Over the years I have had experience in and around both makes.

This is just to start friendly discussion and not a flame war .

I am curious about people's opinions on the two, specifically comparing the wagons (V70 and 9-5). I have been looking in person and online for a V70 and keep running across Saabs.

Is there anything specific that makes you lean one way or the other in favor of one make?

 

IMHO it depends on the year of the Saab. The older ones were good as long as you got a standard trans. The automatics were junk and expensive to replace. Parts aren't cheap. My 4th and final Saab (1996 900se) lost the brake booster ($200) then shortly after, the master cylinder ($400) I didn't fix that and sent it to the crusher. I'm new to Volvo. I have 2 and like them both. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

The manual transmissions were always solid.

I like the fact that so many late model Saabs had manuals. My wife won't drive one, but I prefer it in most cars.

Recently I poked around and found Saab parts to be in short supply.
GM holds patents on engines and other parts. Ownership changes of the car company coupled with halted production make it a scattered environment according to the people I know.

 

thanks for the updates here these are really helpful one to share up and learn

 

Lot more Volvo's on the road.

 

Seems that way

Sadly, the ones on the road near me are not for sale! (until they're essentially scrap)

 

I have drove saabs my whole life, and has always been a love hate relationship for me. My first was a mid 90s 9000 turbo, and was a great car, until the transmission went out (was my only experience with a saab auto trans, and I agree they are garbage). I then had a short experience with a 92 900 non turbo with a manual trans, and it drove great and never a problem, just was a slug and boring to drive. Finally got my hands on an 88 900 spg that was an amazing car and drove great with tons of power, never any serious issues just your standard stuff for that old of car. Lost that car when it started on fire while I was at work...nothing to do with the car, I was stupid after replacing the battery, built the heat shield for the battery back on and didn't realize the metal brackets where touching the the battery connectors, creating a circuit and burning down my car (stupid design flaw, but stupid mistake by me as well). Finally then bought an 01 9-3 (also standard trans with turbo). When it ran good it was great, but of course thanks to GM taking over this car was full of problems that never seemed to end. So after about 3 years with it finally got fed up with fixing it (prices have sky rocketed now that they went out of business, not to mention can be even hard to find the right part). So have just sold it, and after a couple months found my first volvo. Was searching for a v70r (really wanted the wagon, awd, turbo, manual) but no luck at all. Found a 98 v70 glt (met all of my wish list except its an auto) and so far I have enjoyed driving it. Not near the power I'm use to, and still wishing it wasn't auto, but hope to enjoy this car a lot. I can notice a lot of interior styling and design that is very similar to saab, but besides that seems to be very different as far as the way it reacts and handles to my driving.

 

Personally, I couldn't stand Saabs when I first spent time with them in the 1980s. I was always a huge, RWD GM car fan and nothing else. In the 90s, my business did a lot of work with a local Cadillac Saab dealership. I started to appreciate the Saab a bit, though never wanted one until I drove the new 1999 9-5. I liked the look, the interior layout, and the drive they gave. Despite being "half size" as I used to call them, they were more comfortable than some full size cars out there.

That same year, the dealership also acquired a Volvo franchise. The C70 was the one that caught my attention first as it seemed to be such a drastic difference from any Volvo I spent time with. The S80 was surprisingly roomy and I considered buying one after a few years. They sold more V70s and V70XCs than anything, but I still wasn't dead set on owning a foreign car, yet.

Down the road, I got out of my company and never had experience with those cars as they aged. It seems, now, that the Volvos (minus early S80s) seem to age far better in terms of reliability and cost of operation.

Either way, both cars were a fresh perspective for me.