Saab 9-3

[LawTan]

any comments on this car?

[seancxm]

awesome car.

 

plush interior.

 

Seamless transmission.

 

Great feedback.

 

Torquey Light Pressure Turbo engine seems to hardly need to work hard at all.

[Demon]

any comments on this car?

 

too expensive

[LawTan]

yeah, too ex, me no $$$ to buy great handling

 

happened to test-drive my colleague's 9-3. he asked me to floor pedal to test the pick-up. and this Passat driver beside me thought I wanted to cheong with him. he revved his engine all the way and tried to overtake me haha... boliao misunderstanding...

[Throttle]

very value for money to buy second hand

tranny not so smooth compared to other contis

servicing a bit ex but still very affordable.

exterior design is quite sporty and solid

Interior is a bit dated though....

quality and make is 7/10

[LawTan]

thanks for the comments!

 

Throttle, u seem to know quite alot about continental cars. anyway, how would you rate between a 9-3 and a S40 T4? I am more concerned about reliability than performance

 

and is it worth to buy a 4-year old 9-3? will there be difficulties in selling off 2-3 years later?

 

Hope you can advise me on that. thanks!

[Throttle]

4 year old Saab93 is an "out of the scene" car in terms of looks.

although still a fairly good car in terms of build quality and engine.

Maintenance is a little bit more expensive. I think can get for $60k++ easily

Resale is not easy.

 

Volvo T4 is also out of the scene already since the new S40 is in 3 yrs ago.

I had the new S40 before changing to BMW recently.

 

The T4 is packed with power but the body is not so rigid and the outlook is not continental looking as it follows a Jap design, I understand.

Maintenance also little expensive. Cheap also but maight as well get the new S40 instead only $70k++ for 3 yr old. t4 resale also not easy.

 

for these cars you may have to drive to the end of COE.

Only if you are into turbo cars.....

 

consider also the Audi 1.8T or the BMW E46 320i pricing should be $80k

[Throttle]

awesome car.

 

plush interior.

 

Seamless transmission.

 

Great feedback.

 

Torquey Light Pressure Turbo engine seems to hardly need to work hard at all.

 

wah you sound like you work for Saab, hahaah

[seancxm]

wah you sound like you work for Saab, hahaah

 

haha.. no la... cos i used to drive my dad's saab 9-5. and have sat in my friend's 9-3 Troll a couple of times up north.

 

bro LawTan, if u're thinking of a used 9-3, bear in mind this car will tend to give some weird electronic problems once it's 3yrs or older. the same thing happened a few times on my dad's 9-5.

[LawTan]

Throttle,

 

Thanks for your advice. i was comtemplating buying a 4-year old 9-3 these few days. Definitely not intending to drive till end of COE thus quite concerned about the resale value. come to think of it, what you said is quite true, coz i dun see many saab in the open market

 

ever considered the S40, but the road tax of $2k+ really stops me. juz find it buay gum guan to "throw" tat extra $$$ to garment haha... anyway, quite difficult to find a s40 in the resale market also. i used to see many on sale few months back but now no more. wat happened huh?

 

BMW & Audi is abit out of my budget

 

bro seancxm, thanks for highlighting the potential problem of a saab to me

anyway, i will juz shelf my plan to change to a conti car for the time being

[Throttle]

currently difficult to find resale S40 becos it's been about 3 years, the batch which have chut chia to the first owners have been passed to second owners already. wait a few weeks more for the second batch.

 

Or if you dide die must buy conti, 2003 E46 BMW318 very affordable, around $70k++ only. or maybe a 2003 Merc C180 coupe?

[LawTan]

haha, no lah, not die die must buy conti just thinking of getting a change after driving jap car for quite some time.

 

ok, will wait for the next batch of s40 then

[Throttle]

one thing for sure, after driving a top end Conti , you may never want to drive Jap again. the feel is very different and quite unexplainable. gotta drive then understand. good luck in your search. hope you find the car you like.

[GodMachine]

pardon for asking some silly question as i dont have any conti car.

 

as what Throttle mentioned, have to drive a top end conti car....

1) how to define top end? by cc or by brand or type of cars (sports/sedan etc)?

2) how about those 1.2-1.6cc conti car?

3) if currently driving a Subaru STi, then i change to a Renault Megane, VW Golf (Normal) or Saab 93, then are these 3 examples of car's engine better than STi?

 

sorry for asking, but frankly, after reading so much about conti cars....really having a swing of mind towards it now....but, cost is a big block, especially servicing etc.

 

thanks

[Throttle]

High end is defined by brand and thus build quality and drive feel. merc, bmw, volvo, saab, audi comes to mind when you ask anyone about good conti cars. Peugeot, renault, opel etc.... are not high end conti cars and more comparable to Jap Cars. Hope this explains.

[Throttle]

As for engines, this is subjective and depnds on what you want. Saab and volvo produce high torque engines that dont require very high rev to get pwr as compared to japs. Some people prefer vtec high revving. But for me i dont. I like engines that purr even at high revs. Conti cars usually higher cap and so can have 5 cyclinders or more , making the engine very creamy.

[GodMachine]

thanks. i sure learn abit more.

so can i say, even for a high end opel/vw/renault of more than 2000cc, might not be as good as merc/bmw/volvo's 2000cc?!

 

i also looking at better engine type, those not loud loud type, but still give very smooth rev sound.

[GodMachine]

sometimes i also blur....

if a Camry or Lexus of 2.4l or 3l, can it be better than the not so high end conti car? i mean of cos dont compare to mbw/merc/audi, i think these 3 brand is a totally different class altogether. well, afterall, i might just drive till the COE end of the current car and save up for a better one in future.

[Throttle]

You should compare the cars by category to be correct. not simply just by cc. Camry is considered full size saloon, and is to be compared in the category of merc E class, volvo S60, saab 95, BMW 5series, vw passat, audi A6, peugeot 407, lexus GS300, hyundai sonata, honda accord, etc.....

 

now see how the Camry fairs. But a jap car is certainly comparable to the mid range conti.

[Demon]

sometimes i also blur....

if a Camry or Lexus of 2.4l or 3l, can it be better than the not so high end conti car? i mean of cos dont compare to mbw/merc/audi, i think these 3 brand is a totally different class altogether.

 

I think throttle's definition of high-end is about the brand, and not a specific model. Branding is all about market positioning. Daewoo can come up with the ultimate luxury car, but that wouldn't propel it to the league of Rolls Royce, Aston Martin or Bently.

 

Personally, I find peugeot cars have exceptional ride quality which is better than Benz or Beemer.

[Throttle]

Peugeot quite nice cars and build quality but Peugeot better ride quality then mercy bmw?wow, You are one in a million. Care to elaborate.

[GodMachine]

quote: You should compare the cars by category to be correct. not simply just by cc. Camry is considered full size saloon, and is to be compared in the category of merc E class, volvo S60, saab 95, BMW 5series, vw passat, audi A6, peugeot 407, lexus GS300, hyundai sonata, honda accord, etc.....

 

now see how the Camry fairs. But a jap car is certainly comparable to the mid range conti. :quote

 

i see....then at least i have a better understanding now.

but will have to save up quite abit for a conti car i think....well, just have to work for it.

[Throttle]

Got a 2002 Saab93 convertible for sale......

 

i think can get about $7Xk if anyone is interested go look at http://www.sgcarmart.com

 

cheers

 

p.s. a few of my colleagues drive Saab 93 and 95, they seem quite happy....