What is gonna hapen to all the SAAB's on the road?

fastfredracing · 06-19-2012, 07:28 AM

I have a few I service, and one was recently hit ( I don't do bodywork) , but there were simply no parts. After a 3 month search, my body guy buddy finally came up with some oe stuff.
Yesterday I had to replace an IDI module on a 2006 9-5, and my vendor only had 3 left in the us. ( said they bought out SAAB's stock when SAAB went under) . So now there only a few of these left in the country. Parts are going to dry up, and I see an awful lot of these cars on the roads still

onewhippedpuppy · 06-19-2012, 07:34 AM

I suspect that you will still get most of the common stuff from aftermarket suppliers, but a lot of the dealership only type parts will dry up. Like a classic car, much of your spares will come from junkyards and used on Ebay. I seriously considered looking for a 9-3 Viggen to use as a DD, but parts availability was one issue that scared me away. The Saab hatchbacks are fantastic cars, I had a 9000 Aero and 900 SE that I thoroughly enjoyed.

jcunning · 06-19-2012, 07:38 AM

I agree, new parts are becoming a huge problem for the SAAB owners. I recently had to replace the ignition coil pack and 3 months ago the price was $350 with plenty of stock and last month the price was $500 and everyone was scrambling to find inventory. They only last for 5 or so years or about 80,000 miles, so they are in constant demand. The alternators and throttle bodies also die around the 100,000 or 10 year time frame. This is GM engineered failure at its best. Nothing is engineered to last forever in these cars!

The SAAB parts business was just sold to the Swedish gov't and they are planning on starting up production again. Unfortunately replenishing the world inventory will probably take many months if not years. I guess there are close to 1500 needed parts and 1000 different manufacturers for these.

For me, I'm planning on selling my SAAB 9-5 for an Audi A6 at the end of the year. The only question is will the value go up or down as new parts dry up and used parts become high in demand...

kaisen · 06-19-2012, 07:41 AM

Saabs are getting ridiculously cheap. This will have an effect. Some repairs will 'total' the car, making the rest of a car a good source for donor parts for the next Saab to stay on the road.

Every day I come across a 9.3 or 9.5 with clogged arteries and starved, smoking turbos. They're for sale for next to nothing..... good steady supply of used parts.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-19-2012, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaisen

Saabs are getting ridiculously cheap. This will have an effect. Some repairs will 'total' the car, making the rest of a car a good source for donor parts for the next Saab to stay on the road.

Every day I come across a 9.3 or 9.5 with clogged arteries and starved, smoking turbos. They're for sale for next to nothing..... good steady supply of used parts.

Similar phenomena with Land Rovers I've found. They depreciate quickly but are expensive to fix, so one major failure can lead an owner to "total" them and sell it for parts. I bought most of the parts for my Discovery used via Ebay or specialist LR dismantlers. I suspect a similar market will emerge for Saab parts.

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

The 928 is in the same boat....but no chance of the parts stream coming back on line. I pity Saab owners, nice rides but most will become parts sources for the minority that feel the need to maintain the running ones.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Another "orphaned" brand...

BlueSkyJaunte · 06-19-2012, 08:46 AM

Saw one (fairly late model) dead on the road yesterday, as a matter of fact. Blocking a lane. Poor bastard was sitting in a closed, non-running car, talking on the cellphone in the 110 degree heat.

I suspect there will be another small cache of used parts available shortly....

McLovin · 06-19-2012, 08:52 AM

I think Saabs are in a different category than Land Rovers, or even 928s.

LRs and even 928s have an enthusiast following, which provides a market for parts and aftermarket support.

A 2004 (or 2011) late model Saab? Umm, not so much. And I doubt there ever will be much of an enthusiast following, or aftermarket parts support.

My guess is in 10-15 years, all these current late model Saabs will pretty much be extinct.

onewhippedpuppy · 06-19-2012, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLovin

I think Saabs are in a different category than Land Rovers, or even 928s.

LRs and even 928s have an enthusiast following, which provides a market for parts and aftermarket support.

A 2004 (or 2011) late model Saab? Umm, not so much. And I doubt there ever will be much of an enthusiast following, or aftermarket parts support.

My guess is in 10-15 years, all these current late model Saabs will pretty much be extinct.

The newer ones I agree with, by that point GM had done their best to make it a glorified Opel. The older models however have a real cult following, and I suspect they will for the foreseeable future. A Saab hatchback is a great car because what else will go fast, get 30+ MPG, and fit a couch in the back? They are freaking huge inside.

sc_rufctr · 06-19-2012, 02:43 PM

Regrettably they'll soon become very cheap which will lead to them being scrapped much sooner than normal.

A few years ago Mitsubishi closed down their local assembly factory which produced the "380".
It's a decent mid sized sedan which for whatever reason didn't sell very well.
So they're not worth much and are being scrapped at an alarming rate.

DanielDudley · 06-19-2012, 02:58 PM

I believe there is a renewed effort to supply SAAB parts.

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The older models however have a real cult following, and I suspect they will for the foreseeable future. A Saab hatchback is a great car because what else will go fast, get 30+ MPG, and fit a couch in the back? They are freaking huge inside.

I was this '' close to buying a new 1981 Saab 99 Turbo but could not swing the money. A year or two later the 900 came out and I almost bought one of those as well. Almost. An itch remaining unscratched.

johnsjmc · 06-19-2012, 03:13 PM

The Saab will go the way of the Corvair . Some interesting cars ,some loyal owners but no huge fan base like a 911 or 1965 Mustang to keep parts available

56 nomad · 56 nomad's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

The newer ones I agree with, by that point GM had done their best to make it a glorified Opel. The older models however have a real cult following, and I suspect they will for the foreseeable future. A Saab hatchback is a great car because what else will go fast, get 30+ MPG, and fit a couch in the back? They are freaking huge inside.

+1 cult following
hello,
in my opinion there nothing wrong with the 900 spg or 9000 aero series...2guys from sweden on the westside for big service and been sourcing parts for a while........cult following for a reason. saab 900 spg, red box, 16 aeros, factory whale tail etc. etc. i like to drive it on Topanga and old Topanga when the 911 isnt big enough .... scrubs the rubber just fine....underpowered but great on the twisties.
jm2c ben