Saab 9-3

Which Saab 9-3 years should you avoid?

Going by 1,346 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Saab 9-3 years to avoid are 2003, 2004, 2008, 2006 and 2007.

• 2003212 complaints, 3.3× a typical 9-3 year, most often about the electrical system.
• 2004207 complaints, 3.2× a typical 9-3 year, most often about the seat belts.
• 2008184 complaints, 2.9× a typical 9-3 year, most often about the airbags.
• 2006179 complaints, 2.8× a typical 9-3 year, most often about the airbags.
• 2007155 complaints, 2.4× a typical 9-3 year, most often about the airbags.

Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2011 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →