I'm going to look at an 04 9-3 aero today and was wondering what to look for in high mileage but well maintained gm saabs?
Am told that it runs and drives good, apparently only minor problems to be expected with a 200k mile car keep it from being mint, but the price is very good and I've lusted after one for quite a while, especially an aero with the 6 speed.
Reviews are very mixed but I'm assuming that the drivetrain, at the least, is reliable, and he's driving it now so there cant be anything too bad wrong with it.
Any advice?
I really wanted one until I asked a customer about his. He loved it when running but it spent months over a couple of years in the shop for an intermittent no start issue. Turns out that the abs computer was causing the issue. At least that's what he thought because he was dumping it before the no start issue came back. I see a lot on CL with computer issues. Iirc the main computer is under the drivers seat and the sunroof drains clog flooding the computer. Love the car but scared to actually buy one.
A few recent threads on these pretty much cover it all:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/saab-9-3-aero-should-i-be-worried/104780/page1/
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/learn-me-saab-9-3-second-gen/82461/page1/
Thank you both for the response, I test drove the car last night and really can't believe how tight and responsive it is. Shifts perfectly, still quick-ish, and the only problems are cosmetic and driver's door related, which I can take care of pretty easily.
The seller is actually a subscriber to the magazine, very straightforward, honest guy. Refreshing to meet a CL seller who does it right. If all goes to plan I'm buying the car tonight!
Will update with a "build thread" because this thing is going to be fun.
