[PECo]

I'd like to sell my 2003 Saab 9-3 Arc. It has an automatic transmission, is metallic silver with a gray interior and currently has about 123,000 miles on it. I'm the original owner and have always had it serviced as recommended by Saab. I have all of the service records for it. Premium unleaded gasoline is recommended for it, but it runs fine on regular. I did that only once, otherwise, I've always put premium in it. I get about 26 miles per gallon during the summer and 24 miles per gallon during the winter, but if you have a heavy foot you might get only 22 miles per gallon. On the highway with the cruise control set at 70 miles per hour, I've gotten as much as 35 miles per gallon on a long trip. I should have traded it in when I got my new Jeep last fall, but I planned to keep it for my son since it's in good condition. Unfortunately, he's shown no inclination to get his driver's license any time soon.

The Arc was the luxury version of the Saab 9-3. It has front heated leather power seats, a power moonroof and pop-up headlight washers. It also has the Touring Package, which added automatic windshield wipers, bi-xenon headlights and an upgraded stereo system that includes a six CD changer and additional speakers. It also has some nice features on it that Saab removed in later years. On hot days, all of the windows and the moonroof open when you hold the unlock button on the key fob. There's a button on the trunk lid to unlock it. For some reason, Saab decided that the owners of later models could make do with only the remote trunk unlock button on the driver's side door and the key fob.

The Saab has only a couple of dings that a paintless dent remover could probably work out and the black plastic valence under the front bumper is damaged. I've written on CTFishTalk about replacing the alternator and oil pan on it over the last couple of years. A couple of the lines on the head unit's LCD panel are damaged, but the display is still totally legible. The berber carpet floormats are newer. I replaced the originals a couple of years ago. I installed a Curt trailer hitch receiver and four prong trailer wiring for light towing. I replaced the front speakers in the dash, added a 12 volt DC outlet in the back and wired an auxiliary audio cable to the front center console. Most importantly, I installed a Motorola Bluetooth speakerphone that works terrifically and is well integrated with the car (e.g., it mutes the radio, plays over the car's audio system and says "Speakerphone" on the car's Supplemental Information Display). The Saab came with OnStar, but it had the analog system that became obsolete four months after I got it. Everything else on the car works. If you're a car electronics modder, you really can't do much more than I already did, because it has a MOST (i.e., optical network) system that can't be modified in a practical way (e.g., you can't replace the head unit, because it's integral to the operation of the car).

The Saab would be sold with an extra set of wheels and tires. I put Blizzak winter tires on the original 16 inch alloy wheels and have all season tires on aftermarket 16 inch alloy wheels, which makes for an easy summer to winter swap. I'd also include the hitch for the receiver and Thule roof rack crossbars that are better integrated with the Saab than I've seen on any other car, which makes sense because both Saab and Thule are Swedish. I have one key fob in good condition and one in not so good but totally functional condition.

Kelly Blue Book says the market value of the Saab alone (i.e., without the extra set of wheels and tires, the trailer hitch and the roof rack crossbars) is $4,000 in Fair Condition and $4,800 in Good Condition. It's definitely in Good Condition. It's pretty clean, has never been smoked in, has no rips or tears in the leather seats and had always been garaged until I got my new boat about a month ago.

Anyway, send me a PM if you'd like to take a look at the Saab. I haven't advertised it anywhere else and would not sell it to anyone until after they had seen and test driven it. I haven't taken any recent photos, but here's one from a couple of years ago when the summer wheels and tires were on it:


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[SeaDog1]

Hi Phil,

Darn ! When I first saw your name come up on the topic ..... I thought .... "Kayak fire sale" !

Nope! I was wrong .......

SeaDog1