My story with SAAB 9-5 ! (sad story)

[vladdavis]

I want to express my extreme dissatisfaction with a 2011 SAAB 9-5. I purchased a 2011 SAAB 9-5 in April 2014, with a 2.0 TID (160 HP) and automatic transmission.I was a fan of SAAB, already owning another two, a 9-3 ( 2005) and a 9-5 (1995). I was really pleased with them, so I decided to buy this one.However, I deeply regreted my decision, as the problems quickly arose.The car was bought from Italy, it had 110.000 km and was tested before purchase. It came with no problems. After only one month, the body valve from the automatic gearbox died.I want to add that the vehicle inspection was up to date, there was nothing wrong, real mileage.

To sum up, the car was perfect.Okay, I bought another one for 1.200 €.A couple of months passed, it died again and I had to change the whole gearbox.In order to change the gearbox, I had to send the car all over my country, to "specialized" car service centers.Hopelessly, no one had a SAAB tester, as the brand was long bankrupted.Consequently, I sent the car in France to a friend who is specialized in automatic transmission to get it fixed.It cost me a fortune.The disks inside the gearbox were burnt, the calculator was broken down. A complete mess.All these cost me 5.250 €.The only thing that could be saved was the case. I waited three months for a new calculator... Three months. I know people who have been through the same path with other car models (the calculator only had to be changed), but still, they did not have to wait three months for a transmission calculator!

By the time I have gotten over this problem, another one came to surface: the radiator hose. Another gruese problem...I waited three weeks for that radiator hose. Finally, it arrived. It was really hard to adjust because it was placed in a very inaccessible area. After doing that, as well, another problem: it stopped during traffic, without doing anything.I really freaked out and called a friend who owns two SAAB representations in France. He told me that it was something ordinary for this model to stop during traffic. Normal, really?! Great. The thing is that if you tried to start it, you couldn't, as the car would have absolutely no reaction. I opened up the cowl, I deconnected the bollard from the battery and everything became normal again. The car from 2011 stops during traffic...

I want to conclude with another problem, which occured today: the crack in the hose from the hydraulic power steering fluid (somewhere under the car; just on Monday I went to a car service center, so I didn't realize).Do not get me wrong, this is a beautiful car, easy to drive, good - looking and very attractive... But in the end, all you get are the looks. I really regret my purchase, I feel as if I've wasted 17.500 €. For such a price, you have an equal amount of expectations. My friends have the same model, one diesel car and one petrol car. They still have a lot of problems with them.I do not recomment this new generation 95 SAAB to anyone! The car's beauty does not matter, the reliability on this care is non-existent. Cars these days are poorly designed, but I have never seen such a disappointing car.Thank you for your time! Goodbye!

[nordwulf]

It's never fun to read these bad experiences. I test drove a 9-5 earlier this year and love the way it drove. Exterior styling is awesome and the seats were so comfortable. It's a big car but still drives like a smaller car.

The nearest repair center is 200+ kilometers away so I was also concerned about reliability and service/repairs. As Saab is no more, I don't recommend a used Saab as a daily driver unless you can fix problems yourself.

But on the other hand, these cars are 5 years old now and that's when the problems can start. Hopefully the worst is behind and you can get some enjoyment out of the car.