I have a 2001 Saab 9-3 base. What do you think about them? It’s got 187000 miles on it looked up carfax report and most of service was done at Saab places or dealership. What can I look forward to.
Paging Saab connoisseur & specialist @chucktobias
It's based on an Opel and not built as well as the pre-GM models. Typical GM cost-cutting is evident. However they can last a long time if you keep up with maintenance. (Being 20 years old it's obviously already lasted a long time. I drive a 25-year-old Saab with over 360,000 miles and it's been quite reliable, but it's a pre-GM model.)
These are maintenance-intensive cars and If neglected they will fall apart quickly. Make sure you change oil at no more than 5000 mile intervals and use a good quality full synthetic. A lot of mechanics are not familiar with Saabs so I hope you can either work on it yourself or you know a good Saab technician. Although the Saab parts organization still exists today as "Orio" (it was not included in the Saab bankruptcy) it has been 10 years now since Saab went under and finding some parts can be problematical. Normal wear items are no problem though.
You can find a lot of specific information here:
https://www.saabnet.com/tsn/bb/NG900/
https://www.saabcentral.com/forums/ng900-og9-3-workshop.15/
A few more things that also come to mind. (Bear with me, I had a long, hot day helping a friend work on a Triumph TR6 and I'm pretty frazzled.)
It is a good idea to have an extra DIC (Direct Ignition Cassette) since those can fail. Only ever use the OEM ignition cassette made by SEM in Sweden. (There are China-made clones but they are junk.) There are red and black DICs available, yours uses the black one. The coils and other parts in the cassette are not replaceable, the cassette is replaced as a unit.
https://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/10655/Ignition-Coil-Assembly-DI-Cassette-T7-Black-55559955/
The spark plugs are used as knock sensors and it is important to use the correct factory-specified NGK spark plugs, with the correct gap.
Keys are electronically coded to the car. Replacements must be programmed using a Tech2 scan tool with Saab software. If the last key is ever lost the "TWICE" security module must be replaced along with new keys, so don't lose the last key or you're in for a world of pain.
The dealer-level scan tool for your car is the GM Tech2. Chinese-made clones are available for a few hundred dollars and with one of those you can do anything the dealer would have been able to do with the electronics. It's pretty much a requirement for doing any serious work on most Saabs.
However a Tech2 is not like the fancy touch-screen scan tools you see Scotty using in his videos. It is clunky early 1990s technology and not the easiest thing in the world to use. For some functions it needs to be connected to a laptop using a serial I/O cable running GM TIS2000 or GlobalTIS software. Fortunately there is a lot of information online about Tech2 operation such as youtube videos and this wiki:
The Saab WIS (Workshop Information System) is available for use online and contains information on factory diagnosis and repair procedures: