Complain about a product or service

Saab

Christina of Mayfield Heights, OH May 21, 2009

I bought my SAAB 9 3 in 2007. On Sept 6, 2007 (67,032 miles) I brought my car in due to when hitting bumps, I heard a rattling noise from the front left of my car. I brought my car in to the SAAB Bedford Dealership and they remove and replaced the front stabalizer on my car. Well on December 6, 2007 (72,688) car went back into the shop for the same issue. Again they replaced the front stabalizer. Car went back into the shop again for the same issue - "customer states clunk in front" - once again they replaced for the third time the front stabalizer on June 11 2008 with 84,116. At this time I was pregnant with my daughter who was due in June so safetly concerns were our main issues.

Car went back into the shop on October 17 2008 with 98,508 miles due for the same reason as before. "clunking in front end" this time not nothing was done. They advise that they could not find any issues with the car. Now my daughter is a month old. May 14, 2009 got out to my car that was parked in my garage overnight and my car is leaning towards the front left. The spring has broken on my car while it sat overnight. My car was towed to the SAAB dealership who advise that they will only give me 10% off my bill.

I've put in a call with SAAB USA to go over this issue and for them to fix it since I am now out of warranty. The lady is looking into my problem but on the phone kept stating that the car is now 6 years and over a 100,000 and parts to wear. I do understand that but this is a serious problem. If I had my daughter in my car going 65 miles on the freeway and the spring broke then, who knows what could of happened. Also, Luke's Towing advise my husband that he has towed 4 SAAB for the same issue that I am having (Broken Spring) just this month alone. I belive that there should be a recall on the Springs since this seems to be contuning to happen. I would like for SAAB USA to pick up the bill since I did my part and brought my car in time and time again for the same issue and still the issue was never fixed.

jono of queanbeyan, Australia May 13, 2009

Okay finally a site where i can share my saab story to people who actually know why it can sometimes suck owning a saab. just before i begin i would like to say that i tried making a site like this and failed. i got some nasty comments from some people who think saab dont suck and that i do. oh well. my story starts in 1994. i was only a five year old. my father decided that he should get a new car so he went into a mazda dealership but the workers their all ignored him and were more interested in watching the staff tv. so my father decided to try a saab and the wprkers their were nice people. they didnt ignore us. so they won our money and they got a sale and we brought ourselves a 1994 saab 900s non turbo. after the first year the saab had a few breakdowns and a flat tire and a flat battery. the car broke down every couple of years.

now its the year 2004. same thing again car broke down, battery went out, and then the left indicator at the front magically broke itself. so my father got fed up and left the car in our garage for years. in the meantime my father bought himself a nice BMW which i call heaven on wheels. i miss driving that car. it is now 2008 and i decided that i should go get a car and go for my licence. i kinda regrett this but i decided to sacrifice my freetime and get a job and with my earnings i bought the saab from my father. kept pestering him for a while to get the car inspected cos in the years that itwas sitting in the garage it was probably dying cos it wasnt being used. so finally we got someone to jumpstart the car, the car was running fine until we went to put some petrol in it. the car broke down and was blocking traffic and making the fuel delivery late. we had a fight with the petrol station workers and we realised that the battery didnt even charge up at all. it was simply dead. so that cost me 240 bucks just to get a new battery.

anyway we finally got the car serviced and it was running superb again. so i had the chance to master my manual tranmission driving skills and i was ready to take the driving test. where i live there is a horrible testing zone where you have to supply your own vehicle to use for the test. cost me loads of money to book the tests and i failed a few times as they have the strictest testing people in the world. so i went for another test feeling positive and optimistic and i was on my way to the testing office. i said to myself that there is nothing that can stop me from getting my licence and right after that the car's gear lever got stuck in neautral and the car would not get into gear.

