I don't regret buying it, but...

A lot of what I would say has already been said, but I know that in trying to justify purchases of my own, I like to read what others have to say - almost thirsting for someone else's opinion to justify my opinion or scare me away. This is perhaps targeted at that type of reader.

I bought my '01 Saab 93 SE convertible a couple days before Sept 11. Ironically, although that was a terrible time to really be feeling "good" about a major purchase, I haven't experienced buyers remorse at all.

I went into the Saab dealer because it was hot that summer and I was sick of my black '86 BMW 635Csi's A/C not working. It's a great car (which I still have), but with 100°+ temperatures, it was time for something new. Saab was offering 0% financing, so I went in to look at my coveted 95. Well, there was no 0% on the 95, just the 93. As I was leaving disappointed, my friend and I looked at a 93 convertible. We test drove it. I was basically sold. (And ironically, she was nearly sold on one too). I don't know what it was. OK, part of is was the price. Between the fact that I got a GM employee family discount (which honestly didn't make THAT big of a deal with the way incentives are now) and 0% interest, it was A LOT cheaper monthly than a 3-series convertible. I have to admit, an M3 convertible is my current dream car, and honestly, there is no competition between the two cars - money being no object. Unfortunately, money is indeed an object, and the payment difference of $200 to $700 more a month was waaay too much to swallow. So, in a nutshell, the Saab seemed "good enough" for me at the time. I read reviews here on epinions, and didn't find anything really bad about them. So I bought one a week or so later.

Since then, I've come to re-think my decision. I view the car as much more than "good enough". No, it's still no BMW, but believe it or not, there are things I do like better. First of all, in the winter, this is a great car. I've owned 4wd SUV's, and other FWD cars (in addition to the 6-series which should be illegal in snow :) ), and the Saab beats them all in all but perhaps the WORST snow storms (only because I've never tried it in a really terrible snow storm). You just point it and hit the gas. The traction control, good tires, and FWD take care of the rest. It still slips a little bit - enough to let you know that you're still in a dangerous situation, so don't do something stupid - but not enough to make you feel out of control. The bun warmers/heated seats are wonderful. The 3-layer top not only keeps out more noise than any other convertible top I've been under, but it really does make you forget (OK, 90% of the time) you're in a convertible when the top is up.

So, you sacrifice some summer performance with the FWD, but it is pretty nice in the winter. Yes, AWD would probably fix both problems, but this (IMHO) is a nice balance.

This is a comfortable, well thought out car with more attention paid to detail than all but perhaps the highest end European cars.

It does require you to drive a bit differently with the suspension and FWD. And yes, there are times where my old 6-series is actually more fun to drive, but honestly, I can say that about some $50k 2002 5-series' that I've driven as well

As to the quirkiness... Well, Saabs have been known for being quirky. Honestly, I sort of like having a unique car - in fact I enjoyed, until recently when a neighbor changed that - having the only white Saab convertible in the county. Some of the unique features are starting to seem, well, pretty normal to me. The ignition between the seats just feels normal now. In fact, other cars seem odd to me now, as you can't see the ignition you're trying to insert the key into. You can read how the 93 shifter linkage isn't really all that good. Well, you do get used to it. No, I'm not going to say that it's the best feeling shifter I've ever used etc... However, it does what I want it to do when I want it to, which is all I ask really. No false shifting now. I like all the little pockets here and there. I've heard a lot about how good Saab seats are. The 93 seats are pretty good, although I like the Viggen seats better. The back seats are much more comfy than they look - once you get in them. I have taken a couple of 100+ mile trips with 4 people and haven't had complaints from the adults in the back seats - other than being "chafed" by the 80 mph winds :). The leather is nice, the wood trim is nice, since I got the rubber floor mats for winter, the beige interior is still nice, and the top is, well, just perfect.

Unlike some others, I happen to like the stereo a lot. Yes, it does change things when you stop the car, but mine will only lower the volume (which it does consistently when you turn off the car), but never do things like forget what song my CD is on or what station the radio is on. Weird.

The automatic temperature control is really nice - with one exception: When you get in your car, and it's roughly 300° inside, it should be obvious to the auto A/C that it's time to CRANK IT UP. However, it seems to want to defrost the windshield for about 15 seconds before switching to A/C and cooling me down. Beyond that minor annoyance, I love how it is truly "set and forget". I leave it between 68° and 70° year round.

I also have the rear (removable) windscreen which really does extend the times you can have the top down. A real necessity in my mind.

Now, the bad: I don't like the Saab dealer here. The sales manager was wonderful, but the service dept feels much more like a bad Chevy dealer (and I've been to a lot of them) than a BMW dealer. Even when I come in with my 6-series that's old enough to drive on its own, the BMW dealer treats me very well, and washes my car etc. Lets just say that when I went in for regular scheduled maintenance on my Saab, it wasn't a fun experience.

I wish the seats went a bit lower. As with all other convertibles I have driven, its a bit difficult to see some red lights change to green if you're over 6 ft tall.

Yes, as with all convertibles, you get a bit of cowl shake. I'm used to it now, but I do remember thinking it was almost as bad as the Mustang convertible I'd driven in that time frame. Now I don't even think about it, but I know that comparable BMW's aren't as bad.

