What should I do? Keep and Upgrade or sell?

[sambo413]

So here is my question... I have an '03 9-5 2.3t linear with 124k miles on it. I have had it for two years. Currently I have done the following: replaced all wheel bearings/hubs, new front tires, new silicon vacuum lines, open air intake, forge piston diverter valve, valve cover gasket, PCv check valve... I am planning on doing Brembo brakes with hawk or pbr/axxis pads, rebuilding cleaning and painting calipers, and rear tires. My question is should I continue putting money I to my car - preventative maintenance, performance upgrades, etc or leave as is, sell in a year or two? I currently owe about whAt it's valued at on kbb or maybe even owe more than it's worth. It also needs a new muffler, should I replace the muffler or entire exhaust? Any suggestions for a good catback exhaust? I replaced the flex pipe last year. I have also been wanting to tint windows. Thanks.

[Sparky's 9-5 3t]

Careful with KBB, it's not a realistic outlook of the worth of our cars.

My '03 Arc with 110k miles booked at $9900 when I bought it 02-10. The sticker price was also $9900. I paid $6000. AT A DEALER. I bought the car for $3900 less than they were asking, at a dealer. The salesman wanted $7500. After a few phone calls I got him down to $6k. $6k is actually a little more than I should have paid for it, but the car had been dealer cared for since new and had 1 owner. In other words.... everything worked on the car so it was worth it to me. -side note- If I'd known I would fall so deeply in love with SAAB I would have done my research and bought an Aero SC.

NOW my car KBB dealer retails for $7550 with 137k miles. There's no way my car is worth that much.

Private Party sale of the same car in "good" condition is $5400. Which I believe is high. Now you can buy an Aero with 90k for $5k. Others on this board have gotten even better deals.

Money spent on maintenance doesn't often add to the value of a vehicle. Performance products rarely do too, unless you can find the "right buyer".

Not sure how much you owe, but I wouldn't consider KBB an honest evaluation of the vehicle.

I've always considered NADA to be more realistic... but it might shock you...

[sambo413]

Well I guess my question is more along the lines of is it worth putting money into or is it going to fall apart and die on me in a couple years. I probably owe between 4k-4500 and kbb says it's worth 4300-4800 for private party sale. Nada says 3300 for trade in and about 5300 for retail. I Paid a little over 6k for it. I love my car and would like to keep it for as long as possible , I just want to make sure it won't fail on me. What are recommended preventative maintenance steps to ensure it'll last over 200k miles??

[Saaber95er]

Sounds to me like you really love your SAAB; I say keep it as long as you keep up with the maintenance your car will last a long time and you will get to enjoy your current and future upgrades. Saabs are made to run as long as you treat them right. WECOME TO THE FORUM!!!!!!!!

[Hersomk]

I say sell it, get what you can for it now, get out of debt, and go buy a 9000 aero or something.

[Cark]

Originally Posted by Hersomk

I say sell it, get what you can for it now, get out of debt, and go buy a 9000 aero or something.

He's worried about reliability and longevity and you're telling him to buy an older car? I love 9000's as much as the next guy, just got rid of mine with 280,000 miles on it, but am so freaking happy to have a nice 9-5 AERO I can just get in and drive and not have to be fixing something every week.

[Paul in NM]

Originally Posted by Cark

He's worried about reliability and longevity and you're telling him to buy an older car? I love 9000's as much as the next guy, just got rid of mine with 280,000 miles on it, but am so freaking happy to have a nice 9-5 AERO I can just get in and drive and not have to be fixing something every week.

Just wait. It'll change.

[Cark]

Originally Posted by Paul in NM

Just wait. It'll change.

Oh no doubt, and I have been fixing things... however it's nothing like my 9000 was, or any older car for that matter. My 9-5 has been amazingly reliable and yes they do require maintenance and have parts that wear out. My 9000 was also great. I bought my 9000 with 126,000 on it and put 120,000 miles on it in the first 3 years I owned and I think I had to replace the tires and the voltage regulator in that time... seriously. I did alot of other work to it, but it was all elective stuff, not necessary. I sold it at 280,000 and never had the head off the car, and only replaced the VC gasket because I wanted to. My point though is even the newest 9000's on the road are almost 15 years old. Consider that most cars these days don't even make it that long.

[Paul in NM]

Originally Posted by Cark

Oh no doubt, and I have been fixing things... however it's nothing like my 9000 was, or any older car for that matter. My 9-5 has been amazingly reliable and yes they do require maintenance and have parts that wear out. My 9000 was also great. I bought my 9000 with 126,000 on it and put 120,000 miles on it in the first 3 years I owned and I think I had to replace the tires and the voltage regulator in that time... seriously. I did alot of other work to it, but it was all elective stuff, not necessary. I sold it at 280,000 and never had the head off the car, and only replaced the VC gasket because I wanted to. My point though is even the newest 9000's on the road are almost 15 years old. Consider that most cars these days don't even make it that long.

Yeah of my seven Saabs my 1988 9000T was by far my favorite. But always in my garage for repairs (IAC valve, heater core, radiator, on and on). My current 9-5 has seen a good amount of time in my garage but usually for niggly bits.

[Saaber95er]

SomethingAlmostAlwaysBreaks, but we still find a reason to still own/drive them. If you got rid of it what would you get next?