Finally, A SAAB Story That Has a $3K Happy Ending-Sort of!

1977 Saab 99 & 1983 Saab 900

Very nice Saab, the trim level is cheap on this one but i owned Saab 9-3 Aero and they are top notch! Greetings from Sweden ;)

Keep the Saabs coming wizard 😉

Hi Wizard , I have a 1999 9-3 which I’ve owned 6 years + . The 3 engine motor mounts can be moved from underneath by supporting the engine whilst work in progress . The RH side ( passenger side in USA , I’m messaging from uk ) can be accessed by removing wheel then arch protector trim piece , again supporting the engine . You may have to lower it ever so slightly to access the Allen key fixing .

I had a 2007 9-3. I got it when it had 20,000 miles on it. Worst car I've ever owned.

When I was young, i asked a neightbor about the "night-panel"button...
Such a simple solution, to a comfortable nightride. 😃
Only the speedometer was light up, when all things worked as it should. -And it did for many years...

I've bout 6 and still own 2 of latter ones, from 1986 to 2011. Loved the manual, 9000s, love Aeros. Best seats, best overall road handling.
Shame on GM for not keeping it going.

GM destroyed a lot more than just Saab

Half an hour to an hour for a brittle/snapped bolt?!?!? Um, yeah I'm not even a mechanic and I was changing the break pads on my Subaru years ago and the head of the caliper bolt broke off because the bolt was seized up. I used a special drill tap thing to drill out the bolt and had it out in 5-10 minutes tops and a new replacement bolt put in...interesting...was I born to be a mechanic and just don't know it, or is someone padding the numbers?

Three grand is more than the car is worth

There aren't too many saab.Fanatics left that will be interested in purchasing.

These were elegant cars, the first manufacturer to pioneer low pressure turboed engines

Your humor is so horrible it’s hilarious.

Well worth the $3000 to make this Saab 9.3 whole again.

Saab was also an airplane manufacturer. Gm bought the car division

The most amazing thing about that car is that the SID doesn't have a single burned out pixel.

I've been driving a 9000 for 3 years and it never broke down on me, just minor inconveniences that still drive. If you are looking for something in-between of Japanese and European cars, I think these are such cars. Things are very simple in Saab and very reliable, they don't need a lot of time in shop, but the downside is that parts are expensive.

I had a 2002 9-3. Loved it. But here in NY, the rust got to it and I had to junk it. But if I could get my hands on another one as good as that one, Wizard, I would.

I have a 91 the only minor problem😂 parts are impossible to find😂 but I keep it. My wife tells me I’m stupid but love is not logical( speaking about my wife)

I had an 89 900 Turbo and really really loved that car! Unfortunately, the trans let loose and I was broke so it went to scrap. Always wanted a "Viggen" Saab.

Aircraft theme? SAAB is an aircraft manufacturer! How can any mechanic not know that? And the reverse gear lock is for security, not safety. You should rsearch the facts before broadcasting.

For the record:
S: something
A:almost
A:always
B:broken

I bought 2 newer saabs very nice for under $2000. made some personal mistakes and lost them both now the same one super junky start at $4000 THANKS BIDEN!!!

The fact Mrs. Wizard opens the cup holder correctly is a great sight. Thank you!

I miss my old Saabs. Last one I had was a 2008 9-3. Loved that car.

Never say "simple controls" like it's a bad thing.

This is a beautiful Saab, even if he paid $8,000 it's worth fixing everything. I LOVE SAAB CARS! ❤❤❤

I have a 1997 SAAB 9000 AERO, 5-speed manual pretty rare where I live. The car you are reviewing is sadly the later GM based 9-3 cars and whilst SAAB did their best, it's not great particularly
great with firewall cracking on the steering rack mounts – with right hand drive cars.

I've had 2 of them this exact generation my first was automatic my last was manual with a td04 turbo upgraded injectors and downpipe made just over 400 to the wheels she was green with a roof rack, will be buying my third one soon and really going nuts with it

Does your shop have the tech II for this or do you need to take it into Eurotech for anything like that?

makes me feel less bad about needing a $4000 repair on my $1500 og9-3

I have a Saab like that here in Sweden. Yes, Saab started building cars after World War II when the demand for fighter planes fell (naturally). In the beginning you could only get your Saab in "army green"... Saab still builds fighter planes today, but sadly no cars. The fact that there are such large buttons on the dashboard, I have heard, is because the Saab people thought that you should be able to handle the car with winter gloves on! To sum up, I have found it to be a very practical car, which has been relatively cheap to maintain and durable.

So Mrs. Wizard is just going to not mention the location of the ignition key?

NIGHT PANEL!

There is also 2 cup holders in the glove!

Most reliable car I had, it never failed me like audi, merc or even volvo

Something An A-hole Buys... guess I'm an A-hole, I own three!

Add a couple of bucks on the quote for new wiper blades, those things look hideous!

Top out at
135mph

I have a 2007 9-3. So glad I got the model with the GM 2.0T. Much better engine, even with the water pump and the ecm issues.

You might be able to short circuit a parked Saab and start it, but you won't get far since the transmission is locked in reverse..

I don’t agree w/your assessment of the motor mounts being difficult to replace. The one in lower front drivers side can be done in 5 minutes. 2 bolts zipped out put new in. The only one that’s difficult is in front of the firewall.
I’ve owned 2 9-5’s and a 02 9-3 SE. The 2.0/2.3 engine is easy to work on. That was Saab’s intention to make it that way.
They get a bad rap from the 900 era of the 80’s with the engine in backwards.
Reliable, fun cars that just need the usual maintenance, especially proper interval oil changes, that will give you 2-300K miles easy.

I had a gm Saab. It was mostly shit. The end.

The key lock has ZERO to do with the handbrake alleged failure. It's a security device

90% of people would simply drive this car .. but I appreciate that there are people who have the money to spare and the desire to try and make something as close to 100% as possible ... but most would not do this level of faffing about. A few bucks to sort out ball joints etc etc

For sale, I have a Saab 9.3 aero late 2008 v6 stock. 140.000km Well maintained let me know if you are interested.

Saab, European luxury without that whiff of fascism.

Transmission output seals on these cars are often damaged because the transmissions were inadequate. They are delicate. A driver has to be very careful in first or second gear because the engine is way too powerful for the transmission. So the output bearings get damaged and sloppy. You can rock the inner CV joints by hand to check them for play. Replacing the seals will then fix the leak only for a little while.

Do not abuse these cars in first or second gear. Do not cause wheel spin. Do not do hard launches from a stop. The ECU actually lowers engine output in first gear to try to protect the transmission. But if it gets abused, the output bearings get shot and sloppy, and then they leak.

Why do people think they are good? It's an awful general motors Vectra