Saab 9-3 wagons are beautiful and this one is NP

"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
07/17/2018 at 22:04 • Filed to: Wagon, Saab

I’ve been tossing around the idea of selling my turbo beetle and buying something with the equity I have in it so that I don’t have a monthly payment. This would free up some much needed funds for my 996(assuming the replacement doesn’t need $200 per month in work) . I’m not sure I’d do it, the beetle is pretty entertaining, and so far reliable, and even if it had problems, it has another year of CPO warranty. But it's fun to debate these things, so I look at cars on Craigslist.

One car that has caught my eye as a replacement is a 2006-ish Saab 9-3. Owners seem to care for them, they have decent power, manuals are fairly available, they seem to not rust out very easily, they have mostly GM underpinnings so maintenance parts are mostly affordable, and the cars themselves are cheap.

Well, I was cruising a bunch of different Craigslist to see what prices, mileage, and the market was like when, there it was. A manual, wagon, for $3,000.

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DISCUSSION (12)

Matsayz > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 22:37

Do it!

LOREM IPSUM > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 22:41

I’d personally pick the Saab over the Beetle. If it actually saves you money, all the more reason to get your Swede on.

I miss Saab.

Under_Score > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 22:42

Be the Oppo that buys a Journey and pays for it over 96 months! A saga I’d love to read.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > LOREM IPSUM
07/17/2018 at 23:00

The beetle is a good car , it’s like a softer GTI but I hit a bit of a crossroads with it, i think to really enjoy it I need some new tires, and maybe some suspension fun parts.

But that hits home the idea of putting more and more money towards the car that I’d rather not put money towards. I’d rather have the 996 sorted and drive it 90% of the time and have cash on hand for when things pop up.

I probably didn't make this clear but the wagon I posted isn't particularly close to me. I think if I knew at the end of the rainbow was a wagon; I’d probably go for it; but there are so few of them, I need to decide if I want a 9-3 sedan because those are abundant.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Under_Score
07/17/2018 at 23:01

Ahh yes, everyone enjoys an underwater adventure.

LOREM IPSUM > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 23:15

Not particularly close, or much too far away to comfortably buy?

It is a Saab wagon for 3 grand, after all.

You’d probably get a lot more happiness in the end putting the monthly VW payments and potential mod money away, and using it towards the Porsche for maximum Porsche awesomeness. Whatever high dollar, cost prohibitive item you wouldn’t buy now but would love to have would be totally attainable, and maintenance costs would not be a real stressor if they ever happen to be now.

And you’d have both a Saab wagon and enough cash on hand to keep it rolling.

All the wins.

Under_Score > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 23:21

An orange Crossroad would be pretty cool, though, especially because they discount them down to like $20,000 new. If you have fantastic credit and just want a backup camera and push button start, that’s a STEAL.

AestheticsInMotion > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/17/2018 at 23:29

I vote turbo beetle build. Maximum sleeper status.

Tapas > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/18/2018 at 00:28

Damn it, it’s in Vermont. If this was in Canada and we were in September , id seriously consider it.

I own dead car brands only > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/18/2018 at 00:34

Ive had three Saab s and I probably put a combined 300,000 miles on them within 6 years. The most expensive thing I’ve done was two battery replacement on two separate Saab s .

They were tuned to produce 260 hp (up from 210), 320 hp/430tq (up from 250/258) and the last one was 300/300 (up from 250/258, that was a DI 2.0T)

Would do it in a heartbeat but I decided to try something different.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Tapas
07/18/2018 at 10:45

I wasn’t trying to hide it but the link got kinjad there is also a nice one in Seattle. Unfortunately I’m in MN; so damn.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/18/2018 at 13:13

The missus drives a 9-3 sedan, 07. You want an 07 or newer if you can get it. They did a big interior upgrade in 07, then the facelift in 08. Power steering can be an issue, easy fix but make sure you get the newer version of the pump/reservoir, ~400 depending on where you get it . Don’t get the autoparts store version for ~ 150, it’s the old design. V alves can be an issue. Get a compression check. Other than those issues, the cars run pretty well. They see to r un better on premium.

I really wanted to get a wagon when the twin came but the only one for sale was listed for too much.

Decent cars and they are getting super cheap right now. I’d be all over an Aero wagon 08+ if I could find one.....Off to craigslist!