Saabcurious

Hi everyone. I am looking for a new car, and I've always liked Saabs, though I've never sat behind the wheel of one. I've always had Camrys, Corollas, and now I have a 99 Accord with 161,000 miles. I want something newer and a little more classy, and the Saabs are just so beautiful inside and out. I'm kind of looking at the 9-3 and 9-5 models... 2007 or newer.

I have a few general questions about Saab... How much more expensive are they to get repaired than more plebeian cars, like Honda or Toyota? What are some common mechanical issues I should look for when looking for a used one? How many miles is too many? For example, I saw a beautiful black Saab 9-5 for 8000 that had 149,000 miles... it was a 2007. That seems like high mileage. Were the Saabs made when GM owned the company not as good a quality as the pre and post GM Saabs?

I can't seem to find any with push button start and built in GPS... Saabs seem pretty rare in my area. What year did those things start becoming common?

Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm excited to have found this forum, and will be even more excited when I get my own Saab 9-3 or 5!

Thanks!