The Last Days Of Saab

What would you do with 900 Saabs?

That is the golden question that will be answered this Wednesday. Ally Financial, GM’s past and future finance arm, seized nearly 900 vehicles on the ports of New Jersey and California once Saab Cars North America missed payments on their outstanding loans. Much in the way of litigious discussions were pursued in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and now the final axe of Saab dispossessory will be swung with an online hammer through GM’s SmartAuction web site.

Can you buy one?

The short answer is not directly. You can contact a Saab dealer and see whether they may be willing to purchase a little piece of Swedish engineering. The good news is that bids will only start at 50% MSRP. The bad news is many dealers still have inventory, and those that do will likely have a conflicted interest in letting you bypass their current inventory for something far, far away.

One interesting trivial tidbit. Back in 2003 I used to visit a Manheim sale called Baltimore Washington Auto Exchange. At the sale they had one vehicle, a Saab 9000, that had no history. There was no title. No Carfax report. No Autocheck. No NICB record (National Insurance Crime Bureau.) No one claimed ownership. It just sat until the auction decided to use it for a variety of menial tasks that needed to be done inside their auction.

Saab is auctioning off several 9-4X models that will apparently have no title as well.

Will they become parts cars? I don’t think so. I can easily see these vehicles getting bonded titles in the very near future. Also, sometimes I see dealers drive vehicles that were sold in Mexico only, such as the VW Bora, that were made to another country’s regualtions instead of our own. I’ve seen a few Latino dealers drive them, but never sell them. Perhaps those Saabs will experience a similar fate?

Would it be worth it to buy a Saab at say… a 40% discount off of MSRP? But no warranty?

Sweden has the krona instead of the Euro as their currency. Still, if the Euro takes a dive in the next few years, Sweden’s largest trade partner is the EU. So it stands that if the Euro weakens, parts may get cheaper. Which could be a great outcome for Saab owners since their replacement parts are usually never cheap.

But then you have the issue of defects. No TSB’s. No parent organization to orchestrate the recalls for a latent defect. Not to mention the fact that Saab wasn’t exactly well-funded in its final months.

I sense many Daewoo moments in the future. How about you? To buy? Or not to buy?