vB Easy Archive - 2003 Saab 9-3, any good?

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2003 Saab 9-3, any good?
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Posted by: AutoUnion

2003 Saab 9-3, any good?
My relative is looking to get rid of his aging 94 altima, and wants to get a nice sports sedan. Maybe something like a 3 series, or a C class, with ONLY a stick. He's looking to pay up to around 10-11,000$, and wants something that's in good condition.

Now to the Saab...
Anyone have experiences with them? We found a 2003 Saab 9-3 in a gold-greyish kind-of color and it was a stick. It has a 2.0 turbo. It has 38k on it, and looked fairly good (no dents or scratches). We didn't test-drive it yet because they were closed when we looked at it. The kbb value on it is around $14k to $17k, but the dealer is only asking 9,995$. The dealer that I saw it at, usually sells insurance repos, flood cars, and accident cars, but they insist its an accident free car. Is the car a reliable car to buy? Any problems with them? Around looking around the net, turns out the car has a lot of electrical issues with its "all in one" infotainment system and that it has terrible reliability, and loves to be at the dealers getting fixed, but a lot people also praise it. What do my fellow Hofoers think about the car? Take it or not? What should we look out for? Most of the used 9-3s, I've seen are 2003s [1st year], so does that mean they're the most problem prone?

I've been pushing him away from it because it's a GM product, and the early 2000s, were where they went downhill REAL fast. I look at the car as a glorified Chevy Malibu that looks nicer, and handles soo much better.

Whats everyone's opinion on the car? I'm insisting that he get a 3 series or a C class, but he's really liking the Saab. Can he find a E46 3 series in his price range? Does it have Toyhondabaru reliability?