[budman]

I had just spoke to my local Saab Service for Las Vegas regarding enabling the Aux-In for my Linear ($60!) and I asked about the 30-day service which Saab no longer pays for he said. He then said casually that the first Oil Change for an '05 is 5000 miles . AND only the 15k & 30k oil light ones are paid for.

I said "huh? According to my Service Manual is says I am only responsible for the recommended changes indicated by the oil light and that could be anywhere past 8k upto 15k".

I mentioned to him if it was my car I would do 5k changes probably, but I am leasing it so why should I care (this is where he got a little snotty)... It is SAAB that advocates the free scheduled maintenance.

He went on to say "Not in this heat" and to hope then there is no problems later on when you turn your lease in. Then mentioned he has a "New" bulletin posted on his door directly from Saab and I can read it when I come in for the Aux-In. Something about Saab throwing a disclaimer on free scheduled service intervals and suggesting (I assume) that us in the desert SW are responsible for in between recommended oil changes of 5k intervals. :x

This makes upsets me. One of the reasons I went with the Saab lease is to not have to worry about this stuff until the car says so and when it DOES, it is free anyway. Now I am worried should they find some reason later on (probably sure they will!) that I will be held responsible cause I didn't follow their NEW recommendations which cost alot of $$ as Saab oil changes are expensive.

Anyone here about this? I also thought that the oil change computer takes into effect outside heat in its computation and should adjust accordingly so as to NOT get into trouble?

 

[Dave 37]

I think SAAB recommends changing oil when the monitor says so but I didn't read it closely enough to see if they also recommend an oil change before the monitor says so if the car is driven under extreme conditions. My guess is that they are not mentioned.

Some say that more frequent oil changes is better for the car and prolongs the life of the car. This is a reasonable opinion.

If you are going to return the car after the lease, following the monitor will almost certainly not result in any noticable wear on the car. If one is a nice guy, I think that an oil change before the first scheduled one in a new car is a good idea. In the old days (even with the classic 900), SAAB recommended an oil change after 1000 miles because of metal shavings leftover when making the engine. For those environmentally conscience, I think worn out engine which is which has to be replaced is bad for the environment, more so than the extra oil that needs to be produced in order to change the oil at the 50% mark on the monitor.

 

[1BadPig]

AND only the 15k & 30k oil light ones are paid for.

This is interesting... I just received a notice from my dealer that it is time to schedule an oil change. I have 36xx miles. So I called to set up an appointment. When I told the Service Manager that I receive the letter and would like to bring it in for service, he practically told me the idiots (his word) at SAAB USA don't know how much miles I have. I told him that the letter didn't come from SAAB USA but his own dealership! He said unless I drove city all the time I can go at least 7500 miles before oil change. Then I meantioned that I'm glad my lease covered free maintenance and he told me that only 15K and 30K services are covered. I about blew a gasket. Now that I am reading your post, I am really concerned about them not honoring "free maintenance" portion of the contract as covering all the maintenance cost. I love my SAAB, but this is the second (out of second) negative experience with SAAB service! ;oops: