USED Saab 9-3 Saloon (02 - 12)

My car

I have only owned this car for 3 weeks now, but I am extremely impressed with it. I sold my 2 year-old Mazda RX-8 since the running costs were becoming prohibitive and replaced it with the 1.9 Aero TTiD. So far, the running costs are impressive. At present it has just short of 2000 miles on the clock, but the rate at which I'm replacing diesel would suggest around 45-50 mpg combined and on the motorway up to 55-60.

I received a cracking deal on the car from Quest in Maldon, who were very helpful and I had a whole load of extras - including the 5 spoke "V" alloys which look the business! Also the auto wipers, which I was sceptical about at first but can't do without now, electronic-memory seats and some other bits.

There's talk of poor handling - rubbish! Though the car doesn't handle like the RX-8, it is very sharp through corners with only a hint of over-steer when you're pushing the limit.

This is a real alternative to the hyped-up german brigade with a lot more value-for-money.

My car

I first bought a Saab 4 years ago at one year old with 6,000 miles on the clock. I bought for similar reasons to most other reviews, it had bettter performance and equipment than any comparable priced BMW or Audi. In the 4 years that I had it the only thing that ever went wrong was that the reversing sensors packed in about 3 months after I bought it. Other costs were new brake pads all round at 50,000 and new rear discs which I feel is reasonable. I've used two different dealers for servicing and I have no real complaints

The interior and build quality might not be BMW/Audi standard but once the turbo kicks in I can forgive it anything. My son who has a BMW stripe running through him was absolutely bowled over by it. My sportscar owning wife loved it too.

So 60,000 miles later I traded it in and bought - you've guessed it - another, a year old model. This is where reality kicks in, depreciation is heavy and trade in values are not good.

I'm mystified by some of the negative reviews about handling, the Aero sits on the road like a limpet and you have to be going at stupid speed to make it come unstuck on corners.

After a week of ownership of my latest version the SID disappeared and had to be replaced by a new unit - I hope this is not a portent of things to come. This model has even more bells and whistles than the previous one including rain sensing wipers and cd autochanger. Can you imagine BMW prices for those?

I sold it a month ago a

My car

Just an up-date on the review I wrote last year. The car's gone now, bought by my Brother-in-Law with 33K on the clock and 3 years old. The good bit remained the engine, pulling strongly once it was in the rev band and still returning 47 mpg in a mix of communting and some longer distance travel. Reliability was also good. The only actual failure was the outside air-vent that closes when the windscreen washer is operated. It started to make all sorts of noises but was firstly replaced, and was then the subject of a recall to fit an improved part. On the down side the paintwork was not really what I'd expect on a car with the Saab's prices. It could be that I just should have choosen a different colour than metalic black, but it marked so easily. Around the rear door which I put my jacket in after work there were lots of light scratches - I presume where buttons had brushed past. I'd recommend the option of a Scuff Plate on the back bumper too - very easy to damage the paint there. I'd also recommend avoiding the lighter cloths for the interior - drips of rainwater falling on the back seats when the door was openned left stains on the cream fabric that my car had. Still, a good wash and polish could really bring the car upto scratch again. It still looked stylish on its swansong trip last weekend to the Britcar 24 Hours. Another 9-3? Well, I would not have minded but a change in circumstances means I need an estate, so a Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer is on the drive now.

My car

Took delivery of the TTid180 Aero in June 2008. 2 months of trouble free motoring, 4500 miles, mostly motorway passed without complaint. Plenty of power, yet 50mpg. Then problems started. Out of blue, whilst driving on A road at 50mph engine cut out. Having made a safe retreat to the roadside, eventually managed to restart. 'Check engine' warning light on so AA escort to Saab garage. Diagnosed as needing new throttle body (not a faulty EGR valve, as was the opinion of the AA). 2 days after new throttle body fitted, having refueled after 2 hrs on motorway, car refused to start - Eventually restarted and managed to get home. Next day car refusing to start. AA again. Unable to start so towed to another Saab dealer. Initial observation by the Saab master technician; I quote 'that sounds really serious', implying almost a terminal failure almost. So I await further developments on the condition of my new £27k car,2 months old and possibly already on its way to the great engine scrapyard in the sky.... Potential Saab customers, be wary. Maybe I've been unlucky. But the twin turbo 1.9 diesel, squeezing 180bhp from just 1.9L is as yet unproven and in my unfortunate experience already seemingly very fragile. In a way I DO hope it cannot be repaired, as I have little confidence collecting it again from the dealer and driving it on the busy motorways for fear of a catastrophic power failure...hope to update this review in due course.