Those eyes…

by

9-3 Scandic
Many of you know that I was quite eager to get a 9-4x. But sometimes in life you have to have a Plan B if things won’t work out as you hoped they would. If you want to know what those eyes have to do with it just …

Often enough I’ve said here that I want to get a 9-4x asap. And I really was confident it should work out for me even though our Dame Edna lease still had one year to go by the time a 9-4x would be available. So I sat with my dealer to calculate the 9-4x and discuss how to handle the Dame Edna. Pretty soon it became clear that the difference between what the leasing asked for buying out and the price the dealer could pay for it differed quite a bit. Though my cars are company cars of my own company it would have been economical madness to put this amount into the 9-4x deal. Sad but true.

That’s where those eyes come into play. They belong to 9-3 Scandic Sedan that would most likely describe its own life up to now as quite sad. Back in the days when GM wanted to close down Saab everyone thought that all orders by the dealers were cancelled. As the Spyker deal was closed and as the customer still wanted the car my dealer ordered again. You can imagine his surprise as a few weeks later he had got two identical cars. One went to the customer who ordered it and this one has been sitting in the lot for one and a half years now. Alone. Neglected. Unwanted. Out in the cold. Sniff…

Of course this story lead to a pretty good price and my dealer and I had to negotiate only a single digit number of minutes to get a deal which allows him to take our Dame Edna off lease and me to get a nice car while saving quite a few bucks on leasing every month. My wife will take over my 9-3x and I get the Sedan. A happy end for all involved including the car ;-).

On the car itself: it’s a 9-3 1,8t Sedan manual, jetblack with parchment interior. It’s not exactly the car I’d order, that’s for sure. Wooden interior, 16″ rims – that’s not really for me. But I really like the 9-3 and I look at it more as some kind of project. My plan is to Hirsch it up step by step over the next two or so years to make it a car I want it to be. I will post about the development every now and then and yes, I’m a happy camper.

9-3 Scandic

9-3 Scandic

29 thoughts on “Those eyes…”

  2. Aaaah, this is what it is all about… Product.
    Thanks Till, this article is like a fresh breeze and I feel happy once again!

    Good for you Till, for the dealer And for Saab. Happy motoring!

    Cheers/Tom

    • Really, I read your comment that we should come back to cars and that made me take the time to write it now.

      Glad I made you happy. 🙂

  3. That car will be even better after a Hirsch power upgrade. Comparing the power and torque graphs, the 1.8t seems to be the one hich benefits the most of these upgrades…
    Congratulations !

  5. Good looking Saab. 🙂
    These lines on TopGear seemed pretty interesting to me.
    “but a few minutes later, I’m with Saab’s chairman Victor Muller who can’t resist getting out his smartphone and showing me an image of a 9-3 coupe he’s had Castriota design. It’s basically the PhoeniX without the wings and the lower-body layering, and it really does look like a car to give the TT and RCZ pause.”
    http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/phoenix-2011?imageNo=7
    I came to it via Inside Swade.

  6. Congratulations Till! Once you have driven it, could you please comment on road noise and comfort with 16″ wheels compared to the 17″ low-profile ones that are more common? Thanks!

  7. Welcome back to the world of (still good looking) 9.3s 😉

    My lease ends in Nov. 2011 and I am just thinking about what to do:
    * prolong the lease (and hope for the new 9.3 to be a must-have)
    OR
    * buy the car and enjoy it for whatever period of time…

    Martin

  10. Congratulations! I am eager to see which Hirsch goodies you will choose. If it were me, I’d go suspension first, then wheels and brakes, followed by the reflash, and finally the cosmetics.

  11. Great looking car, glad to see you’ve bought a new one. The 1.8t is a very wise choice for the head and the wallet, we have two 1.8ts a Sportwagon and a Vert. The engine will not loosen up until about 5000 miles (it really is very noticeable) it was the same on both our cars then after a few thousand miles of experiencing the standard bhp a Hirsch tune utterly transforms it.

    The Hirsch figure of 195hp and 310 torques to me seems somewhat conservative from the drivers seat. The high torque means that in the midrange the car throws itself at the horizon, the car seems to have lost the weighty feel from only the standard 150hp and you find the need to change gear reduces as the car pulls like a train in the higher ratios.

    The Hirsch should come with anti-wrinke cream because the smile you get from driving it is on your face all the time.

    Our dealer said many private buyers choose the 1.8 rather than the 2.0 then have the Hirsch upgrade, it saves thousands and gives near identical performance.

    And of course not being a diesel you won’t have any of the nasty troubles which seem to plague all diesels nowadays.

    Enjoy.

    • No problems with my diesels so far but I definetely wanted a petrol car this time. It’s the same with the 1,8t here in Germany, there are lots of them.

      And after all, if it fits an ice lake legend like you it will fit me, too! 😉

  14. Jake, my dealer has both Saab and Ovlov. I’m fine with it because it helps them survive the tough times and they’re still dedicated Saab dealers.

  15. I may be able to help with inspiration next week. Pick up my 9-3 TTiD with full Hirsch works. So excited. It’s a 5 month old MY11 with 2,000 miles on direct from SAAB GB. Adds extras all Hirsch :

    18″ alloy set with 345mm upgraded brakes
    Twin s/s exhaust
    200bhp ecu upgrade
    Full front grille set
    Sport springs
    Steering wheel
    Leather dash
    & a few other bits

    Money into SAAB at an important time, and possibly the nicest looking SAAB ive owned so far. Much better than the BMW, Alfa, Audi and Lexus I also test drove!!

    Will send some pictures into SU when I pick it up.

  16. Nice one, Till. Shame about the 9-4X though. I was already looking forward to the ride!
    And funny, I was at that dealer today, with my 9-5 towing my 900S that has the broken clutch… It must have been quite a sight to any Saab enthusiast!

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