[saabstry]

I have read here and elsewhere that if you have a 900 convertible, you are almost guaranteed to have tonneau motor trouble because of a poorly designed and undersized motor. Naturally, my car has the same problem - I was told "too bad" by SAABUsa, and quoted over $2000 to get it fixed by my dealer. Since this problem is so prevalent, has anyone thought about a class action suit against SAAB to resolve this problem due to defective engineering?

 

[autoarcheologist]

Having problems with a motor that is 10 years old is hardly grounds for a class action lawsuit. 10 years is about the expected lifetime for a car, and about the age at which electronics start to go bad.

Don't forget this was a $45k car when new, 10 years ago. $2k for repairs is only 5% of the original value.

Maybe someone has improved on the design or knows a better fix, but if you get another 10 years out of the top that's not a bad deal.

 

[autoarcheologist]

OK, this might be more helpful than my previous rant.

Check out this thread:

http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1343562&postcount=10

This might solve your problem, or at least give you something to talk to the dealer about.

Good luck.

 

[earthworm]

I don't know..
10 years is not a good life span for a motor vehicle, IMO...
15 is more like it, this relies on a good quality of upkeep and maintenance...which is a sometimes thing.
I don't think that many manufacturers have "kept up". Many improvements of all sorts could have been made, but were they ???
Now our American companies are bankrupt, are the Euros far behind ?

 

[saabstry]

Response to Top Trouble

Having problems with a motor that is 10 years old is hardly grounds for a class action lawsuit. 10 years is about the expected lifetime for a car, and about the age at which electronics start to go bad.

Don't forget this was a $45k car when new, 10 years ago. $2k for repairs is only 5% of the original value.

Maybe someone has improved on the design or knows a better fix, but if you get another 10 years out of the top that's not a bad deal.

Actually, I have not used the top in about 5 years because it didn't work, I just got really frustrated and decided to try to fix it. A motor that strips gears on a $45,000 car is beyond the pale. And what's up with the disolving logo on the SAAB badges?

 

[earthworm]

I have read here and elsewhere that if you have a 900 convertible, you are almost guaranteed to have tonneau motor trouble because of a poorly designed and undersized motor. Naturally, my car has the same problem - I was told "too bad" by SAABUsa, and quoted over $2000 to get it fixed by my dealer. Since this problem is so prevalent, has anyone thought about a class action suit against SAAB to resolve this problem due to defective engineering?

I believe that the "class action lawsuit" mindset in America is, at best, a minus, and at worst, a nation wrecker..
We do need much better communications; the executives must leave their Ivory Towers and pay attention to business...which is a whole lot more than reading bottom lines....
IMO, the problem is one of ingrained attitudes, more than "defective" engineering..

 

[widuck1]

this tonneau motor gear deal is fixable,

eeuroparts has a new gear kit for 200 bucks or so, dissasembly is do-able , at least by me, then you have to rework the frame slightly to compensate for years of wear. the two or three grand quotes I hear are just silly, those people just don't want the work, a real mechanic can fix parts, not just replace them.

John

 

[canuckpal]

I have had many convertibles in my time and the saab convertible problems are pathetic. Again cheap parts on an expensive car. Convert it to manual operation and live with it. :evil: