SAAB 9-5 vs x308 Jaguar

I'll second singleslammer, If you're looking at 9-5s take a serious look at the S60 and S80. '04.5 and newer S40 too (though it's a little smaller). To clarify singleslammer a bit, stay away from the S80 T6, it's transmission is a "consumable" part.

The Haldex AWD isn't always an issue, it's just such a crap shoot in the used market to find a car that's been properly serviced, and while it handles mismatched tires better than the older viscous coupler AWD, previous owners replacing bald tires 2 at a time can still be an issue. The bigger issue is previous owners not paying attention to the "thimble full" of oil used to lubricate the bevel gear all leaking out.

Older but bullet proof are the 850/S70, but they're all pretty long in the tooth by now.

• Lee

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

Ex-Alfa owner here, so I stand by my declaration. I will admit that I was younger and without kids when I was getting stuck on the side of the road.

Still would rather have the Jag. In ten years, the Jag will be collectible, while the SAAB will be scrap-metal.

fanfoy wrote:

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

Ex-Alfa owner here, so I stand by my declaration. I will admit that I was younger and without kids when I was getting stuck on the side of the road. Still would rather have the Jag. In ten years, the Jag will be collectible, while the SAAB will be scrap-metal.

Stand by it now or in golden memories? I notice your user garage isn't full of quirky breakdown prone cars... that says it all to me. I'm not trying to be a jerk, just saying that daily drivers are meant to get you to work, not lose your job for you.

How much are 15-20 year old Jags worth now? I've yet to see one climb out of the 4 digit range. The x308 will be the same, I'm sure. Call me on it in 10 years, I would be happy to be proven wrong, but past performance is a pretty good indicator of future returns in this area. ;-)

XJ40s are worth about $1k less than a similar condition XJR, pre 1990 cars have mostly all been crushed already here, they still exist if you go looking for them but actually seeing any on the road is rare.

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

But the X308 has not many more problem areas then the Saab. Do some research...

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote:

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

Ex-Alfa owner here, so I stand by my declaration. I will admit that I was younger and without kids when I was getting stuck on the side of the road. Still would rather have the Jag. In ten years, the Jag will be collectible, while the SAAB will be scrap-metal.

Stand by it now or in golden memories? I notice your user garage isn't full of quirky breakdown prone cars... that says it all to me. I'm not trying to be a jerk, just saying that daily drivers are meant to get you to work, not lose your job for you. How much are 15-20 year old Jags worth now? I've yet to see one climb out of the 4 digit range. The x308 will be the same, I'm sure. Call me on it in 10 years, I would be happy to be proven wrong, but past performance is a pretty good indicator of future returns in this area. ;-)

I still stand by it today. My supposedly reliable 20-years old Suburban has left me stranded twice this year. That's just one less than my record holder Audi. I have reliable cars because they need to carry kids and because my wife drives them. Breaking down once or twice a year is no big deal. Your garage full of Toyota's means you obviously disagree, and that's OK.

But the OP never even mentioned reliability in his post. If he wanted reliable, I would point him to a Maxima which is a much better car than the SAAB.

As for 15-20 years value, I just did a quick search of my local CL. There are currently 19 Jags for sale between 15-20 years with an asking price ranging from 1.5K to 21K (average about 8K). Saab? 20 currently for sale with an asking price ranging from 300$ to 5.5K (average about 2.5K) And if we go older than 20 years, 10 SAAB's for sale vs 35 Jag's.

The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

93EXCivic wrote:

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

But the X308 has not many more problem areas then the Saab. Do some research...

I was going off topic from the OP's post, sorry. I was just responding to the "I'd rather push an x than drive a y" post. Sorry.

fanfoy wrote: The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

So Maximas and Camrys can crack 400HP with bolt-ons and a tune? Saab's T5/T7 engine management is a dream to work with and the larger displacement turbo fours are able to handle a lot of boost. The handling isn't hard to fix either. I guess a 300+ HP sport sedan that'll knock back ~28MPG average if you keep your foot out of it is nothing special.

dculberson wrote:

fanfoy wrote: I'd rather be stuck by the side of the road in a Jag, than bored in the Saab.

That's a cute pithy thing to say on the internet but when you're actually sitting on the side of the road staring at a broken car that won't get you home your opinion changes really quickly. Trust me. No more British cars for me.

My XJR has left me stranded once in 4 years, at ~120k miles when a (Bosch) fuel pump failed. Hardly a quirky-British-car thing.

fanfoy wrote: The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

This I disagree with. The Saab is not a bad choice and I would love to own one but the Jag is a better choice.

SlickDizzy wrote:

fanfoy wrote: The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

So Maximas and Camrys can crack 400HP with bolt-ons and a tune? Saab's T5/T7 engine management is a dream to work with and the larger displacement turbo fours are able to handle a lot of boost. The handling isn't hard to fix either. I guess a 300+ HP sport sedan that'll knock back ~28MPG average if you keep your foot out of it is nothing special.

the problem is you are still left with a SOB... oh sorry... a SLAAB, whoops slipped again... a SAAB.

