Quality of BMW 325Ci convertible vs Saab 9-3 convertible?

Hi,

I am seriously looking at replacing my aging Ford Mustang convetible
with a new quality (I hope) convertible.
Have been more or less getting it down to the new Saab 9-3 convertible,
probably Aero model since I dont like too harsh rides, and
the BMW 325Ci convertible.
They both hit my maximum pricerange of $40k. After that it becomes too
much too pay for a car (although the new Jag Xk8 looks really nice).

Back to my question:

What is the general consensus on the quality of Saab 9-3 vs BMW 325Ci.
since they both hit almost exactly the same pricerange and looks really
comparable in terms of space, performance and styling it comes down to
quality of ride but more importantly build quality.

It took more than 3 years to get all squeeks and rattles out of the
mustang and a few yars later they now start to come back and driving
over railway tracks is almost as bad as with my old chrysler LeBaron
convertible.

Any information, views or stats on the quality of newer Saab
convertibles vs BMWs?

Many thanks!

Peter

Peter wrote:

 > Hi,
 >
 > I am seriously looking at replacing my aging Ford Mustang convetible
 > with a new quality (I hope) convertible.
 > Have been more or less getting it down to the new Saab 9-3
 > convertible, probably Aero model since I dont like too harsh rides,
 > and
 > the BMW 325Ci convertible.
 > They both hit my maximum pricerange of $40k. After that it becomes too
 > much too pay for a car (although the new Jag Xk8 looks really nice).
 >
 > Back to my question:
 >
 > What is the general consensus on the quality of Saab 9-3 vs BMW 325Ci.
 > since they both hit almost exactly the same pricerange and looks
 > really comparable in terms of space, performance and styling it comes
 > down to quality of ride but more importantly build quality.
 >
 > It took more than 3 years to get all squeeks and rattles out of the
 > mustang and a few yars later they now start to come back and driving
 > over railway tracks is almost as bad as with my old chrysler LeBaron
 > convertible.
 >
 > Any information, views or stats on the quality of newer Saab
 > convertibles vs BMWs?

My brother works at a Saturn dealer, which happens to sell a lot of used BMWs,
Saabs, VWs, and Audis. They deal with various repair issues in getting these
cars ready for resale. According to him the Saabs are pretty good, but they
depreciate like a rock! They're getting great deals at auction on 9-3 lease
returns -- like $9k for cars with only 30k miles. Leasing companies are
probably losing big on these, so be careful it doesn't happen to you.

About "quality" -- Audis and BMWs have always seemed a little better put
together than Saabs, and this still seems to be true. However, all cars in this
class (including Acuras, etc.) are so good these days it's hard to see a
difference. I'd still put my money on the BMW ten years from now, though. BMWs
often seem to have minor problems like turn signals burning out. Audis, VWs,
and Saabs sometimes seem to have major electrical problems like instrument panel
failures, requiring multi-thousand-dollar repairs.

Bottom line -- if this is a car you're going to keep for a long time, buy a BMW.
If you're only going to keep it for a few years, buy whatever turns your
crank -- but be wary of depreciation.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider a Saab in lieu of a BMW, but that's just my
preference.

Matt O.