1997-2007 U.S. Saabs: Free inspection and towing offer. What did they find wrong?

[Dave T]

I visited a new Saab dealer to see how they were and also to redeem the Complimentary Care offer. Saab Cars of North America is offering through participating dealers a free inspection and exterior car wash for 1997-2007 Saabs in the U.S. and one year of free towing. The offer is from June 1 to July 31, 2011.

What did they find with your car?

1) They found a missing turbo bracket bolt (hexagon screw), part number 55565774. It costs $3.74. In retrospect, I should have considered installing it myself. I paid $55 for 30 minutes of labor to install it. They said they could do it while I waited and said that the torque of the turbo can dislodge the bolt. Some disassembly would be required to re-install it. Hmm....

I usually like to keep the repair list on my car short so one thing is now done. My car is over six years old. This is the first repair that I had to pay for other than consumables (windshield wipers, headlight bulbs, a battery changed pre-emptively at 5.5 years).

2) Rear brake pads and rotors were also recommended with 2mm of pad left. I haven't checked the inner rear pads but the outer ones are more than that. Anyway, $254 for parts, $220 for two hours of labor. At my rate of usage, there's 10,000 miles of life left so maybe I have the rear pads changed in 5,000 miles as pads should be changed before they are at zero.

It looks like my wheels got scratched. Not deep gouges but being a bit more careful would be nice.

The dealer doesn't seem very busy but that's in terms of customers walking in and out. Maybe the mechanics and techs are busy dismantling some Lotus cars, working on each car for hours? They are polite. The waiting area is comfortable but there are not too many frills to the point of being frightening and driving up costs. They are building a new Saab showroom. It looks nearly completed. Besides Saabs, they sell Spyker, Lotus, and Aston Martin.

[Dave T]

I just received the free towing card. It doesn't include roadside assistance, just towing to the nearest Saab dealer. Hopefully, it will never be used.

[SaabScott]

I just received the free towing card. It doesn't include roadside assistance, just towing to the nearest Saab dealer. Hopefully, it will never be used.

Think about this ... given the number of dealers left, if you ever had to have your car towed, you could be in for a nice free trip across the country!

Nice how only those in the US got this offer from Saab Cars North America ... someone needs to be reminded that Canada is the North in North America.