[16volt]

I bought a 99 Viggen in January with 18K on the clock, milage confirmed via CarFax and DOT.

Well I got the engine warrenty mail from Saab a couple of weeks ago and seeing as the car now has eclipsed 24K I figured I would bring it to the dealer for the 20K service. Im good with a wrench and Im sure the service is just a inspection but I want to be sure the proper services show up on the cars history so when I sell it I can say it been well maintained and such.

Well a call to the dealership this morning resulted in being told that Saab goes more by years than milage and seeing how the car is 6 years old they want to do the full 5hr 60K service at a cost of $725. Ouch.

So what do you guys reccomend, its important that the car has the proper service history but at this mileage Im not sure its $725 important. Im assuming they do belts, serp and fluids seeing as I dont think it takes 5 hours to lift the car and poke around with a flashlight.

I plan on keeping the car for a couple years and doing some mods eventually but this is my daily driver so nothing too extreme. And at that point the engine extened warrenty is voided anyway.

What do you think?

 

[earthworm]

Well, they do have a little bit of a point. Age of course, does affect an automobile..
The $725 is a rip off, but we all know that....too bad GM does not seem to..
What I would do is report them to corporate GM/Saab.....

Then find a good indie, there are some listed here under "listings" ?..

Better yet , DIY..

 

[CleveSaab]

Only thing I can think of is maybe they found something wrong and the major service should fix it? Ya, sure, age plays a factor, but this major service is mostly just swapping fluids. Sludge maybe?
If you've had the car serviced regularly you should not need a fuel filter already. You shouldn't need brake fluid swapped. Not sure I buy what your dealer is selling.

What I would do is report them to corporate GM/Saab.....

Um...for what?!?
That's a bit higher then my dealer but not TOO high. Seems inline with most dealer prices.
The 35K service was $550 at my dealer.
If you don't DIY, find a specialist to do it.

I paid for my last one but am going to gradually do the 65K service on my 98 900 myself.
Well, that is if anyone will help me figure out how to remove that damn hose from the firewall for the Power Steering.

 

[16volt]

They havnt even seen the car so there is nothing promoting this.

I guess Ill just keep driving it, I just dont see the point in do a 60K service at 20K other than dealership profits.

 

[fabric]

They havnt even seen the car so there is nothing promoting this.

I guess Ill just keep driving it, I just dont see the point in do a 60K service at 20K other than dealership profits.

When were the fluids last changed? Brake and transmission fluid, coolant usually shouldn't go more than 2 years, and engine oil shouldn't go more than 1 year, regardless of mileage. Engine oil is extremely important in a turbo engine. If any of these time intervals have been exceeded, which seems like it could easily possible on a car that age, even with low mileage, you should get them changed.

FInd a good independent. It shouldn't be over $500 for this, and it's regular maintenance you should do.

 

[Tarpot]

I bought a 99 Viggen in January with 18K on the clock, milage confirmed via CarFax and DOT.

Well I got the engine warrenty mail from Saab a couple of weeks ago and seeing as the car now has eclipsed 24K I figured I would bring it to the dealer for the 20K service. Im good with a wrench and Im sure the service is just a inspection but I want to be sure the proper services show up on the cars history so when I sell it I can say it been well maintained and such.

Well a call to the dealership this morning resulted in being told that Saab goes more by years than milage and seeing how the car is 6 years old they want to do the full 5hr 60K service at a cost of $725. Ouch.

So what do you guys reccomend, its important that the car has the proper service history but at this mileage Im not sure its $725 important. Im assuming they do belts, serp and fluids seeing as I dont think it takes 5 hours to lift the car and poke around with a flashlight.

I plan on keeping the car for a couple years and doing some mods eventually but this is my daily driver so nothing too extreme. And at that point the engine extened warrenty is voided anyway.

What do you think?

I think they make a good point in the sense that things do wear out from causes that have nothing to do with mileage (gaskets, hoses, bushings, boots for example). So, you probably should have somebody go over the car and make sure everything's in good shape still, as a preventative measure. On the other hand, doing the 60k service per se sounds fishy to me. Where did they get that number?

Call one of the other two Saab dealers in this area and ask them their opinion. (I'm sure you're familiar with them already, but depending on who you're currently working with, these would be McCann or Barrier or Carter).

Alternatively (and this would be my choice), call Scanwest and have them do it instead. You won't void the warranty if an independent does the work, as long as they document it.

Good luck!

 

[16volt]

"Alternatively (and this would be my choice), call Scanwest and have them do it instead. You won't void the warranty if an independent does the work, as long as they document it."

Excellent, thats exactly what I was looking for.

But why would anyone change tranny lube at 2yrs on a manual box? Most of the lubes out there are life of vehicle? I alway ran Redline in my old car, I did change it once a year but it was a track/show car putting out more power than the Saab through a 87 gear box. Any issues running Redline in the Saab?

The folks at Barrier have been the ones wokring on the car as I work on the eastside and its easy for me to get too. I stay away from Carter due to the VW horror stories that come out of there on a regular basis.

Im setting up an appt with Scanwest today.

 

[16volt]

Spoke with Scanwest and they look to be about a buck cheaper than the dealer for the service. Im going to compare what each of them specifically does.

 

[stromer]

You could always just do the 20k service for the point of having it on the records. You said that was on of your motivations. A potential buyer down the road wouldn't say "hmmm, when you did the 20k service, it had the age as if it were at 60k, so why didn't you do the 60k evern though there was only 24k on it?" Then when the dealor is doing the service, if they find anything else wrong, they can do it or you can. But the 20k has to be a lot less than the 60k service.

Or your plan of an indy works too :cheesy:

 

[CleveSaab]

Personally I would still just do the 60K myself, in your shoes.

FULL SERVICE HISTORY from a dealer is nice, but if the PO was the DIY type and assured me he did the major service (and if he had some reciepts to back it up...belt, pulley, plugs, brake fluid) and if I trusted him, and if he wrote everything he did in the book...that would be good enough for me.

 

[16volt]

I guess the only thing I dont want to do myself is the serp belt, Im taking it in to Scanwest for some general diagnostic stuff and Ill check on how much they would charge to do that bit.

 

[Tarpot]

I guess the only thing I dont want to do myself is the serp belt...

Y'know, funny you should mention that. I just did mine this weekend for the first time... only took like 45 minutes. Easier than I thought-- you could do it, no sweat. The excellent, illustrated directions for the short-belt mod (do a search) are exactly the same to swap the stock belt as well. If you haven't already, take a look before you send the job to Scanwest, as they will charge 45-85 bucks and you'll still not know how

Good luck!
T

 

[CleveSaab]

Y'know, funny you should mention that.

I was going to say the same thing. I was actually looking forward to doing the belt until I realized mine has been changed. It REALLY is NOT hard at all.
Price installed belt + pulley is $150-$210.
I had them do it on my first Saab.
I'll be doing them from here out.