SAAB or Mercury Sable?

The 9-5 is a much nicer car than the Mercury and is far better made. The Sable was a nice car in its day but it is just another disposable american car that is probably not made to last much longer than 100,000 miles. If you are looking at the Saab, make sure it was maintained, the oil changed etc. Have a mechanic look it over and make sure that if something does break it will not be too much to deal with. Remember, even though Saabs are well built they can be more expensive to repair. If budget is important have you looked at a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? These might be a good alternative. Either way I would avoid an American car that is older or has more than 50,000 miles, American cars are poorly engineered and poorly made, although the new Fords are much better. Avoid any of the regular GM brands like the plague, GM invented cost cutting at the expense of the customer.