I purchased a 2011 Saab 9-3 for $5800 cash several years ago for its safety, reliability, fuel efficiency, personal driver and DoorDash style, and ability to tow my 600lb tiny camper. It's starting to have things break (window motors, sensors, tail light mounting) and everything costs $350+ to fix and takes forever for parts to come in. It's my only vehicle and my kids and I need to get places. I know right now is not the time to buy a car, but I feel trapped. I've been out of wheels for 2 weeks waiting on a part. I have 2 questions and would love any advice!
1) What vehicle is the best combination of safety, reliability, longevity, low cost of repairs, fuel efficiency, comfort (for my higher-end clients), ability to tow 600-700 lbs, light off-road capability (service roads, trailheads, gravel, dirt, some rocks and roots), cargo space, and price ($20,000 max). I was looking at the 2016 Honda CRV, but then saw all the vibration issues. 🙁 Now I feel like I'm back to the drawing board.
2) Should I even think about purchasing a vehicle now? Or wait for the prices to drop?
Thanks!
Big mistake, unfortunately, buying that car. (I say this having owned and driven Saabs for around 40 years now and I have 3 of them.)
Saab was a niche/enthusiast vehicle and not a good choice for typical owners just needing reliable transportation. Although they can last a long time the GM-era models are not built as well as the previous ones. Yours is more GM than Saab and has the additional liability of having not even being built by GM, but by Spyker which bought Saab from GM and ran it for a couple of years until their money ran out and their sources of funding were blocked due to conditions imposed by GM. (It's a long story, that's the Cliff Notes version.) So GM takes no responsibility for that vehicle. Although most parts are available (the Saab parts organization still exists as "Orio") they can be expensive and take some time, particularly if you are dependent on mechanics and don't know the places to get good deals on parts. Now that most Saabs are so old some are even hitting the BHPH lots ("buy here pay here" bottom feeders) I really feel bad for people who buy one just looking for an inexpensive ride. If you're not into them, stay away.
Anyhow, that's the backstory on your car. I would say that for your needs a used Toyota Highlander would be a good pick. Unfortunately now is not a good time to be looking for a car but you should be able to get more money than usual for the Saab which should help offset the higher than normal price of a more suitable vehicle.
Thanks, @chucktobias, for the backstory! I bought from a Saab enthusiast who had lots of extra parts and at the time a dealer in the area stocked extra parts as well. But that has all disappeared.
Thanks for your Highlander suggestion as well. The prices are so crazy right now, I almost am tempted to go new, since I'll have to finance anyways. Is it worth it?
You're welcome! Sounds like it worked out OK at first, but now that Saab has been gone for 10 years the situation has changed and they really are not a good choice for most people despite that they can be reliable and long-lived if maintained. (In over 4 years the only repair I've had to do has been a water pump which cost all of $50 and I installed it myself.) You could try advertising your car on Saabnet classifieds, it's always possible an enthusiast looking to own one of the last-year Saabs would see your ad. (I've never cared much for the 2nd-gen 9-3 myself because it's really just a Vauxhall with a few upgrades, doesn't even have a real Saab engine.)
https://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/
With the needs you mentioned the Highlander sounds ideal. (Check Scotty's channel for specific years and engines to avoid if buying used.) It might be worth going for a new Highlander depending on financing deals available and how much the stealerships are loading on top of sticker price due to low inventories. Used cars in many instances are going for nearly new car sticker prices but dealerships are loading up useless extras ($500 pinstripes etc.) and sometimes just brazenly adding a "market adjustment" for more profit on new cars. So shop carefully.