Why buy a Saab 9000?
Can you say, "It has that certain 'Je ne sais quois'"? Other than that, the 5-doors will haul an incredible amount of stuff. They're all solid and safe. The turbos offer exhilarating performance with excellent gas mileage. They're all very comfortable. They're great "long-road" cars. But in the end, it still comes down to: "It has that certain
'Je ne sais quois'", which, translated, means, "DAMN, this car feels good!".
Yeah, but look at all that stuff that can fail
Look at it this way: If you're buying a Saab with 30k miles on it, you're taking a chance (depending on the warranty situation). If you're buying a Saab with 50k to 100k miles on it, all the weak stuff has probably been replaced already and if you maintain it carefully, it will probably serve you well. As for Saabs with 100k to 150k miles on them; you need to try to make sure that a whole host of stuff isn't about to fail (and/or that it has been well cared for). Beyond 150k miles, it's a judgment call. Saabs can go for significant fractions of millions of miles, but they won't do so without loving care, and any car is going to need some work as the quarter million mile mark approaches. For
that matter, the 100 K mark is a significant one. Once you get past the
major milestones with good repairs and maintenance, these cars can go a long
way.