i was so close to the testing place but i couldnt supply my own car because this stupid saab's clutch cable broke. this cable costed me 300 bucks to replace but it actually turned out to be a faulty pressure plate which caused the car not getting into gear. so now it's gonna cost me 1640 bucks just to get the car runnig again. so right now things have been pretty bad for me. no car, no licence, and feeling stupid cos we didnt look after the car well even though we were fed up of keeping the damn thing working. now i have to use transit buses where its crowded and rely on my friends to get me around places and play the waiting game of getting a new clutch, saving up for the clutch, getting used to the car's feeling like the pedals and the gearstick, and wait for another test booking. after the car gets fixed i will be poor, exhausted, paranoid everytime i drive the car that it will magically breakdown, and feel stupid cos i didnt look after the car and that i expected it to work after leaving it for so long in the garage while it was dying there.

the saab has put me through alot and i hate how motorists just stare at you and pass by without offering any help when your car breaks down. i didnt realise the harsh reality of owning a car let alone owning such a wonderful car like a saab and that the reality of owning a car is not always the same as the beauty of owning a car. i wish mechanics didnt rip people off and that warranties lasted longer and that the company gave everyone sympathy but i guess i cannot say why we can have these things. no matter how much we want things to be cheap they never happen. money has made greed in the world such a powerful thing and so many people now only do things for money. this is why mechanics are so greedy and that companies can be greedy. but for those who are thinking of getting a saab. i recommend one but expect the car to play up every now and then and make sure that you are a rich bitch cos if you are poor like me, then owning a saab bloody sucks mate.

Mr. of Poole, Great Britain April 27, 2009

Much against my fathers advice I bought a Saab 9-3 Saab 9-3 Sports Saloon 2.0T Aero 4dr Registered 29th March 2004 in May 2008. In December it was in the garage. It cost me over £1000 because a timing chain "guide" had broken. I wrote to Saab on 3 occasions because I could not believe that such a small component could cost me so much money. Although I am out of warranty I felt sure they might offer me some compensation especially as they are currently offering up to £15000 off their new cars.

As I mentioned earlier my father bought a New 9.3 Sportswagon recently but sold it back to the garage after 2 years. It was in and out with problems and he was simply fed up with driving courtesy cars.The garage customer service was superb but it was still highly inconvenient and he said never again. I wish I had taken notice!

My advice to anyone buying a Saab is if it is second hand make sure you have deep pockets. If you buy one new be ready to have to take it in and out of the garage. Also be ready to have to drop huge sums when you have to sell it.Who will want to buy a Saab with a dreadful record of breakdown and expensive repairs. It is rather a shame as its not a bad car to look at. Apart from my fathers experience I have since heard so many woeful tales from Saab owners.

I was surprized and disappointed that Saab would not offer some compensation to prevent me telling all my friends and contacts about my experience and that of my fathers. A free service/parts included would have been sufficient.

Candi of Branson, MO March 24, 2009

I purchased my 06 saab in Dec. 06 with 7 miles. Since then at 6 months the transmission went and a year later it went again. I have placed 4 sets of tires on this car, when the tires get to 6 months old they make the stabilitrak jerk the car. My headlights go off while driving in the dark, the 4 wheel drive motor had to be replaced, the heater had to be replaced, 2 years and 3 months I have driven this car, it has been in the shop at least 60 days in this time. It is the sport utility so I paid a good amount of money for the worst car I have ever purhcased. Only one dealership in my area can fix the saab and they are not helpful at all, Thompson in springfield missouri.

David of Salem, NH March 24, 2009

I am probably the WORST car owner. I have a 1999 Saab 9-3. I rarely buy new tires when I get flats, my oil change history isn't the best, and when something starts making a loud sound, I turn up the radio. This car has had fewer problems than my much more expensive Jetta, but I have still had some scares. My ORIGINAL lug nuts cracked and my wheel wedged under the wheel well in a gas station parking lot. I'd probz be dead if it happened a few minutes later(300 to drill out the cracked ones and replace w/ all new ones).

