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equivalents to 2008 9-3 aero 6spd?

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4K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  mike d 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm looking at a 08 6spd aero 4door and love the way it drives. Before buying though I thought I'd try to find out what it's closest competitors would have been in 08 from BMW, Audi, VW etc. I'm not really interested in the Japanese cars.

Can anyone suggest what else I should drive?

Thanks...
 
#2 ·
You would want to drive an BMW 335XI(much better driving car, but nearly $10k more money).

Audi, you can either try an S4(bad on gas, would want a warranty, and again, closer to $30k used). The Audi with a 2.0T is nice, but only comes alive with tuning, might be worth a drive though.

You might want to give the VW CC a drive. I had a tuned 2.0T 6mt and it was quite quick. '09's are under $20k today. I sold mine for $15k with 53k miles.

I would also look at an 08-09 Legacy GT.
 
#7 ·
to clarify..

So, basically unless I spend another 6-10k I won't find a better car. Is that what you guys are saying?

For instance, what if I compared something like a Golf GTI to the saab aero. I think they would be around the same price and in that case would the Saab be the better choice?

I AM trying to be cheap..:) Thanks for the help.
 
#8 ·
So, basically unless I spend another 6-10k I won't find a better car. Is that what you guys are saying?

For instance, what if I compared something like a Golf GTI to the saab aero. I think they would be around the same price and in that case would the Saab be the better choice?

I AM trying to be cheap..:) Thanks for the help.
08.5gti has the TSI which is a great engine. Better interior and better handling. Just dont like VWs after 50k miles.
 
#10 ·
Honestly dollar for dollar Saabs are one of the best values out there. Before buying my wife's '10 9-3 we looked at Jetta, Passat, Eos, Mini, A4, C300, G35, 335... I could go on and on.

We couldn't find a better value dollar for dollar than the 9-3.
 
#18 ·
We couldn't find a better value dollar for dollar than the 9-3.
New to new, the CC has better interior (minus the stupid rear seat), vastly better audio and phone integration, standard touch screen, and better handling. (Yeah, I know. I was surprised too.) The kicker was that the MSRP on the CC was actually priced less than the MSRP of the comparable 9-3SS, but that was before the deep Saab discounting after the assembly lines stopped. :icon_frown:

Slow Joe said:
I'm not sure what you mean by later 9-5s, but I can speak for myself being the owner of a '07 9-5 Aero. I actually contemplated trading the car in on an SUV, which would have been better for... Well just about everything I do. I do a bit of towing, hauling stuff around, people mover, etc...

The problem is that I've been spoiled by the options my 9-5 has. Mine is LOADED (navi, htd/cooled seats, htd rear seat, park assist, etc, etc) and it's hard finding another vehicle that's optioned that well. The other problem is that everytime I drive my 9-5 it reminds me why I bought it in the first place.
+1.....The 9-5 is an absolute bargain when matched against nearly any competitor. The interior is great, and the seats on the 04+ 9-5 Aero are like having your ass cupped by the hands of an angel. Lots of power, very reliable when maintained properly, and still pretty stylish even with a "dated" body shell.
 
#11 ·
Do you want something this new? Because honestly there is a LOT of car that $12-$15k will buy you.

I would be looking seriously at E39 M5's if I was looking for cars in that price range and performance category. Or save $2-$6k and get an E36 M3.

Friends don't let friends buy Audis.

Ditto for VW if you want to keep it more than a few years and not pull all your hair out. Even the new ones have serious issues with fit and finish in the interior. A co-worker drives a 2012 Jetta wagon with a manual gearbox, and it's nice.... but not nice enough to justify making payments on it for 4 more years.

That being said, I really do like driving 9-3SS Aero's with the 6-speed, and '08 was a good year, got the style upgrade, the good stereo and climate controls, AUX input right on the dash for iAppleFanPods and such, most of the weird kinks got worked out.

