Please allow me to introduce... Nina. She is a 2009 Saab 9-3 Sportcombi (wagon), with the preferable 2.0T engine and 6-speed manual transmission. I bought her a few years ago looking for this exact combination because of the driving enjoyment, efficiency, and practicality that this car is capable of. These cars represent the pinnacle of Saab ingenuity and performance, and GM durability. Despite Saab as a brand disappearing from the marketplace, most of the parts are still available due to GM commonality so maintenance and repairs are very cheap and easy. This is the second 9-3 I've personally owned; my first I took on multiple autocrosses, trackdays, ice racing events, commuting, and plenty of maintenance upgrades (check out my clutch & flywheel replacement thread!) and she was still going strong at 220,000 miles when I sold her since I needed the space of the wagon. I also have helped my extended family buy and maintain 2 other 9-3's which are also still performing very well. Until very recently, I was planning on keeping Nina until her wheels fell off (and even then I could fix that), but with the need for a larger vehicle for a growing family and reduced commuting from COVID, I unfortunately have to let this unicorn go. She has a bit over 180,000 miles on her, but still feels almost new due to the rigorous maintenance she has received.
The engine is strong, and has been cared for, as is the transmission. The clutch still grabs well, and she is very easy to drive. The body and undercarriage are in good shape, with minor dings & scrapes over her 12 years. Any body rust I've sanded and painted, and the underbody, subframes etc only have minor surface rust (which you're welcome to inspect). The interior is in great shape, with dual-zone climate control, bluetooth phone connection, aux-in audio support, heated leather seats, and speaking of those seats - they are the most comfortable I've sat in. Even after 10+ hour drives, I've felt great afterwards! No sunroof, which in my opinion is a positive since it allows for more headroom and a more elevated driving position. She also has a trailer hitch and wiring installed to increase her usefulness with bike racks, small moving trailers etc.
She was in good shape when I bought her, and since then I have added or replaced the following:
- Springs and shocks/struts (upgraded to Bilstein B6 shocks, which are much more durable and responsive than OEM, but still keep a supple, composed ride)
- Front wheel bearings
- Replacement suspension, including control arms front & rear, strut bushings, spring perches, and other bushings to make the suspension as tight as new
- Rear brake calipers (failing emergency brake), all brake pads and rotors, and all rubber brake lines with braided stainless lines.
- Replaced AC components and refilled AC system
- Cleaned or replaced various engine components such as the MAF, spark plugs, coils, filters
- Flushed brake fluid & replaced with DOT4
- Flushed coolant, replaced thermostat
- Flushed power steering fluid
- Oil changes every 6-8000 miles (vs the owners manual recommendation of 10,000 miles)
- New General G-max AS-05 summer tires on 17" OEM wheels (from an '06 model, since I thought they looked better) with less than 2000 miles on them
There are also the following additional parts or other improvements that come with the sale, since I had collected them planning on keeping the car for decades:
- Roof racks, plus a bike-holder add-on
- Another set of Michelin X-ice3 winter tires on 16" OEM wheels painted green (also from an '06 model, the OEM clear-coat was failing and causing them to lose air, so I painted them) that come with the car. These are fantastic on ice and snow - I have used these on this car and others for commuting in deep snow and racing on frozen lakes, and they are very competent tires.
- A new clutch, dual-mass flywheel, throw-out bearing & clutch slave cylinder, rear crank oil seal, clutch hydraulic line, and manual transmission fluid come with the car, uninstalled. I was planning on installing these this summer because the stock flywheel and clutch will not hold up to aftermarket tunes like the BSR, Nordic etc that increase engine torque. The engine has not been tuned yet, and the clutch still feels solid - these were all preventative upgrades for a future engine tune that COVID ended up getting in the way of (less $ and less time available...) This is roughly $600 in parts.
- Another set of street brake pads (Akebono ceramics, great for brake feel and low dust) and track EBC yellow brake pads (I used to do track days with my 2006 Saab 9-3 sedan, but have not done any with this '09 wagon). The set of street pads are ~$80 new and are fantastic, and the track pads are necessary for any track use due to the high temperatures.
- Other assorted suspension parts like front sway bar end links and rear upper control arms (I accumulated these when tracking the '06 - not this car - since those bushings tended to fail quickly on the track) - these are left over from not needing them since I didn't track this car.
- The tire pressure monitoring system is physically intact but electronically deactivated since it is very intrusive, especially when swapping the winter set of wheels on. Plus, replacement sensors for the wheels can easily add $200 to the cost of a tire change.
- This car originally came with automatic rain-sensing wipers. However, these never worked well in this car even when new (and the OEM system was infuriating me with it's poor choice of wiper speed!), and replacement windshields for rain-sensing cars cost $300 more than conventional windshields. Therefore I swapped the rain-sensing actuator stalk with a manual control one (The original stalk can come with the car) and re-flashed the computer so it would work logically.
- 2 spare new ignition coils, since these tend to wear out occasionally, and the 9-3's require special coils to sense combustion efficiency.
I love this car, and would trust it to take me for another 200,000 miles (that was the plan when I bought and maintained it!). However, my situation demands a larger vehicle so I need to let Nina go, so I hope you will appreciate and care for her so she can provide many years of comfortable, quick, and dependable service.
