I have just sold one a late 2007 which had 83k miles it had a new gearbox and clutch at 20k and a new clutch at 45k the paint was so thin if you leant on it it scratched ,very cheap plastics inside dashboard rattles more expensive to insure than the equivelent Vectra .mine was the 120 bhp.I was very economical returning 44mpg over mixed driving mainly fast trips across Europe.

Bought it from a lease company for £5.5k and sold last week for 5k to sum up it was a car with no character a few faults like the ignigtion keys falling to pieces a common fault lots of little niggling electrical faults easily sorted but I would never have another .I have bought a BMW 5 series and appears so far to be a really nice car.

I had a 24-hour test drive of one of these a couple of years ago (all credit to Reading Saab for trying) and didn't like it at all: terrible turbo lag, ponderous handling and awful GM flimnsy controls spring to mind.

It can't do anything that a Skoda Octavia estate can do better and more cheaply. Your brother should try one.

I had the 150 BHP saloon on an 05 for 3 years. It did 70k miles, almost all A and M road and had a £250 repair in that time for something weeping (I remember not what it was). It was good for tyres, looks (IMO) fantastic and was very comfy and well equipped. It is a decent motorway cruiser and fairly swift.

It also had interior rattles, a fair few of them. I miss bits of the car but the (older 04) Subaru Legacy Estate I have now is a better built car, more engaging to drive and better packaged space wise - even if the MPG of the petrol is almost 20 MPG down on the Saab.

I would consider another Saab, but would be aware of the depreciation (!) and ensure I gave it a thorough test drive to ensure it is screwed together properly.