but the later years were a tough sell against the marketplace.

Just noticed jturr88 above ... the 2-stroke engine was a piece of work compared to 4-stroke engines; ie, they were inherently lower fuel economy than their competition. That's why Saab had their free-wheeling feature on the transmission, which I found not very nice to drive due to the lack of engine braking, especially in traffic. The popularity I saw with this series, which was only available for a little more than a year in the USA was with the tuners for ice racing and rallying ... you could put exhaust extractor systems on these and cut out the ports a bit to make them deliver some incredible power, like the peaky power you'd get out of the 2-stroke motorcycles of the era. We took that to a point of building up a johnson V-4 outboard motor for 1/4 midget racing and it would blow the doors off of offy engines ...

[8635angelvalley]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I've always wondered who the Hell bought these cars in the first place. I mean honestly...who thinks to themselves "Boy, I've always wanted to own one of those Saab's!" ?

I've always found them ugly, boring, and overpriced. For the money, there were so many better alternatives on the market and the dealership network for Saab wasn't ever very extensive. I can honestly say I've never known a single person who has EVER owned a Saab automobile and I have friends that drive everything from Toyota's to Ferrari's.

Isn't that funny? Probably 10 of my friends have had Saabs in the past.

[Me007gold]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

BS.

Parts are still readily available in the secondary market for these cars. I call on a couple of shops that specialize in this marque and they have a steady clientele of cars they're keeping on the road with OE parts from a couple of major national import car parts distributors that have warehouses throughout the USA.

As well, just for grins ... I called my local Safelite shop. They have a new front windshield, OE spec, on the shelf at $254, installed internet price, including the new reveal trim molding that is replaced along with the glass. I could have had it installed yet this afternoon if I'd have taken the car into their shop.

Maybe it was the 9-5 then. I don't handle total losses, all I do it take reports and handle single vehicle non inj claims. A quick google search brought up this

9-5 Windshield Availability and Heads-Up Display Question - SaabCentral Forums

" The HUD windshield has a square section of glass that looks as if it tinted or something in order to project the HUD image.

All NG 9-5 windshields are very scarce. I recommend you join the International NG 9-5 group on Facebook. There's a long discussion about windshields, or lack there of."