My A/C compressor died (700). 3 warped rims = 250 to fix. I notied my side mirror control melted the outside panel of my left mirror (scary). My tape deck stopped working. And I bought a manual on eBay on how to fix the computer display / clock (it involves an iron and improved it by 50%). I've needed brakes for probz a year, but still haven't replaced.

Kirk of Troutville, VA March 13, 2009

I took my 2005 SAAB to the dealer because paint was peeling off the front and rear bumpers. The body shop manager said paint should not be peeling, and said talk to the business manager about gaetting it fixed under warranty. The car has a 4 year warranty. The manager looked at it and said he would conact SAAB. A week went by with no result, so I called SAAB directly. A week later they finally said that rock chips were making it peel..on the rear bumper too! The rear bumper has no rock chips. Front bumpers get rock chips all the time and don't peel.

The estimate to repaint both bumpers is 995.10. They indicate stripping all the paint is neccessary, because the factory paint is not bonded properly. How can they have it both ways?

Louis of Laguna Niguel, CA February 21, 2009

Now we know why Saab filed for BK. Who wants a car that keeps breaking. I Must have 30 services in years. The info panel was replaced and then when I opened the elec window the radio went off. I am sure you readers believe me.

Janine of Quincy, MA February 3, 2009

Both sets of keys to my 1999 Saab 9-3 were stolen. The dealer wants 1,600 plus towing to replace the twice module and make new keys. I'm not even sure if the car is worth 1,600. I know there have been lawsuits filed for this same issue with smart keys and also a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about these costs. Locksmiths say these dealers make their codes and information dealer restricted so that there is no alternative. Isn't there anything that can be done? At least the successful smart key lawsuits have required some car companies to do a much better job of disclosing this information.

I have been without the use of my car for 3 weeks now while I try to see if insurance will cover (still 500 deductible). I do not have the money for this when my car is already 10 years old and needs plenty of other work. This impacts everything: career, personal, social and financial. Not to mention the stress and hours spent trying to find another answer.

Jim of East Amherst, NY January 31, 2009

2007 Saab, new brakes needed at 16,000, today with 18,000 new tires, what's next? What I thought would be a very reliable, well designed and built product has turned out to be worse than a chevy vega from the 70's.

In the first 20,000 miles 1000 in repairs and everyone says, oh well normal wear, not under warranty, excuses for what I thought would be a very long term reliable car.

Justine of North Waterboro, ME January 31, 2009

I bought a used 1999 Saab turbo 9-3 in February 2007. Seemed to be in great condition, the girl who owned it before said she performed regular maintenance on it and drove it mostly on the highway.In the not-yet two years that I have owned the car, the battery has died, the fuel injector has failed, the air conditioning and heat have been broken from the get-go, the hazard light button fell out of the dashboard, the engine heat gauge does not function, the brakes have been replaced twice, the rotors have been replaced three times, i have had three bent rims and eight flat tires, various pieces of metal have dropped off the undercarriage, the transmission has been fixed, the automatic locks do not work, the trunk no longer unlocks, the belts have been replaced, all the hoses burst within a month of each other, the lights and displays inside the car do not function, the seatbelts require a struggle to unlock, the car occasionally starts itself when i remove the key, the key locks itself into the ignition, brakes work poorly, the belt-pulleys have literally snapped off, a ball-joint and arm has broken,the windshield fluid tank leaks but it doesn't matter since the fluid sprayers don't spray, and numerous springs, bolts, windows, bulbs, fluids, etc., have been repaired or replaced along the way.

I drive this car at the speed limit, about 30 miles a day. I do not hit things or drive recklessly-admittedly because I am now afraid that my car will crumble under me without my help. I got this car because it was supposedly one of the safest, most reliable vehicles to choose from. Not only is it far from being reliable or safe, only two dealers in my state repair Saabs, and the parts are many times more expensive than those of an equally junky American car.

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