I being of somewhat sound mind was very skeptical when looking at a car online. Having looked at several auctions and ads, I knew that people will tell you exactly what you want to hear to close the deal. I decided that it would be a great way to locate a Saab Conv. I had been a previous owner of Saabs, three to be exact in the late 80's and early 90's. (These cars were built by Saab-Scania during these years--important..read on) The cars were very nice well-built cars. With that in mind I found a car that suited my desire. The condition of the car was very good made in 2002. It also had then balance of the factory warranty at the time of purchase. Please note that this was not a blind purchase. I went to the seller and drove this car before purchase. It just so happened that there was a Saab dealer in the vicinity so I had the opportunity to take this unit for a quick inspection at the dealership's service department. I asked a multitude of questions about some of the superficial defects of this car in relationship to warranty coverage. Most all of the issues were covered, so I felt pleased by their answers and purchased this vehicle.

Saabs are not very common in the states and there are few dealerships. With my 2002, I visited the dealership at least 15 times during the remainder of the factory warranty. During one of my visits, I asked for a history of my visits to be printed out. What I got was a complete history of this particular car as this dealership was the original seller. This happened because they pulled the report by VIN number of the car instead of by owners name. The car had only had one owner before me and that owner had visited the dealership for warranty repairs more than 30 times. This car had been trouble from the start. Several complaints regarding the car getting stuck in park. I too, was having this ongoing problem. It was equipped with ONSTAR. During one of these incidents ONSTAR advised me to push in this little tab near the shifter to release it from park. One day I put the car in Park still idling and opened the door and got completely out of the car. The car popped out of Park and into Reverse and smashed the driver door into the column of my house, ripping the door off completely. Even though I had been taking the car into the shop due to this reoccurring shifter problem, had called ONSTAR repeatedly, SAAB NOW OWNED BY GM was UNCONCERNED. Just weeks after my repairs were completed. I received a recall notice in the mail about some censor fault within the shifter. The dealership still could not have cared less. It was still under warranty. I have contacted Saab and GM both. I have not even received a response of any kind. Since purchasing my car, I have only put 4,000 miles on it. The door replacement had to be shipped from Sweden taking 6 weeks and another week in US Customs. Other incidents include be have not been limited to: Entry system failure, Conv. top failure, Seat would not stop reclining back or come back up it just kept clicking and popping when it reached the back seat--had to disconnect battery. Headlamp Failure. Power window failure. These all would be about 2 to 3 days per incident in the shop. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

SAAB DEALERSHIPS DO NOT REPORT TO CARFAX

DO NOT TRUST ONSTAR

I had to be very aggressive with the dealership and went over the car meticulously in order to replace eveything I could before the end of the warranty period which is 50,000 miles. If you ever heard it, it is true THEY DON'T BUILD'M LIKE THE USED TOO! The Saabs of today are HIGH MAINTENANCE VEHICLES and very fragile.

Even though it is somewhat entertaining to "Saab bash" with other owners when at the service department, that free Deli Sandwich and soda they give you just can't make up for the time wasted dealing with the issues.

When my Saab is in the shop, I am glad to have a pickup to drive to work. You will be glad to have another car as well. It will keep you from losing your patience. This car is either a labor of love or some type of sadism! Glamour is a rocky road.

PS. 3 things: (1.) Don't ever block the driveway with a Saab  (2.) Always turn off car before getting out no matter what and (3.) Get the warranty extended.