Wherarbouts in CA you live and your access to a good mechanic who has the right diagnostic equipment to address issues with the car might be a deal breaker.

Where do you live?
 
#17 ·
Yea, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in my wife's 08 wagon. It's a solid car, and it's got great power, but everything else just feels dated. My only concern with VW is reliability - I looked at CC's, Jetta/Passat TDIs, and GTIs when searching for a new car, but in the end I didn't quite feel like I was getting enough for my money. That said, they're very solid-feeling cars; I'd take one any day over just about anything from Japan.

Have you considered a newer Fusion? I've always been a fan...a little beige but a great value overall.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Drove a CC sport today..

Ok, drove a 2010 mt 6spd and have pretty mixed feelings about it as compared to my 08 Saab 9-3 and other Saabs I've driven. The CC had more low frequency road noise. The interior felt more echoey and, japanese like. Reminded me of my old Mazda 3. It DID suck up potholes at low speeds better than my Saab.

Seats..this is a tough one. I was in the car for about 30-45 mins driving and I kept adjusting the seat. It never felt "right". This was the seat with the lumbar massage etc. I got it to a point where it seemed ok, but I have serious concerns about whether it is something that would make me hate the car. Google search CC seats uncomfortable and there are lots of people with issues with them.

Power and transmission. Nothing wrong with the power in the 4cyl, felt faster than my 2.0t automatic saab. On the other hand, the engine sounded tinny to me, even more so than my Saab which isn't a particularly great sounding engine..:) The manual shift in the CC was fine. I didn't like that the steering felt like WAY too much power assist..felt very little road feel. There is nothing really wrong with it, the car handles fine and sticks in the turns, it's just the steering didn't feel "fun".

It is an easier car to drive than my Saab though. What I mean by this is that everything feels "lighter". Some may like that, some may hate it..I'm not sure where I stand on this as I'm so used to the Saab. One other note, the brake pedal is MUCH more touchy than my 9-3. I really like the 9-3 pedal, feels more modulated to me. The brakes in the CC are super touchy, just like my old Mazda 3.

Visibility, driving position and beltline. I prefer the higher more panoramic view of the Saabs. The CC feels "sunk down" inside. It's not terrible and I'm pretty sure I'd get used to it, but it's a totally different driving experience.

Rattles!! The car had rattles. I was surprised as this was a 2010 with 20k miles.

Back seat doesn't fold down??? I read this somewhere, which if it's true could be a show stopper. Why wouldn't they fold down?

Anyway, just thought I'd update this thread. It may sound like I didn't like the CC, to the contrary I DID like a lot about it. I'm someone that is overly picky about seat comfort and road noise though and with the saab's I had no concerns..with the CC it would take a few more test drives to really know. I'm pretty concerned about the fact that I had to keep adjusting the seats as they never really felt right.

One more thing. The car said it had the "premium" sound system but I thought it sounded like crap. This really surprised me. This is because other VW's I've been in always had surprisingly good stereo's. The one in the CC just had a cheap sound to it. I spent about 10 mins trying to find out how to adjust the eq and GAVE UP. It's a touch screen interface and I couldn't see any way to adjust it. So, it may have sounded much better when eq'd up. My 9-3 has the regular stereo, which I think is "mediocre" but the CC sounded more mushy. This could also be attributed to what I mentioned earlier, that the inside of the CC sounded more echoey than the 9-3.
 
#21 ·
Ok, drove a 2010 mt 6spd and have pretty mixed feelings about it as compared to my 08 Saab 9-3 and other Saabs I've driven. The CC had more low frequency road noise. The interior felt more echoey and, japanese like. Reminded me of my old Mazda 3. It DID suck up potholes at low speeds better than my Saab.

Seats..this is a tough one. I was in the car for about 30-45 mins driving and I kept adjusting the seat. It never felt "right". This was the seat with the lumbar massage etc. I got it to a point where it seemed ok, but I have serious concerns about whether it is something that would make me hate the car. Google search CC seats uncomfortable and there are lots of people with issues with them.

