My wife drives a Saab 93 (2006) with 90,000 miles. After the last tire rotation we noticed a dramatic increase in the noise level while driving. My tire guy told me the tires were cupping and we needed to repair the rear shocks. I took it to an independent mechanic who said it would cost me $300. I’m not sure he’s worked on these before because it took him a lot of time to come up with the price. The dealer said it could cost between $800 and $1200 depending on what was wrong. Has anyone heard of this problem with Saab’s and do you have any suggestions about about the repair - other than ear plugs?!
Worn shocks causes tire cupping, not just on Saabs but on all vehicles. If you’re going to deal with an independent mechanic, which I recommend, I suggest you try to find one who is familiar with Saabs; a specialist, in other words.
Although there should be nothing extremely difficult about replacing shocks, someone who’s familiar with the idiosyncrasies of a Saab will know things another mechanic might not, and the job will go more quickly and smoothly. Specialists may cost a bit more, but in my experience they’re worth it.
You should be able find an independent who specializes in Saab by checking your local phone book or by going to the “Mechanics Files” section of the CarTalk home page.
As far as the noise goes, once a tire is cupped it will stay that way until it’s worn out. There is no “repair.” New tires is the only solution.
This car shouldn’t be unique in anyway to repair suspension components. It is built on GM’s Epsilon platform, shared with Malibu and G6. Saab, Chevy, Pontiac, same thing.
…and unless you replace those rear shocks, the new tires will start to exhibit the same wear pattern very soon.
Well, then any mechanic should be able to replace the shocks. I forgot; Saabs aren’t really Saabs anymore.