Interested in 2003 Saab 9-3

[aceofspades923]

Hi, i am strongly thinking of buying a 2003 Linear Saab 9-3 with 25,000 miles with a list price of 17,500. If you could give me any details i should know about buying this car or any recommendations or simply reassuring that i will get quality out of this car, i would greatly appreaciate that. Any info at all would be helpful!

[mbunakeith]

i can tell you it isnt a quality car. why? cheap, plastic, non-saab feeling.
the 03's have many issues. piston ring issues, leaky radiators that (if you have an auto trans) mixes coolant with trans fluid. not good. you will most likely have oil consumption issues. may be rings, p/s pumps that suck oil into them and out onto the ground (yes, engine oil), cheap paint on the interior components that peels off all the time. for instance, radios, knobs, vents, dash etc... many software issues. your anti-pinch window protection will fail constantly, your door locks will stop working intermittently. they are loud, buzzy and dont have enough power to make it worth while. 17k is way too much. our store gets them at auctions all the time for 11k. if you are looking for acura or toyota quality, you arent going to find it.
if you really like it, make sure you have a warranty. preferably a certified pre-owned warranty. expect to take it to the dealer at least monthly for little BS. you may be lucky and get a good one. i have seen a few that dont seem to have many issues. but rare. nobody gets rid of a perfectly good car for no reason. give me the last 8 digits of the vin # and i can runa warranty history for you.

[aceofspades923]

the vin # is YS3FB49s431003667

is the quality poor mainly on this model or would a 9-5 be of poor quality as well, i have also seen a 2002 saab 9-5 at 35k miles and 2003 saab 9-5 at 60k miles as well, any thoughts on those?

[mbunakeith]

the 9-3 is a gm conglomerant car. enough said.

9-5's are great. stay away from v-6's.
ask if the climate control had any issues.
ask if the timing cover leak has been fixed
sid panels are known to fail often on those.not a huge issue, but surprisingly expensive to fix.
also make sure they have records of oil changes. if they skipped one oil change or let it go past 5k miles. walk away.
of couorse all f this really isnt an issue if you get a cert. pre-owned warranty.
definitely get an exteneded warr. just in case.
9-5's really dont have a lot of issues,but if one pops up, it will be expensive.
i would go with a 2002 or newer 9-5 aero or 4 banger turbo base model.
the 2002's have updated brakes, wheel hubs, etc...
stay away from a 99'. they are sketchy. might be good, chances are it is junk. first real year for it. enough said.
i will look up your vin later-cant right now.

[mbunakeith]

the car that you gave me the vin# for:
bought at Fairfield, ohio- Just SaabVIN: YS3FB49S431003667

i hate to say it, but this seems like a decent car. with 30K+ miles on it and no warranty issues at all. it may be worth buying. in my opinion, its a big gamble. i still hate the sport sedans,9mainly due to me working on them, but that is my issue) but a few people really like them.
according to the warr. statement, it needs a brake hose campaign, it had all of it's free warr. services. that is remarkable. most 9-3's like this have a list of things that are 2 pages long by that mileage.
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Warranty Information
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Wty Start Date: 12/07/02 Branded Title: NO
Expiration Date: 12/07/06 No Charge Maint: YES
Expiration Mileage: 50000 Wty Status Code:

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Vehicle Information
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Model Year: 2003 Selling Dealer: 2052
Model: 9-3 LINEAR 4DOOR/304 Key Code: DA1229
Ext Color: GRAPHITE GREEN METALLIC PAINT 288 Engine #: B207LFA253504262
Int Color: PARCHMENT LEATHER L02 Transmission: 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC

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Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Information
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CPO Vehicle: NO

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Recall/Service Campaign History
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Campaign Campaign Repair
Campaign # Campaign Description Complete Expires Dealer Claim #
15017 SR RECALL/CAMPAIGN 15017 - REPLACE BOTH SEAT BELTS YES 2282 5353461
15019 SR RECALL 15019 - REPLACE BRAKE SERVO VACUUM PIPE NO
15417 SC DRIVE SHAFT REPLACEMENT 9-3 SPORT SEDAN EXPIRED 01/19/05
15419 SC CAMPAIGN 15419 ENGINE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE YES 01/15/06 5037 4176522
15421 SC ONSTAR UPDATE CAMPAIGN EXPIRED 01/31/05
15437 SC CSC 15437 REPLACING KEYS YES 08/31/07 2282 5353462

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Warranty Claim History
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Repair Failed Repair
Date Mileage Claim # Part Failed Part Description Dealer
01/31/06 25594 6182101 84210 EMBLEMS 2218
12/19/05 25501 5353461 15017 REPLACE BOTH FRONT SEATBELTS 2282
12/19/05 25501 5353462 15437 CSC 15437 REPLACING KEYS 2282
12/19/05 25501 5353464 11230 SERVICE 30,000 MILES/48,000 KM 2282
08/26/04 14386 4176521 11291 INTERMEDIATE SERVICE 5037
08/26/04 14386 4176522 15419 CAMP 15419 ENG MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE UPDATE 5037
01/31/03 1219 3958861 11202 30 DAY CHECK 5037
10/22/02 5 2221321 81311 SIDE PLATE, OUTER 7996

[aceofspades923]

wow thanks for the info...

I just test drove a 2002 9-5 Arc v6 and thought it was pretty nice with 35k miles on it. It has a listed price of 19k, which i think is extremely high. It has been sitting on the lot for 10 months so i may ask for it for 14k and see what they say.

[mbunakeith]

things to watch out for with the v-6's:
heat exchanger leaks-(oil cooler in the middle of the block, under the intake.)
they all leak eventually and it can be expensive.
spontaneous radiator leaks. you will be driving along fine and the side of the radiator will just blow out. only thing we can figure that causes it is a headgasket issue. never really figured it out. happens alot.
being a v-6, it has a flatter torque curve, but is actually slower than the 4 cylinder. engine is twice as heavy as the 4 banger and personally, i dont like how the v-6 handles compared to the 4 banger. front end feels heavier.
because of this, front brakes dont last very long. lucky to get 20K out of them.
worse gas mileage than the 4 banger
not really huge issues. but the 4 banger is a much better enthusiast's car.
if you can get a car with the ventilated seats, do it. awesome is all i can say.

[aceofspades923]

bump

[mbunakeith]

so, did you get one?

[aceofspades923]

still thinking about the 2002 9-5 arc with 35k miles on it and a certified warranty...

how much do you think i should pay for it? (list is 19k, which i think is overpriced even for a list)

[mbunakeith]

15K sounds right.

[djpeetur]

Can you get history report on this vin? THANKS
YS3FB49S831031262

[altimaracer]

um wow i was looking for one too, the 9-3 linear that is, with the 4cyl turbo thinking that i could pull some more boost out of it and race it while lookin good,(the car does have a sleek design in my opinion) plus its only $13,000 but after the bad news and knowing gm had a hand in it(i thought this was built in japan and designed in sweden) or something like that, i will go with the nissan maxima(02,6speed,265hp) for a little extra...Thanx for the information..