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To buy or not to buy

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yh125d

yh125d

Diamond Member
I have an old 2000 Saab 9-5 with 122k miles that has been broken more than half the time I've owned it (6 months ish). With a 1.5hr daily commute, I need something reliable, that I can count on to get me back and forth to work. I'm a "car' guy, so I've been looking for something that look a little better than a rock, and maybe a little quicker than a segway. I'm looking at sedans/coupes in the 10-13k range

I found a good deal on a 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with 17k miles for $12k at a local big dealership.

Pros:
Prettier than the honda/nissan/toyota alternatives that everybody and their dog has
Good Bet recommended by consumer reports (required to have my mother's blessing)
Quick. Ok, it's no WRX obviously, but better than the squeaky mazda protege I've been driving while the Saab is perpetually broken
Something I can get excited about. A car that I can look at and say how purty and fun it is compared to boring ugly civics.
AWD is nice
Easily replaced stereo head-unit, which I will probably do

Cons:
Interior seems pretty basic, but as long as it has power windows/locks I'm pretty happy
uuuuhhhhhh



Any thoughts? Anything I should need to know? This will be my first car I'm buying myself, only help I'm getting is a co-signer and maybe a bit for the down payment
 
Carmax had an '07 Ion Redline (205hp Supercharged 5-Speed, Black on Black Leather, 19k miles) for $11.9k no haggle. At less than 3000lbs, and coming with nice stock 17" rims, should be a pretty big step up.
 
Out of curiosity, what's wrong with your Saab? I know those cars pretty well, and while there are a few common issues, they're pretty much dead reliable cars if you take care of all of the common issues. The only real problem would be if the previous owner let the engine sludge up beyond repair, and unfortunately, then you're pretty much screwed.
 
Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
Out of curiosity, what's wrong with your Saab? I know those cars pretty well, and while there are a few common issues, they're pretty much dead reliable cars if you take care of all of the common issues. The only real problem would be if the previous owner let the engine sludge up beyond repair, and unfortunately, then you're pretty much screwed.
Click to expand...

After a week the crankcase temp sensor broke, and it wouldn't start. Then it got a water leak somewhere I can't remember that was $400 to fix. Then the electronics that run the LCD with the clock and stereo info on it broke and its unreadable. Now over the winter it blew a head gasket (presumably because it didn't like the weather). When we bought it it did have a bit of an odd smell to the oil, like it had been overheated a couple times.


Don't get me wrong, I do love my Saab, and it will definitely not be the only one I ever own. However, a 9 year old saab with 120k+ miles is not a good idea for me right now, with 1.5 hour daily commutes and frequent trips out of state
 
Originally posted by: yh125d
Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
Out of curiosity, what's wrong with your Saab? I know those cars pretty well, and while there are a few common issues, they're pretty much dead reliable cars if you take care of all of the common issues. The only real problem would be if the previous owner let the engine sludge up beyond repair, and unfortunately, then you're pretty much screwed.
Click to expand...

After a week the crankcase temp sensor broke, and it wouldn't start. Then it got a water leak somewhere I can't remember that was $400 to fix. Then the electronics that run the LCD with the clock and stereo info on it broke and its unreadable. Now over the winter it blew a head gasket (presumably because it didn't like the weather). When we bought it it did have a bit of an odd smell to the oil, like it had been overheated a couple times.


Don't get me wrong, I do love my Saab, and it will definitely not be the only one I ever own. However, a 9 year old saab with 120k+ miles is not a good idea for me right now, with 1.5 hour daily commutes and frequent trips out of state
Click to expand...

Ah, you've been unlucky then. The only reason I brought it up is I've owned two 9-5s and I know my way around them with my eyes closed. It's really unfortunate that you're having issues with the headgasket, otherwise I'd suggest you keep it. In fact, I just drove a 1999 9-5 with 130k miles from NYC to Chicago and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

The crackshaft position sensor is a $60 sensor that you could have fixed with a screwdriver and about 30 minutes of your time. And the other failure would have been the heater bypass valve. It's located on the back of the engine and is another common issue. Also something that requires about an hour of manual labor and can easily be done by any handy person. Those two are basically half of the common issues, the other two being the DI cassette, and the possibility of sludge (entirely preventable).
 
Did you drive the impreza? They are nice if you need awd but otherwise lose a lot of their benefit. They are bland beyond compare. They are quite horrendous on gas, too--at least the one I had for a while was.
 
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