BMW 3 Series or Saab 9-3

newbury2003

We are looking at a new car and have found 2 potentials that we are considering:

1) BMW 3 series 320i - 2005 - 20000 miles
2) Saab 9-3 - 2008 - 30000 miles

both are the same price (5750) and its the low mile that is making them attractive. ....but I am concerned about the age, esp the BMW

Any thoughts would be appreciated to help solve this conundrum

Car_54

The age wouldn't bother me, but the low mileage might.

The BMW is renowned for its build quality. The Saab is renowned for being a tarted-up Vauxhall Vectra.

Iceweasel

A 2005 BMW 3 series? Is it the last of the E46s or the first of the E90s?

If it's an E46 it's very overpriced - if it's an E90 it's still overpriced although less so.

Probably to catch those who are impressed with the low mileage - averaging 2000 a year which is not necessarily a good thing.

Check the service history - how many services/oil changes?

The BMW should have been serviced at least 5 times in it's 10 years.

I'll let others comment on the Saab.

walwyn1978

Saab no longer exist - so that's an issue with parts, service costs, etc. As already mentioned, wasn't the 9-3 less Vauxhall and more their own inhouse work? So unless you've got a fairly local guy who is a Saab expert you could be looking at sending it away to get repaired for big stuff.
They're both past normal 7/8 year life expectancy for cars now. On the whole, regardless of price and mileage I'd lean towards the BMW because of the wider availability of parts and thus easier fix potential when things go wrong, as they will on cars of that age.

Paradigm

Saab parts are still made as Saab parts AB were never bankrupt, they are now owned by Orio AB using the original tooling. Service centres are spread around the country http://www.saabparts.com/en-gb/uk/about-us/saab-original/


As for them being re-hashed Vectras... a little more knowledge needed methinks!

newbury2003

thanks for the helpful post so far....i'm starting to go off the ideas of a Saab now :-)

If it helps, the BMW has had 1 owner and been regularly serviced (going by the book). Only selling at due to his age/medical probs and not able to drive

Another local option we disovered was a 2008 Mazda 6 2.0L TS, 49000 mileage, but the price is only 4695!

forgotmyname

£6k for a 11 year old BMW and an 8 year old SAAB?

I would have to wonder why they had done such a small mileage. And as mentioned even though they have done a low mileage have they been serviced yearly?

2010 money for the SAAB.

bigjl

Car_54 wrote: »

The age wouldn't bother me, but the low mileage might.

The BMW is renowned for its build quality. The Saab is renowned for being a tarted-up Vauxhall Vectra.

The Saab is renowned for having an awful lot less Vectra than the uniformed think.

Underpinnings are similar but everything you sit on and touch inside are worlds apart from a Vectra.

Obviously you would be advised to sort out the bulkhead problem soon after purchase.

I would have the Saab over the BMW, a 2005 320i is not worth nearly £6k, the miles and service history is great but it I an' a classic car so such things don't sway me an awful lot.

Saabs will have a cult following eventually. And there are not huge problems with parts at the moment.

bigjl

Just had a thought.

My Berlingo (2007/07, one family owned from new) has just turned 38k, bought in November with under 27k.

It cost £1000 then and is probably worth around the same now. The low mileage is handy but I wouldn't have paid more because of it.

straighttalker

I've just put a deposit down on this lovely BMW and managed to knock the garage down to £5650. Id go for the BMW.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201603111866805

mr_accountant

get the vehicle reg of both cars and go to the MOT history website and check they tally with the said mileage, i think the mileage history only came in 2011 but still it will show the recent mileage.
https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

one is 11 years old and one is 8 years old, IE banger territory, IMO paying that sort of money is crazy for 1) a BMW not exactly know for reliability and 2) for a SAAB which no longer exists, or if it does in some sort of 3rd party form.