Saab 9-5 vs Volvo S80 - What to buy?

[MiaMcF]

I want to buy a new car. Budget is something around 3500 USD - I am poor student.

I really like 1999 Volvo S80 2.9 with manual transmission, but I have read a lot of negative opinions about its reliability and service prices - lot of owners call it "a pit for money".

Saab 9-5 is a bit ugly, but seems to be a good alternative for S80 by terms of realibility and service prices.

I usually drive something around 3000 miles a year - I drive a little. Do you think the mainteance of Volvo S80 would be so pricy even when I drive only so few miles per year?

What do you think? What should I get? Do you think that Saab 9-5 is realible and cheap to maintain?

[fredjacksonsan]

Sorry, but "Poor student" and "Volvo/Saab" don't go together. I'd get a used, reliable Toyota or Honda in your position. Repairs to the Europeans will be expensive, and at 13 years old there may be many of them.

But for the record, I voted Volvo. Saab is out of business and parts may get hard to find.