SAAB's are a heavy bit of Euro trash... that brought their own distruction

I can't speak to 400hp Camry's... but the Maxima is a similar V6 to the 300 Z... with a few bolts ons and a tune I'm sure you can crack 400hp

oldeskewltoy wrote:

SlickDizzy wrote:

fanfoy wrote: The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

So Maximas and Camrys can crack 400HP with bolt-ons and a tune? Saab's T5/T7 engine management is a dream to work with and the larger displacement turbo fours are able to handle a lot of boost. The handling isn't hard to fix either. I guess a 300+ HP sport sedan that'll knock back ~28MPG average if you keep your foot out of it is nothing special.

the problem is you are still left with a SOB... oh sorry... a SLAAB, whoops slipped again... a SAAB. I can't speak to 400hp Camry's... but the Maxima is a similar V6 to the 300 Z... with a few bolts ons and a tune I'm sure you can crack 400hp

Then you are stuck with a Maxima aka hood ride of choice.....

To all those comparing the SAAB to a camry, I can't agree. The SAAB is entertaining to drive compared to a camry, it has the best ergonomics of any car I have ever been in (it usually takes about a week of driving one to come to this conclusion though), and it doesn't look like a refridgerator.

Not to mention that you are a tune away from good speed.

they both have plenty of charm. I feel like more of a badass when I'm in my XJ8 than I did in my 9.5turbo. How do you quantify THAT?

Other than with the shelby charger I had, I haven't really ever had any reason to complain about a car not being reliable. The stuff I hate are things like massive oil leaks, non working heater and a/c, stuff like that. I guess I need to try driving a saab, jag and volvo (at least the s80 for sure, the s60 isnt quite cheap enough yet). One other advantage to those 3 is they are all at the beginning of all but a few of them being scrapped, so for the next 5 years or so at least used parts should be plentiful.

oldeskewltoy wrote:

SlickDizzy wrote:

fanfoy wrote: The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

So Maximas and Camrys can crack 400HP with bolt-ons and a tune? Saab's T5/T7 engine management is a dream to work with and the larger displacement turbo fours are able to handle a lot of boost. The handling isn't hard to fix either. I guess a 300+ HP sport sedan that'll knock back ~28MPG average if you keep your foot out of it is nothing special.

the problem is you are still left with a SOB... oh sorry... a SLAAB, whoops slipped again... a SAAB. SAAB's are a heavy bit of Euro trash... that brought their own distruction I can't speak to 400hp Camry's... but the Maxima is a similar V6 to the 300 Z... with a few bolts ons and a tune I'm sure you can crack 400hp

If one of those "bolt ons" was a supercharger, and another was "standalone EMS," maybe.

GM brought about Saab's destruction.

The point is, a Jag is something special. A SAAB is just an appliance with nothing to recommend it above a Maxima or even a Camry.

That one hurt. GRM proved that a Camry is a horrible thing to modify and track and all Nissan Maximas and Ultimas and G35/37s are extremelyhard to look at with awful sounding motors.

The amount of ignorance in this thread surprises me. This is GRM.

Both the Jag and the Saab have the potential to be great rides. They each have their idiosyncrasies and both could be potentially problematic OR totally trouble-free. Go drive both. Whatever you decide upon, have it inspected or at least do your research regarding what fails on each. I've driven both of the cars in question and really enjoyed both.

Powar wrote: The amount of ignorance in this thread surprises me. This is GRM. Both the Jag and the Saab have the potential to be great rides. They each have their idiosyncrasies and both could be potentially problematic OR totally trouble-free. Go drive both. Whatever you decide upon, have it inspected or at least do your research regarding what fails on each. I've driven both of the cars in question and really enjoyed both.

What he says. Why all the hate?

While we're being rational for a moment, I can't speak for SAABs but the enthusiast community for Jaguars is nothing like for BMWs. I've used jaguarforums.com with some success but there's much less depth. OTOH, I haven't had much need for help.

mfennell wrote: While we're being rational for a moment, I can't speak for SAABs but the enthusiast community for Jaguars is nothing like for BMWs. I've used jaguarforums.com with some success but there's much less depth. OTOH, I haven't had much need for help.

Saab enthusiast forums are plentiful and active. I don't frequent any of them any more, but they are certainly alive and well.

oldeskewltoy wrote: the problem is you are still left with a SOB... oh sorry... a SLAAB, whoops slipped again... a SAAB. SAAB's are a heavy bit of Euro trash... that brought their own distruction I can't speak to 400hp Camry's... but the Maxima is a similar V6 to the 300 Z... with a few bolts ons and a tune I'm sure you can crack 400hp

You do not list one single reason in which a Saab is actually a bad car, just a good chunk of vague rhetoric.

You also clearly don't know much about Maximas or Nissans. Even in Z-cars, getting past ~250HP requires a swap to twin turbos or exotic internals. Guess how I know? I own a 1994 Z. Short of investing thousands into cams, head work, forced induction etc you are not going to get anywhere near what a Saab can make with a downpipe, exhaust and tune. I also owned a 1999 9-5 and found it to be a wonderful car.

This isn't the first time this board has exhibited senseless anti-Saab sentiment. Odd, because the people that hate them the most never seem to have owned one.

SAAB or Volvo is personally your best bet.

I don't have anything against the Saab or the Jag ( I have wanted versions of both on and off for years). I just think Volvo is a good option as well.