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I have a SAAB 9-5 Turbo, some 10 years old with 120k on the clock.
Recently my hydraulic steering went and now the slave cylinder in the clutch has gone. Talking to the mechanics they were telling me that SAABs are not the same as they used to be and since being taken over by General Motors they have a built in built-in life span (of about
150k). This surprised and shocked me as, having owned 5 SAABS, I always felt that the build standard was excellent and you could rely on the cars reaching 400,000 miles without too many problems. Now it would seem that a lot of the components are plastic and will inevitably wear out. On further discussions with another mechanic he was telling me that Audis these days are full of breakable plastic components and where as an Audi used to have an excellent solid build standard, nowadays "you wouldn't believe how much plastic is in the car" said the mechanic. This brings me to the wider question and where I would hope that you may be able to help. When one buys a car, its performance and looks maybe fantastic, but how solidly is it really built? 99% of the population is not in a position to know how well a car will last, whereas you could delve deeper into knowing which cars are well built or not? It may ruffle a few feathers but that is what Honest John is all about, isn't it?
Recently my hydraulic steering went and now the slave cylinder in the clutch has gone. Talking to the mechanics they were telling me that SAABs are not the same as they used to be and since being taken over by General Motors they have a built in built-in life span (of about
150k). This surprised and shocked me as, having owned 5 SAABS, I always felt that the build standard was excellent and you could rely on the cars reaching 400,000 miles without too many problems. Now it would seem that a lot of the components are plastic and will inevitably wear out. On further discussions with another mechanic he was telling me that Audis these days are full of breakable plastic components and where as an Audi used to have an excellent solid build standard, nowadays "you wouldn't believe how much plastic is in the car" said the mechanic. This brings me to the wider question and where I would hope that you may be able to help. When one buys a car, its performance and looks maybe fantastic, but how solidly is it really built? 99% of the population is not in a position to know how well a car will last, whereas you could delve deeper into knowing which cars are well built or not? It may ruffle a few feathers but that is what Honest John is all about, isn't it?
Asked on 28 February 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
SAABs have been a problem for quite a while now. That's why used values drop so sharply. Non-specialist traders are afraid to touch them because of the huge bills they could face that more than wipe out any profit they might have made. VAG cars have needed comparatively high numbers of repairs and replacements during their lives. Their reputation for 'reliability' and 'longevity' is based more on snobbery than anything else. I have found Fords to be far more reliable and far cheaper to run over 8 - 10 years. The build quality of my Polish built FIAT 500 is vastly better than that of a Spanish built VW Polo (all Polos have been Spanish built for around 20 years). As for Mercedes, it destroyed its reputation by deliberately reducing
build quality from the mid 1990s, with catastrophic results. The W210 E Class is one of the most rust-prone cars of the late 1990s/early 2000s. In my experience, perceived 'quality' is far more about bad old British brand snobbery than anything else. That said, a base model Mercedes W204 C200 CDI Classic SE manual I drove last year felt like it would go on to 1,000,000 miles, so Mercedes quality may be on the way back
build quality from the mid 1990s, with catastrophic results. The W210 E Class is one of the most rust-prone cars of the late 1990s/early 2000s. In my experience, perceived 'quality' is far more about bad old British brand snobbery than anything else. That said, a base model Mercedes W204 C200 CDI Classic SE manual I drove last year felt like it would go on to 1,000,000 miles, so Mercedes quality may be on the way back
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