Saabs - Love them or Hate them? What are they like to own?

ahillsy

thescouselander wrote: »

I had a skoda Octavia as a hire car provided to me through work - I thought it was pretty poor to be honest. I thought the interior was of poor quality and it rattled a lot. The drive wasn't that great either. As far as I'm aware Skodas are based on the VW/Audi designes 1 or 2 generations ago, it certainly seemed like that to drive anyway.

I'd go for the Saab.

TBH I can't comment on Octavia's across the board as I've only driven 2, both vRS which have both been great so don't know what the non-vRS models are like to drive - I wouldn't imagine them to drive as well. Interior's have been good quality too from what I've seen, but that's just me comparing to my current car (Ibiza FR) which really is basic and not that great inside!

The Mk2 Octavia is actually based on the same platform that includes the Seat Leon Mk2, Audi A3 Mk2, VW Golf MK5...so it's not really generations behind. It's also undergone a facelift this year - interior and exterior, including new engine (vRS is now a newer TSI as opposed to previous TFSI).

I do like some Saabs, I often see think they look smart. But for me, smart money is with the Octavia vRS. At the end of the day, there will always be people who've had bad experiences with any cars, so take the general consensus into account, but go with a car that you actually would enjoy owning/driving.

kazmeister

Just to add to my earlier post, I'd forgotten how hard they are to break into!

Our old M reg accidently had the keys locked inside by our then 4 year old when visiting relatives. The local garage, the AA, several policemen and a locksmith couldnt get in it. The 1/2 a tennisball trick didnt work either so it was borrow relly's car do a 150 mile round trip to get the spare keys and go back the next day :eek:. Luckily we havent had to try out this one.

wuckfit

kazmeister wrote: »

Just to add to my earlier post, I'd forgotten how hard they are to break into!

Our old M reg accidently had the keys locked inside by our then 4 year old when visiting relatives. The local garage, the AA, several policemen and a locksmith couldnt get in it. The 1/2 a tennisball trick didnt work either so it was borrow relly's car do a 150 mile round trip to get the spare keys and go back the next day :eek:. Luckily we havent had to try out this one.

Not really if someone's determined enough.. it took (I'm guessing because I didn't see it, obviously) a couple of goes with a half-brick on the windows of mine when some ne'erdowell broke into mine. A couple of goes cos the brick bounced the first time onto the wing leaving a gash...
That said, if you've locked your keys in by accident you're not going to throw half a rockery at your windows to get in..

What I will say about the Saab I had, in addtion to my previous comments is that the Stereo system was mediocre - the higher spec Saabs have better speaker systems.

The AirCon was great, the Cruise Control was great, and the Speed Warning system is excellent, means that if you set it right it warns you if you go over a pre-set speed. On the Saloon, Rear Parking sensors are imperative due to the angle of the rear window and lack of visibility of the boot - there's no way to judge how much space you've got without them.

For me the Saloon became impractical, and the Sportwagon came out a couple of months after we took delivery of saloon.
I do miss my 9-3 but it was becoming expensive to run at four years old.

C_Mababejive

Gerrard_8_lfc wrote: »

VW GT TDI golf the car I couldnt have because im young and insurance said no).

Super car very solid and super fast ?

Plus 50 mpg

Great car...(until the blower fails...like other TDIs)

Eric_Pisch

there used to be alot of kudos around saab when it was its own company, very cool cars

now there just reskinned vauxhaul dross and as noted GM cant give the company away.

DKLS

Eric_Pisch wrote: »

there used to be alot of kudos around saab when it was its own company, very cool cars

now there just reskinned vauxhaul dross and as noted GM cant give the company away.

The old shape 900s were the car of choice for university lecturers, there used to be a load of them all non turbos in Leeds Uni carpark, usually with beige interiors.

Although the cool lecturers doing cool subjects would have the T16s, which is where I bought mine from.

Paradigm

I've had a 2001 9-5 Aero for around 18 months & in that time I've pushed the mileage from 85(ish) k to 112k.

For most of that time it's been chipped to 290bhp & I can honestly say it's never (hardly, see below) had a problem.

It's also the comfiest car I've ever driven, handles well for a big car & goes like stink when you want it to

The downsides... switchgear isn't up to BMW/Merc/Audi standards & feels a bit flimsy. Push it hard & it chomps front tyres, mpg can drop to late teens & there's nowhere near enough storage space in the front (maybe better in later models?)

As for Saab dealers, I took mine to one shortly after I bought it to diagnose a misfire/sluggish power delivery.
Expecting a large bill I was very surprised when they phoned me to say that the problem was down to the DI cartridge which should have been replaced under warranty & as it hadn't they would do it FOC! It's never missed a beat since

stumpjumper

Paradigm wrote: »

I've had a 2001 9-5 Aero for around 18 months & in that time I've pushed the mileage from 85(ish) k to 112k.

For most of that time it's been chipped to 290bhp

The downsides... it chomps front tyres, mpg can drop to late teens

no idea why that is...





:rotfl:

mrcow

Just to update the thread.

We've bought a car.

I listened carefully to everyone on this thread. The general consensus seems to be that Saab were once good, but they possibly aren't what they used to be? (Or did I get that wrong?!)

So I put my MSE foot down. We've bought a Saab. It's a 1996 900 convertible and it cost less than £800. Atm it seems to be working just fine - no niggles or worries so far. If it lasts 6 months, then we're way ahead of the game as far as money is concerned.

I think we'd got a little carried away with the idea that you need something newer for a company car, when in reality, we'd prefer something less risky.

So I'm happy as we've got something cheap :money:
B/f s happy as he's got the car he always wanted (arbeit 10 years later than he would have preferred).

And I think I took on board the advice given on here! (or is that debatable?!)

So a big thank you to everyone who contributed on this thread. Especaily Tia Maria - who first planted the idea of getting an older car - thinking outside the box a little.

harveybobbles

That age of Saab is ok.

run it for 18 months and sell it next summer and get your money back and then some!