Time for a Change

Whereas most people replace their cars with new ones, I get older ones. At work we recently we took in a 2007 Saab 9-3 auto Estate, which I seem to have fallen in love with.

1.9 L turbo engine, ivory paint without a single blemish (even under the bonnet), light grey leather seats that are like a well-loved armchairs, a fantastic sound system and it moves reasonably well in Sport mode. It has a beautiful retro look to it and, despite being a year older than my Passat Estate, it's got only 56k miles on the clock, as opposed to the Passat, which is about to hit 100k. The icing on the cake is the automatic gearbox - I detest manuals in this day and age.

Saabs have an excellent reputation but, due to them no longer being manufactured, they are among the best value 2nd hand cars on the market. The fact the body is nickel-plated means they're mostly in perfect condition.

This one cost us £1,125 as a PX from a main dealer and needed nothing more than a service, MoT and valet. It is quarter of the value of the Passat and I'll probably end up with a lot of change.

The only downside is that, being an automatic, I can't use it for towing. Not a big issue though. Also I don't have an Android head unit, but I will see if I can find an after-market one with Bluetooth on Android 9.1, not that it's essential. Might put a reversing camera on it too, but again that's not essential if I'm not using it for towing, as that was the main reason for having one on the Passat.

I simply have to buy it - and will. We will shortly be a 2 Saab family; Hay with her 2008 9-3 Aero and me with my 2007 9-5 estate.