If you owned a 2004 Saab 9-3 and you sold it yesterday you'd be pretty happy right now.
As if resale value issues weren't tough enough already, JD Power released their vehicle dependability ratings earlier today. These ratings rank vehicles that are three years old based on problems recorded per 100 vehicles. The early Saab 9-3 Sport Sedans have suffered with a poor anecdotal reputation and it seems that reputation now has some numbers to back it up.
The industry average, as recorded by JD Power, was 216 problems per 100 vehicles. Saab ranked quite poorly with 319 problems per 100 vehicles.
It could have been worse. We could be cheering for Isuzu, Suzuki or Land Rover. Those three did worse.
These rankings should improve over the next couple of years for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, problems with the 9-3 did get sorted a little more in the 2005 and 2006 years. Secondly, a larger number of non-9-3 vehicles should take up some numbers. The 9-5 was quite solid all this time, but it occupies such a small proportion of Saab's sales in the US that it hardly makes a dent. Next year, though, the first 9-2x's will be three years old and the inclusion of 9-7x and 9-2x figures over the coming years should temper things a bit.
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