Used Car of the Day: Save This 2009 Saab 9-3 From the Scrap Heap

by Tim Healey

Published: March 30th, 2023

used car of the day save this 2009 saab 9 3 from the scrap heap

This 2009 Saab 9-3 Combi is for sale for just $600.

That's because it has 265K miles on the clock and needs work -- including new brakes. But it runs well otherwise, according to the owner. It has an automatic transmission.

Apparently, the A/C and heated seats work, and the tires are only a few months old.

There's also a lot of cosmetic damage, mostly scratches, a balky sunroof, an unreliable Bluetooth connection, an exhaust leak, and an inaccurate speedo.

Perhaps this would make a good project car for the Saab fan in your life.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#UCOTD #UsedCaroftheDay #Saab #Saab93

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 17 comments

TheEndlessEnigma on Mar 31, 2023

The tires are worth more than than rest of the car. IT's also a Michigan car, probably has unreported frame rust problems.

1 Reply
Tassos on May 03, 2023

Such crappy dirt-cheap cars should be donated to charity, OR, better, donated to MEXICO, where a mechanic's time is cheap. SHould NOT stay in the USA.

Alternatively, CUBAN mechanics have been very ingenius keeping 50s US POS running forever. The price is right for them.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

1995 SC I don't know what the answer is, but out Germaning the Germans hasn't been it. Look at what works and do that (Escalade?). Maybe the world is ready for an option that just sort of shuts the world out at the end of the day and gives the driver a nice, supple ride home and is suited to the world that most people drive in.They won't though. The Journos will hate it and cry about ring times and at the end of the day that and dealers are who the cars are built for...not you. And Cadillac will likely fail sadly.
Daniel I couldn't agree more! As someone who is literally 100% brand agnostic, Cadillac is right up there with Lincoln for (relatively) very nice American brand designs and powetrains (OK, their sedans are getting a little stale with the same pointy, CyberTruck angles, but I digress) but their interiors really are absolutely lacking almost *any* differentiation from the "solid for what it is" Chevy parts bin and deserves better!
Fred Do what GM wants, cut costs. Pull out of racing hyper cars, defund the F1 program. Finally make more SUVs.
Cprescott I would do the following for Cadihack:[list=1][*] Make the V-Series as the base model and then add hybrid to the upgrade;[/*][*]Can the hideous Arts and Scientology (!) design disaster and bring out smoother yet crisp and sleek styling - no more boxes or tacky lighting. Let the body sculpturing win the day. I'd say take Audi and cross it with Genesis to give the vehicles stance and easily identifiable brand cues.[/*][*]Come up with interiors that are unique with quality materials and not something that looks like you ripped off Hyundai and Kia. The car must have four bucket seats that are all adjustable. [/*][*]Build to order. Get rid of this buying a Cadihack off the lot and sell at retail for a car built specifically for the client. Nothing makes a premium statement than a car built specifically for the customer - dealer will like because car will be sold at sticker.[/*][*]Expand exterior and interior colors and combinations.[/*][*]Share nothing with any other GM product. Each car / vehicle has to be a standout model even if the basis is common platform - if Hyundai/Kia/Genesis can pull this off, GM must be able to do.[/*][*]Do not mistake sticker price for luxury. The car's design and material integration will do that for you. If it does not feel, look, and smell premium, it is a Chevrolet.[/*][*]Special customer service - at the time of delivery, client gets to meet the service team that will deliver five years of complimentary service PLUS free tires for the first 50k. Special appointments and pick up car from customer and then bring it back. [/*][*]Loaner car delivered if vehicle is in the shop more than routine maintenance and picked up free of charge for first five years.[/*][*]Thoughtful design trumps technology. Vehicle should be intuitive to use and built to coddle the customer beyond his/her expectations. Vehicle must have "Wow!" - not just good enough.[/*][/list=1]
KOKing Kinda hate to say this but they need to be an American Land Rover sans the offroad image (and capability). Leave the Escalade alone and do a shrunken Escalade-esque lineup (the first time I saw a Hyundai Palisade I thought that was the XT6 that Cadillac shoulda made) and dump the alphabet soup models and trims.