Not a Saab girl anymore
Not a Saab
I took my Saab in last week to get the air-conditioning fixed, as my feet would roast very time I drove it, even with the unit turned off. I paid the mechanic $300 and walked out of there thinking I was set. I wasn’t. I had to take it in again because my feet were still roasting. Luckily, it hasn’t been too horrible. It’s already June and we are still wondering when summer will make its way to Boise. But at some point it will, and I didn’t want my feet to melt. I almost had a heart-attack when the guy called to tell me I would have to fork out $2500 to fix the problem. Dude, with Saabs no longer being made I could probably buy the same car again for that price!
So I did a quick search on cars.com in the afternoon, drove over to Lyle Pearson, and thanks to Mark (who sold me the car) and Steve (who gave me a rocking deal on the loan), by 8 pm I was the proud owner of a new (to me) Volkswagen Touareg. I know! After 14 years I feel a little like I am cheating. It is a well-known fact that I absolutely love Saabs, but I must admit I got used to saying “Oh, I have only driven Saabs since I got my license”, and I refused at times to look at other options just so I could keep saying it. How STUPID is that, right?
That said and stupidity acknowledged, I am hoping this is the last major change I’ll make for a while. Last year was quite the odyssey and I am sick of changes. Besides, I would have to do something drastic to top this one off, like convert to mormonism, buying a Windows PC, or stop using swearwords.
2 thoughts on “Not a Saab girl anymore”
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I am very sorry to hear that Saab has lost you as an owner! A friend passed on your blog to me as she knows I am quite the Saab nut. I was recently in Boise and from my research on Saab sales and repair in the Boise area, you don’t have a lot of choices for good repair people. I have learned from experience that if you have a non-Saab certified tech work on your Saab, its not going to go well. Saab systems are unique and very engineered unlike a lot of other brands. The air conditioning systems is pretty much contained and should not cost $2500 to fix. Means that mechanic was trying to cheat you. You didn’t state whether you were able to get cold air from the upper vents or not. If it was only that your feet were very hot, means that the vent was not being directed or there is a problem with the heater core. I know there are no new Saab sales in the area and the closest dealership is either Spokane or Salt Lake City. If you get an opportunity to visit a dealership, I think you would be happy to test drive a new 9-5 or the 9-3X. If you wish to stay in touch with the Saab world, go to SaabsUnited.com or Inside.saab.com. I sincerely hope that you will come back to Saab as the brand is far from dead and is coming out with new cars now about every 6 months.
Thanks so much for such a nice message. See? I already felt like I was cheating, and now I feel even worse!
I did get cold air from the copilot and rear vents, but not on my side. I took the car to Larry Miller Honda, which are certified Saab mechanics. The quote they gave me was $800 worth of parts, the rest went to labor. I had even made an appointment to take the Saab to Michael’s, which is the only mechanic in Boise specialized in Saabs, to get a second opinion. But you know? This last Saab never felt like “home” to me for some reason. The other four always did, especially my 9-5 Aero Wagon (which unfortunately, I totaled in 2009). So when the issue with the air conditioning arose, I decided it was time to give another brand a chance.
The Touareg is pretty awesome. And even though I might not be a Saab girl anymore now, but I will probably be one again in the future. @BellaAsil