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  #1  
Old 10-28-2003, 03:12 PM
Kylepavao2
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A new Swedish Obsession

Ah. I saw her at the dealer.

A 2000 SAAB 93 Viggen.

5 speed, 230HP turbocharged 4 cylinder. Black, with black interior. This has to be one of the coolest looking cars ever. The price was 11,000. It had 58,000 miles on it.

Wow. My father is thinking of buying it to replace the 240D when I go to college.

What you guys think of these cars?

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  #2  
Old 10-28-2003, 03:53 PM
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I'm kinda wondering the same thing. We need to replace the wifes Chisler here soon as we can afford it. She likes the front wheel drive, so that eliminates any Benz. I've read the commentaries here about the Volvos, have read up on the usual boring Toyotas, Subarus, and other rice-burners, am now reading up on the later Audis,and was wondering about Saabs. Saabs USED to rated pretty good, but they seem to have wavered in quality as far as I've been able to find out.
So far, it's either a Toyota or a Subaru. Lessee what other say about the Saabs.
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  #3  
Old 10-28-2003, 04:10 PM
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Awww! I'm disappointed!

I thought this might be more along the lines of the pretty girls thread (ala Swedish Bikini Team). Oh well.

As far as Saabs, I think they tend to look dated fairly quickly.
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Old 10-28-2003, 04:14 PM
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Re: Awww! I'm disappointed!

Quote:
Originally posted by That Guy
As far as Saabs, I think they tend to look dated fairly quickly.
Ya either like their style, or you don't. Kinda like Volvos. Not sure which side of the fence I'm on. I looked them over at the last car show, and really couldn't decide. I'd buy one IF they were a good car, and BECAUSE they don't look like anything else on the road.
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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Last edited by rickg; 10-28-2003 at 05:10 PM.
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  #5  
Old 10-28-2003, 04:46 PM
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edmunds has a review of the '99 Viggen
http://www.edmunds.com/used/1999/saab/93/6335/roadtestarticle.html?articleId=44228
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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)
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  #6  
Old 10-28-2003, 04:52 PM
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My older brother has had a bunch of Saab's, including a Viggen. He likes them, but I don't think they are for everybody.

The Viggen is extremely fast, but also very difficult to drive fast safely. It has high power, light weight, explosive turbo boost, and front wheel drive. The engine is pretty much on/off - either you have no power, or all the power. It's nasty if the boost comes on while cornering. Even in a straight line the tires can just start spinning when the boost comes on.

The Viggen is hard enough to drive that its purchase price included a two day driving course at Road Atlanta. That should tell you something about it.

From a day to day perspective, it's a Saab 9-3. About the size of a 3-series BMW in passenger room - adequate, but a bit tight. The wheelbase is quite short. It is a traditional Saab hatchback, so it can swallow huge amounts of cargo if need be. And the ignition key is in the console, where it should be

Expect extremely short tire life and a very hard ride. It's also pretty much useless in winter weather - my brother kept a Blazer to drive through the winter. He only kept it two years, but I don't think anything much broke in that time, at least not enough that I heard about it.

I guess whether or not it's a great car depends on how young you are I personally won't purchase such a high powered car with fwd. It needs to be either rwd or awd to be a high performance car in my world.

- JimY
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  #7  
Old 10-28-2003, 05:10 PM
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Viggen.... fueled on pure vegetables?
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  #8  
Old 10-28-2003, 05:20 PM
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Saabs are down the drain!

DON'T BUY A SAAB unless you don't mind spending far more money on it than you ever did for your Benz. Transmission failure is rediculously common, even on the older ones. They have mega reliability problems. The Viggen is probably the best of the newer Saabs, but I would never buy one that new. You're far better off with a Volvo 850 front wheel drive or Cross Country (AWD) Despite their problems, they're more reliable than the Saabs. Saabs have charater, true. They are decent quality, have the Euro touches, and are reasonably quick, good-handling vehicles. Their resale value absolutely stinks. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, Mercedes resale value is 10 and Saab is 1. Recently, Saab was acquired by GM. Now Saabs share platforms with the Subaru WRX and the Chevy Traiblazer. They have lost their character and unique styling. If you must buy a Saab, buy no newer than 2000, preferably older. I've heard the 900 series is pretty good overall.
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Old 10-28-2003, 07:14 PM
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I see more Saab's at Pull a Part than any other car. Wonder if it is because the engines are ass backward. I have never seen anything like that in my life.
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Old 10-28-2003, 10:07 PM
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I drove a friend's 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero...which has basically the same motor, i think like 10 more horsepower...it was an automatic...

Man, talk about turbo lag, but once it spooled up, jcyuhn is absolutely right about the power...its huge!!!! I was driving it on a rainy night at Sixty on narrow roads in the Sunriver Resort in Central Oregon...Holy crap, the car accelerates like nothing I have ever driven. Its just insane acceration for a 4 cylinder.

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