Power and transmission. Nothing wrong with the power in the 4cyl, felt faster than my 2.0t automatic saab. On the other hand, the engine sounded tinny to me, even more so than my Saab which isn't a particularly great sounding engine..:) The manual shift in the CC was fine. I didn't like that the steering felt like WAY too much power assist..felt very little road feel. There is nothing really wrong with it, the car handles fine and sticks in the turns, it's just the steering didn't feel "fun".

It is an easier car to drive than my Saab though. What I mean by this is that everything feels "lighter". Some may like that, some may hate it..I'm not sure where I stand on this as I'm so used to the Saab. One other note, the brake pedal is MUCH more touchy than my 9-3. I really like the 9-3 pedal, feels more modulated to me. The brakes in the CC are super touchy, just like my old Mazda 3.

Visibility, driving position and beltline. I prefer the higher more panoramic view of the Saabs. The CC feels "sunk down" inside. It's not terrible and I'm pretty sure I'd get used to it, but it's a totally different driving experience.

Rattles!! The car had rattles. I was surprised as this was a 2010 with 20k miles.

Back seat doesn't fold down??? I read this somewhere, which if it's true could be a show stopper. Why wouldn't they fold down?

Anyway, just thought I'd update this thread. It may sound like I didn't like the CC, to the contrary I DID like a lot about it. I'm someone that is overly picky about seat comfort and road noise though and with the saab's I had no concerns..with the CC it would take a few more test drives to really know. I'm pretty concerned about the fact that I had to keep adjusting the seats as they never really felt right.

One more thing. The car said it had the "premium" sound system but I thought it sounded like crap. This really surprised me. This is because other VW's I've been in always had surprisingly good stereo's. The one in the CC just had a cheap sound to it. I spent about 10 mins trying to find out how to adjust the eq and GAVE UP. It's a touch screen interface and I couldn't see any way to adjust it. So, it may have sounded much better when eq'd up. My 9-3 has the regular stereo, which I think is "mediocre" but the CC sounded more mushy. This could also be attributed to what I mentioned earlier, that the inside of the CC sounded more echoey than the 9-3.
Seats fold down.

Steering is a bit light on feedback.

Loved the seats, fine for me on 600 mile road trips.

Did have a couple of rattles on mine.

I found my CC very quiet on the inside, easy to go 90 and feel like 60.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I would not buy a 2.0T audi/vw out of warranty

Locally audi dealers are booked out rebuilding heads on the CAEB 2.0T Engines. They are dieing on them to, lots of time and lots of special tools. They are not interested in helping if you are out of warranty by 3 weeks, and still under by miles. It's a fiasco.

We sold one 2011 a4 with 42k, an injector dropped out a 1000 miles later, and valves were bent in less than 5 miles. We are not equipped to service this issue, again lots of special tools and too much time. This car had full service records at the dealer previous to our selling it.

They have also been having extreme oil consumption issues for longer than this new crop of disasters, which they deny by saying adding 1 Quart of oil every 600 miles is normal consumption. So every time you add gas you need to add a 1/2 quart of oil? This is not practical in my opinion.The oil is blowing by piston rings, coking valves which then get stuck open... Its a freaking nightmare. We have issued a blanket STOP on purchasing / reselling all 2.0T audi/vw engined cars. Too bad, they are nice!

I also know of many Audi/VW 2.0T engines with high miles (service one '05.5 with 183k) and I haven't done the research to know where the split was that caused these changes but I would think long and hard about being out of warranty on this motor.


