Scotty!
What is your opinion on a 2003-2012 saab 9-3 specifically the 2.0 GM Ecotec engine w a manual trans. If I can find one low enough mileage do you think I could keep the engine and trans going for a long time if i take care of it?
The 9-3 is built on the GM Epsilon platform, which is also used by the Chevrolet Malibu, the Pontiac G6, and the Saturn Aura. I recommend looking into the history of these vehicles of the same year as you are looking as it may give insight on to the reliability of the 9-3.
They are far more GM than traditional Saab. The 2nd-gen 9-3 is essentially a Chevy Malibu with suspension tuning and better seats, maybe some engine tweaks (and of course turbocharging). Reliability would be about the same as a Malibu - that is to say not exactly sterling. However with Saab out of business they should be really cheap so if a mechanic says one you're looking at is good you could be OK for a while. The convertibles in particular are kind of neat but the top mechanism is very expensive to fix if and when it breaks. You would probably want to avoid the 2010+ models built by Spyker since GM has zero responsibility for those.
