Ranked #272 car in the UK · Saloon · 4 units sold last year
The Saab 9-3 (2003-2012) is the characterful, turbocharged executive from the much-missed Swedish brand - quirky, comfortable and distinctive, with the signature centre-console ignition and cockpit-like dashboard. Turbo petrols and diesels, including the practical SportWagon estate and rare convertible. As a used buy it's a cult choice: affordable, individual and rewarding, but with a now-orphaned brand, so a good independent specialist is essential.
combined
The short version
Forecourt score
Value 32 · Reliability 9 · Insurance 44
The Saab 9-3 loses value faster than most cars and costs about average to run. Its MOT-based reliability is below average, 59 out of 100, ahead of 9% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 32% of models.
The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.
Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.
Fuel
Diesel · 1910cc
Power
150 ps
Drivetrain
FWD
Cam drive
Chain
Quoted MPG
50 mpg
The volume used Saab 9-3. 1.9 TiD GM-sourced diesel, 150 PS, ~50 mpg motorway. Chain-driven. The default rep-car choice in its day.
Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.
Remembered as you browse other cars.
Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.
Estimated market value
How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.£2,100
Range £1,600 – £2,650
medium confidence
Fair value — the 4-year mark is the sweet spot.
At 145,628 miles it’s well above the ~114,948 typical for a 14-year-old.
Seen one for sale?
That’s a lot of miles for the age. One nearer the typical 114,948 miles would hold its value better.
A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.
How a 2012-registration Saab 9-3 loses value over time.
Based on the 2012 car with 145,628 miles you entered above — worth about £2,100 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 10,402 miles a year.
5-year total
£16,482
Per year
£3,296
All-in per mile
£0.32
Fuel per mile
14.5p
Best age to buy — around 3 years
A 3-year-old example loses roughly £1,450 a year — under half the £3,200 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.
Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.
Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.
Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.
How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.
The default choice: lowest purchase price and easy upkeep, at the cost of higher fuel bills than a hybrid.
Watch for
Makes sense for high motorway mileage; less so for short urban hops, where the DPF struggles.
Watch for
Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ
Group 24 of 50 (mid — around the UK average) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB
Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.
Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39
£1,144/ year
Roughly £95 per month
Typical
Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.| Age band | Lower risk | Typical | Higher risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 17-25 | £2,608 | £3,260 | £4,239 |
| Age 26-32 | £1,361 | £1,602 | £1,954 |
| Age 33-39Selected | £1,007 | £1,144 | £1,350 |
| Age 40-49 | £855 | £950 | £1,101 |
| Age 50+ | £762 | £847 | £999 |
How we estimate this
Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.
Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).
Routine service
£185
Annual main-dealer service
Major service
£210
Every 2 years, annualised
Road tax
£195
Standard rate, post year-one
Fuel
£1,409
48 mpg, £1.49/L
Insurance
£1,144
Age 33-39, group 23
Clean-air zones
⚠ Depends on variantBased on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.
Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).
What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.
0-30k miles
£80
per year · low risk
30-60k miles
£240
per year · low risk
60-100k miles
£520
per year · medium risk
100k+ miles
£900
per year · high risk
205/60 R16 · 225/50 R17 · 245/40 R18
What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.
Budget
£300
set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre
Mid-range
£440
set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre
Premium
£620
set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre
Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.
| Option | New cost | Added used value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
Tow bar (factory-fit) Niche, but the buyers who want one will pay for it. | £650 | £450 | 69% |
Parking sensors & reversing camera Near-expected now — its absence costs more than its presence returns. | £500 | £300 | 60% |
Heated seats / cold-weather pack | £450 | £200 | 44% |
Metallic or premium paint Almost universal — an unusual colour is the bigger resale risk. | £600 | £200 | 33% |
Panoramic / opening roof | £1,100 | £350 | 32% |
Larger alloy wheels | £700 | £200 | 29% |
Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 145,628 miles.
Watch now
Failure typically happens around your current mileage.
Upcoming
A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.
Already due
Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.
Recorded in 12.8% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 7.3% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 8.8% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 7.7% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 4.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
Recorded in 4.1% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 2,389,289 DVSA MOT tests analysed.
"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.
How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 2,405,543 real DVSA test records.
MOT pass rate by age
A 3-year-old 9-3 passes its MOT 85.8% of the time; by 25 years that has slipped to 72.4%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.
Longevity
From 8,532 vehicles registered in 1998.
Survival by registration year
Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.
What’s on the road
The fuel-type split of every 9-3 currently MOT’d in the UK. From 168,728 vehicles.
Common MOT failures by mileage
The defect categories this 9-3 fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.
| Category | 0-30k | 30-60k | 60-100k | 100k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 3% | 6% | 9% | 13% |
| Tyres & wheels | 3% | 5% | 6% | 7% |
| Brakes | 1% | 3% | 5% | 9% |
| Lighting & signalling | 1% | 2% | 4% | 8% |
| Driver's view | 1% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Emissions | — | 1% | 2% | 4% |
Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.
Typical mileage by age
The average odometer reading for a 9-3 at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.
Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).
Below average
Composite of MOT pass rate, defect prevalence and cohort survival from 2,389,289 tests — high confidence.
MOT outlook · age 5 years
16th percentile — Among the worst — investigate carefully
Based on 164,371 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data
Where this car sits in the catalogue
Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models
Safety recalls
Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Saab 9-3, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.
Check on GOV.UKOpens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.
A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.
Whole-car theft
Lower
Theft risk is on the lower side — it pre-dates keyless entry, so the relay attacks that target newer cars don't apply.
Parts theft
Around average
Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.
Worth doing
Whether driving a Saab 9-3 into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.
| City | Area | Daily charge | Likely outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | All of Greater London (within the M25) | £12.50 | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Birmingham | Inside the A4540 Middleway | £8.00 | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Bristol | City centre and part of the Portway | £9.00 | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Glasgow | City centre | — | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Edinburgh | City centre | — | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Aberdeen | City centre | — | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
| Dundee | City centre | — | Likely charged Diesel before Sept 2015 — likely below Euro 6. |
Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.
How well-supported Saab is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.
Franchised UK dealers
None
No franchised network
Withdrawn from UK in 2011
No longer sold new in the UK, so there is no franchised network — servicing relies on independent specialists.
For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.
Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.
Length
4,700 mm
Width
1,840 mm
Height
1,450 mm
Kerb weight
1,550 kg
Boot
460–480 L
Fuel tank
48 L
Of every Saab 9-3 ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.
Total ever registered
127,596
Currently taxed & on road
28,151
22% of all registered
SORN (off road)
16,894
13% of all registered
Scrapped or exported
82,551
UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025
-14.8% vs 2024Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026
Common questions
Common questions
Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.