What is wrong with my 99 Saab 9-3?

Should I buy a 99 Saab 93 Viggen?

• 5 speed with100,000 miles on it. And any guesses as to how much I'll end up having to throw into the thing fixing it?

• Answer:

  9-3 Viggens are absolutely amazing cars. Get it checked out by a Saab mechanic before you do anything. The 2.3t engines in those are susceptible to oil sludge so you should definitely have someone check out under the valve cover and/or drop the oil pan to see what's going on in there. If it looks clean go for it. But do remember, Saabs aren't Hondas. They require religious preventative maintenance and some extra "pit stops" along the way. How they handle and look completely makes up for their small downfalls, in my own humble opinion. I'll take Saab over a Honda/Toyota any day. It's tough to say how much you will end up "throwing into it." I've read a lot of stuff about Saabs and some people get lucky and squeak out 200k trouble-free miles while some others are in the shop every other day it seems. I don't want to scare you from the brand by any means but remember, you're looking at a 9 year old car with 100k miles on it. Any car (not just a Saab) like this is going to throw a few surprises at you. Good luck!