Yes, I'd prefer a real GPS to On-Star, but there are times that On-Star has been nice to have... I just hope I never have to say something like their testimonials. (eg "On-Star saved my life when I got in that wreck" or "Thanks to On-Star, the thieves that stole my car were apprehended within hours of stealing it.")

I do have one minor rattle - that appears almost as if its coming from within the driver's door - once a month or so. It's weird. I can never track it down because it goes away so quickly. It's minor, so I don't worry about it, but perhaps I'm being picky. Beyond that, it's solid.

A minor complaint might also be that my radio antenna took on my garage door and lost miserably. However, considering it was only a $28 repair, maybe it's a good thing it lost...

Speaking of repairs... take this as you will. About a year ago, I was driving, shall we say, "close to" the speed limit one night on the interstate here, and a Ford full-size pickup in front of me decided to break it's axle at the right front tire. Of course, at night, all I see is sparking. As I drive past the truck that has pulled over, and while looking in my rear-view mirror, I hear a loud noise. Initially I was upset because it appeared that the rubber from their tire has hit and ruined one of my windshield wiper arms. Of course, then I noticed that it probably wasn't that, because it looked like a Matrix agent (perhaps not that bad :) ) has jumped in the middle of my hood. The whole tire/wheel assembly landed in the middle of my hood, and bounced off the windshield of my car. Happy 6 month anniversary to my car... Anyway, after the hood and wiper arm were replaced - voilá, good as new. Those were the only things damaged. They say that Saabs were designed to take a moose to the windshield at driving speeds (apparently common in Scandanavia). I can't comment on that, but a tire and wheel at 80mph? THAT I can comment on and I'm glad to report it passed the test well...

All in all, I'm happy with my 93 convertible. It's not the car for everyone, I'll grant you that. Would I have been happier had someone dropped the keys (and title I guess) to an M3 convertible in my lap for the same price and without the year waiting list? Probably. However, this car is a nice compromise between what the driver in me wants, and what my wallet would allow me to spend.

Update (8 Jun, 2007): I still have the car, and I still like it - a lot. I'll add a few additional thoughts.

I had a few failures. There was a recall on this car. Apparently some part was either incorrectly installed or was faulty. Regardless, it would cause a fuel like to break. I was fortunate (?) enough to be one of the few who got to be a victim of this failure prior to the recall. I had a grand total of 4 dealer visits (3 tows) due to mechanical failures. The gas line breaking and gushing fuel, the starter died, some "minor" part died causing the car to have NO power at all and it would struggle to idle, and then something else less than two days after that repair caused by someone apparently forgetting to do something during the prior fix. The only minor problem I can remember off the top of my head was the brake light coming on in 2003 or so - but it was just low on brake fluid.

HOWEVER, all of these problems occurred under warranty - which expired in August 2005. I haven't had any major mechanical issues since then. I did just (last week) spend money ($1300) for the first time (other than tires and basic maintenance such as oil and filters) for a major service. I got the 60k service, new ceramic brake pads and rotors (I just kind of ignored the brakes too long), the headlight alignment guide became detached, and one of the windshield washer hoses came undone. The 60k service included changing a thermostat as apparently they are prone to failure in Saabs (according to my local Saab mechanic.)

I also think there could be something done as far as the fog lamps go. I've replaced the driver side foglamp twice and now the passenger side fog lamp is shattered as well. Apparently they don't stand up to whatever is hitting them (rocks?). It's a pain because it's a $200ish part from Saab. I'll look at putting some sort of cover on them at some point.

Other niggling point: Part of the rubber seal around the lower part of the convertible top came loose (started to rip away). I'm too cheap to buy a new one at this point, so with a bit of epoxy, presto! You can't tell it came apart.

Also, this car doesn't handle well at all in the snow with summer tires. That may seem like a "duh!" statement, but the Big-O place near me sold me some Yokahama "all-season" tires that (according to Tire Rack) are just summer tires. Luckily I haven't driven much in snow, but when I did, it was like bald tires. However, the car handles amazingly well in dry and wet conditions. I like the handling so much, it's making me consider dedicated snow tires.

I should also mention that I've been very good at doing the routine maintenance using synthetic oil and I've liked the K&N oil filters (because they are the only ones I've found besides OEM that have a backflow preventor and the dealer is 45+ miles away).

Now, I can't claim that in 2001 that I KNEW that oil prices would skyrocket, but hey, I can say I strongly suspected they'd go up. So, mileage played a role in my purchase. I routinely average (commuting on surface streets) 27-29mpg. My best trip was the 800 miles RT from my place to Boise, ID. It was in January (hence, no A/C which you have to manually turn off) and I tried to stay at the speed limit (cruise control set to 76 most of the way) and we averaged 38mpg there and 36.5mpg on the way back (going slightly faster). 32-35mpg is normal for me on the interstate. The turbo allows this car to be a 4 cyl car for most things, but it has really quite a lot of power when you need it.

I still get compliments on a car that's basically 6 years old with 60k, and I still enjoy driving it and have complete confidence (knock on wood) in the car itself. The fact that it gets even better mileage than I expected is a bonus. It's been a good investment for me.