2001 Saab 9-3 Consumer Reviews
Most Helpful Reviews
Positive Review
Purchased used from private owner...under kbb value. Needed some small things, typical for used car purchase...breaks, oil, ect... Mileage average is 23 to 24 in mixed driving. Car rides good for size and is very solid feeling. We love the convertible. Some outside noise, but that is to be expected in a drop top. People are afraid of these cars...we don't know why...do your homework and talk to a Saab mechanic. Yes they are still out there. These are great cars...our mechanic said with proper maintenance he has seen them well over 350k and some close to 500,000 miles..
VS
Critical Review
The 9-3 convertable has several option for engines - ours is the middle choice (not the Viggen). This car is extremely fast and pretty reliable - despite what goes wrong. The 9-3 has lousy line of site and no rear vision - and I'm 6'1" tall. The direct ignition system is absolutely awesome and takes 10 minutes to replace when it goes bad - and it will. The repalcement cost (if you can find one) is $200 online and $1600 at the dealership. If it hasn't already been done you'll have to replace/reconfigure the fuel/oil/vacuum return(s) which takes 2-3 hours and costs about $8 if you do it yourself. Dealership cost $850). Owner's online support has lots of instructions. The turbo will fail eventually. You'll know because you'll be seeing white smoke from the back on startup. The ABS unit will fail eventually and that's $1,000 no matter what you do. One weird feature is that engine mounts fail. Meaning that when you take off from a dead stop you'll hear a "clunk". They cost about $50 (each) to replace if you can find a reliable shop. The convertable has FOUR motors that make the top go up and down. If these fail watch out! They cost about $500 EACH no matter where you go and that's before any work is done. Sometimes it's just that a hydraulic hose has come off - which is what happened in my case. Tracing the problem and fixing it at the dealership should be about $250. The interior top cover always falls down. You might as well staple it to the ceiling as try to repair it. BAD design component. I treat the exterior top with camping/tent water treatment about 2x a year to maintain the water resistance factor (Walmart $6 - takes a good 8 hours to dry if you don't want to asphyxiate yourself). You will never be able to check your oil level because no one - and I mean no one - can ever read the dip stick. You simply have to rely on one of the zillion on board sensors to tell you if anything is wrong. Other than that, the car gets excellent gas mileage and drives really well.
2001 9-3 Reviews
Showing 8 of 247 reviews.
Reliability
None
Great car , very reliable No issues, had for 3 years. Purchased with 130,000 miles and sold with 170,000. Great car
Peppy engine
Sludge will cast over 200 dollars for oil change
Car drives like it's 5 years old. Only drawback is the oil cooler. When getting an oil change you have to change the fluid because of the sludge that accumulates. Beyond this everything still works although the speakers will crack because of age. Turbo will send the car over 100 without hesitation. Have fun and be careful driving this slick automobile.
Handles great, rides smooth. Hatchback
No Cons
I have owned this car since new and it only has 50K and has always been in garage at night and mostly during day. Great handling, super reliable, comfortable driver's seat same as in Saab Jets. Lots of power with Turbo. Yet gets more than 20 mpg. Last Saab made in Sweden.
Fast, comfortable, easy to park
Hard to find parts, very specific breakdowns
My Saab was my first car. It had a lost of very specific and weird issues that were hard to fix and my mechanic often couldn't fix it (thank god for google). Many people aren't used to seeing Saabs so they are hard fix and it is hard to fix problems if there is an issue. But my car served me well for 100,000 miles. It was fast and comfortable. I wish they still made Saab's
Decent MPG, Fast, cheap to run
Convertible top motor, direct injection cassette
Convertible top motor had multiple issues, so car is now a permanent hard top. Other than that, car has been pretty reliable. Had a check engine light that goes on and off for the direct injection cassette, replaced it twice and just drive with the check engine light on now, doesn't seem to affect performance at all. Car is faster than most new cars today, gets about 26mpg, and is generally pretty great as a daily driver.
fun driving
repairs
fun fast roomy excellent highway MPG and composure. expensive to fix but yet simple.....German quality and driving taste from Sweden....well actually made with 24% German supplied parts sad end e
Acceleration/Braking/Handling + Value for Money
Reliability - if need a convertible, best one!
This is our 5th older SAAB. Each had their quirks. They are not the most reliable but their issues can be mitigated somewhat via all the on-line support. Parts are surprisingly affordable and plentiful as GM will have to make them available until 10 years after shutting SAAB down (2021) Any service one would need has support from any one of several SAAB Forums (SAABscene, SAABnet, etc.) as well as numerous video tutorials on YouTube. Remember those quirks? - because these sell for SO cheap, one can buy a super nice/clean and good running car for under 2,000. Pretty much any vehicle in this price range will suffer - I assure you, a Honda/Toyota/Lexus for less than 2,000 will not be anywhere near nice to look at. Our 2001 SAAB 9-3 Convertible SE (5sp) is a very Sexy year-round joy. Good luck finding one...If you do, smiles are to follow!
pricing is great and they are great driving cars
none, all older cars require maintenance.
I am in the market for my third Saab. Had a 1997 900s, followed by a 2001 9-3. The 9-3 was a super fun car. The 4 door hatchback was very deceptive in how much you could carry. Tons of space. Extremely comfortable ride and oh-so deceptively quick. Great handling and relatively easy to work on. I am not the best mechanic but replaced brakes, water pump, alternator, and various odd and sundry body parts thanks to my sons. Definitely want another hatchback and that fact that I am looking for 15, 16 year old car does not phase me one bit because it is a Saab!
