Saab NINES Articles

Perfect Car

While the perfect car has yet to be built, new and used cars are better than ever!

Consumer Report (April 2003 Issue, which can be found on-line at www.consumereport.com) features several reports on categories that should be of interest to Saab owners. Because of the small number of Saabs nationwide and the small numbers in their samples, Saabs have never fared well in Consumer Report surveys. But "Hurray, for our side!" we finally got some good press for the better cars that Saab is now building.

In the report entitled, "Which Vehicles Hold Up?" statistics show that for three-year-old cars, the 9-5 scored better than average with 37 problems in that time period for every 100 cars. That score was good enough for 7th place. The best car in the report had 21 problems per 100 cars and that was an Acura. The average score was 55 problems per 100 cars and the range included Cadillac with 82 per 100, VW with 74 and Mercedes Benz with 73. When you think about the consumer’s expectations that some times are transmitted into perceived problems, the Saab score was very, very low.

In the report about upscale cars entitled, "Would You Buy the Car Again?" the 9-5 with a 4-cylinder engine took 3rd place as customers were "most satisfied and likely to buy again" and the 9-5 v6 held 6th place. Both cars were in the over 70% "definitely would purchase again" category. These statistics show the 9-5s in a great position. They have few reported problems and owners are willing to state that they would buy another Saab just like the one they’re driving.

In another report, "Reliable Used Cars," data is drawn from 1995--2002 models. The Saab 9-5 (2000 through 2002) and the Saab 9-3 (2000 through 2001) are listed. So when you see the feature report on "The Best and The Worst Used Cars" you will find the Saab 9-5 listed which includes all years. Overall, the reports reflect the time and money Saab has invested in new product development, quality control and a better dealer network.

Now the other side. What are the common frustrating problems that these 9-3s and 9-5s have that could be avoided? There are few things that you might look for if you are in the market for a pre-owned Saab 9-3 or 9-5 that may or may not still be under factory warranty.

There have been campaigns or recalls for early 9-5 computers and there have been a number of service campaigns issued regarding the turbo chargers, etc. but we’ll assume that the dealers have taken care of most of these things. I think the four issues that Saab and the dealers could address on both the 9-3s and the 9-5s are:

1) SID Panels (Saab Information Display) failure of blocks or segments in the readout.
2) Mufflers that rust out pre-maturely
3) Heater Boxes with internal parts that break or bind
4) Serpentine Idler Pulleys failing prematurely

You might say that these seem like trivial things. But, how would you like to purchase a car that had all four of these defects and they were not covered any longer under factory warranty? If and when the serpentine idler pulleys break, without warning, it is a tow-in situation.

SID panel for 9-3 $350 plus $250 core charge and installed in about .2 of an hour
SID panel for 9-5 $530 plus $250 core charge and installed in about .2 of an hour

Front Muffler for 9-3 $231 and installed in about 1.3 hours
Rear Muffler for 9-5 $235 and installed in about .6 hours

Heater Box for 9-3 $161 and installed in 4 to 14 hours depending on shop’s experience
Heater Box for 9-5 $1,984 and installed in 12 to 20 hours depending on experience

Idler Pulleys $35 to $45 each installed in about one hour.

The Consumer Report was favorable over a three-year period. How much better would it be if Saab had improved or replaced these components before the cars moved down the ownership chain? How many of these satisfied Saab owners would commit to buying a new 9-5 or 9-3 if their current Saab was out of warranty and faced with these potential repair costs? I have maintained over the years that repair costs deter folks from being loyal to Saab. Right?

Saab seems to have a logical way to deal with service issues. If there is a safety problem, a recall is issued and these recalls never expire. All cars affected by the recall are repaired by the authorized dealers--free. Service campaigns are issued for problems that are not safety-related but are problems or trends that Saab has identified and has decided to repair under warranty by the dealerships. Any other problems would be handled on a case-by-case issue whether under warranty or not. Even a car out of warranty could have some repair possible. The decision would be up to the dealer and Saab Customer Service Rep for that region.

It seems possible that the four problem areas I outlined could be regional. I would accept that and I also agree that a muffler, SID panel and idler pulleys may be "wear" items. But a heater box? It stands to reason that the 9-3 heater box is a "bum" part. There are a number of service campaigns that have been issued to lubricate and otherwise adjust these turkeys. Very seldom is the box savable long-term if it has this problem. Even though the pulleys may be a "wear" item there sudden failures requiring a tow make them a huge problem. We have seen them failing as low as 30,000 miles and in one week alone had 5 towed in to our shop.

At a meeting during the Hilton Head Saab Owners Convention back in 1998, Joel Mamby, the Saab CEO at the time, talked about Saab’s commitment to maintain their cars from cradle-to-grave. Joel is long gone along with his successors but we still have the cars. I hope that Saab will see the connection in working with their dealers and independents to take care of some of these problems. It would be great if these problems were either sought-out and repaired under warranty, or allowed some great discount for those that were past the 4 years--50,000 mile warranty. This kind of demonstration would go a long way in cementing customers to Saab.

SAAB--Even if they aren’t perfect they are still the best.