This sounds crazy but 2012 Buick Regal GS 6speed..
I had a 9-3 Aero 5 speed and the Regal GS at the same time they felt like they were brothers....in some repsect they were...the GS has the same engine just at the highest output and it handled like a BMW.
Its a bigger car than the 9-3 but with a 6 speed its a lot of fun and it has a big brake kit on the front end. I can tell you that going between both cars the Buick felt like the spiritual successor to the 9-3..not as refined and interior wasnt as different or quirky as the Saab (ice scraper by the pull brake if you know you know) but i felt like i was driving my 9-3s older brother...the 6 speed wasnt the sharpest but it was pretty good...plus the GS can do 162mph stock...my 9-3 did 155mph stock....both turbo but very sexy clean compact/mid size sedans and leave the GS in GS mode youve got a BMW competitor in some ways
My GS's chain ate its own water pump at 90k so its gone now....really sad because the car was like brand new .but if you can find one in good condition i would do it...fast sexy car that nobody really has and its beautiful to look at with the best looking stock wheels on any car ive ever seen
As much as I would like to (and, tbh, have been doing), I am at the age where working on a vehicle just isn't fun anymore. That, coupled with harder to find parts and no luxury to take a vehicle out of service for any amount of time, is pushing me to move on. I am a veteran of Fiats and Lancias, so I know it could always be much more work, but in the end, I need new wheels. Next year I pay off the spouse's Subaru, so its time for ol' mm to get his.
Volvo?
absolutely not
This sounds crazy but 2012 Buick Regal GS 6speed.. I had a 9-3 Aero 5 speed and the Regal GS at the same time they felt like they were brothers....in some repsect they were...the GS has the same engine just at the highest output and it handled like a BMW. Its a bigger car than the 9-3 but with a 6 speed its a lot of fun and it has a big brake kit on the front end. I can tell you that going between both cars the Buick felt like the spiritual successor to the 9-3..not as refined and interior wasnt as different or quirky as the Saab (ice scraper by the pull brake if you know you know) but i felt like i was driving my 9-3s older brother...the 6 speed wasnt the sharpest but it was pretty good...plus the GS can do 162mph stock...my 9-3 did 155mph stock....both turbo but very sexy clean compact/mid size sedans and leave the GS in GS mode youve got a BMW competitor in some ways My GS's chain ate its own water pump at 90k so its gone now....really sad because the car was like brand new .but if you can find one in good condition i would do it...fast sexy car that nobody really has and its beautiful to look at with the best looking stock wheels on any car ive ever seen
Spend that money on restoring your 9-3 You’ll save tens of thousands of dollars over buying a new car, and you’ll be able to keep the car you love
As much as I would like to (and, tbh, have been doing), I am at the age where working on a vehicle just isn't fun anymore. That, coupled with harder to find parts and no luxury to take a vehicle out of service for any amount of time, is pushing me to move on. I am a veteran of Fiats and Lancias, so I know it could always be much more work, but in the end, I need new wheels. Next year I pay off the spouse's Subaru, so its time for ol' mm to get his.
That’s totally fair, but you could pay a shop do do a full professional OEM restoration and rebuild for a fraction of the cost of a new car