On the e90-e91 BMW 3 series 06- , well they have there own issues that are scary. Had one in yesterday, 06 325xi 60k, gusher oil leak out the oil pan gasket, book time, 13 hours, remove front suspension, front subframe and awd components for a 13$ gasket. Looking forward to that! Already did the valve cover gasket on this N52, drill out broken aluminum bolts from the magnesium head, guess they had a problem from the factory. Oh and get this, there is a TSB for N52 and N54 and N54k engines where if oil leaks from the aluminum coolant delivery pipe inside the magnesium block... well the fix is.... there is no fix! It's a new CRANKCASE!

Its no wonder these new cars have to be 100% recyclable... and boy do I love my 265k 1996 9000 Aero at the end of the day :D
 
#34 ·
The FSI is about '05.5-08.5. It is quite different than the TSI which showed in the '08.5 GTI. Therefor, the CC never had the FSI which is more problematic, has a belt instead of a chain and the fueling system is a pain and also needs to be upgraded when you go for big power. The TSI is more tunable, more robust and I prefer a timing chain.
@ Jameson, @NickTurbo900.. Thanks for all of that info. From what I've been reading at vwvortex and other places the CC has had this oil consumption issue. All of the CC owners say, "live with it, it's part of owning such a great car"..:) The CC is a beautiful car in many way, decent price, decent gas mileage, nice design etc, but it looks like they have a few serious gremlins that concern me a LOT.

Well, I'm off to drive another 9-3 today. This one is not aero but is manual which is what I'm looking for in a 9-3..already have an auto SC..:)
Never had any consumption issues with my 53k '09. Basically sounds like you need to make sure you find a good one, and again one with a warranty.
 
#29 ·
@ Jameson, @NickTurbo900.. Thanks for all of that info. From what I've been reading at vwvortex and other places the CC has had this oil consumption issue. All of the CC owners say, "live with it, it's part of owning such a great car"..:) The CC is a beautiful car in many way, decent price, decent gas mileage, nice design etc, but it looks like they have a few serious gremlins that concern me a LOT.

Well, I'm off to drive another 9-3 today. This one is not aero but is manual which is what I'm looking for in a 9-3..already have an auto SC..:)
 
#32 · (Edited)
Dealers are getting 1500-1800$ for a pan gasket on an AWD. A RWD you can jack the motor up and DIY yourself in 3 or 4 hours.

I'm dreading doing it. Its all aluminum hardware in a magnesium casing. Overtorque and the bolts break immediately. Drill them out, but don't touch the magnesium housing... The Bentley manual warns of "inextinguishable flammability" if magnesium filings touch moisture.
All fasteners are one time use and that really adds to the cost. The final torque spec is essential.

Adding oil is one thing, but having it coke on the valves and not getting 100k out of a modern car...

I'm sure I sound alarmist so please do keep in mind that I only see the broken ones!
 
#33 ·
Dealers are getting 1500-1800$ for a pan gasket on an AWD. A RWD you can jack the motor up and DIY yourself in 3 or 4 hours.

I'm dreading doing it. Its all aluminum hardware in a magnesium casing. Overtorque and the bolts break immediately. Drill them out, but don't touch the magnesium housing... The Bentley manual warns of "inextinguishable flammability" if magnesium filings touch moisture.
All fasteners are one time use and that really adds to the cost. The final torque spec is essential.

Adding oil is one thing, but having it coke on the valves and not getting 100k out of a modern car...

I'm sure I sound alarmist so please do keep in mind that I only see the broken ones!
Inextinguishable flammability ,reminds me of chemistry class, many of those metals that seem common enough explode when added to water , sounds like those cars are major headaches to work on , thankfully my 98 900 is still going strong as ever just broke 97k the other day
 
#35 ·
i was never really a sports sedan guy,, i fee like 9-5s are just better driving cars. even though they are more dated.

saab still represent the best value out there,, simply because they depreciate so fast

im not sure what your price range/criteria is,, could you maybe give us a few requirements that the car needs to acomplish?

a convertable VW is not a competitor of a 4door sedan saab.

is a volvo c70 of any interest?
or how about a mustang convertible?
 
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