Ever since we learned about Saab's bankruptcy, many pondered whether it would be a good idea to buy a brand new or a very low mileage example from dealers that wanted to get rid of the cars they had in stock at marked down prices.
The problem is that these cars are offered without a manufactures warranty while we're still not certain what's going on with parts, because sure you can get an awesome deal, but what happens if something breaks or needs replacement on your car; will you find a part in a timely manner and equally important, at what cost?
It's good to keep in mind that being an older model, it's much easier to find replacement parts for the 9-3 series than it is for the newer 9-5.
Lots of questions not too many answers, and this is something that will likely make most mainstream buyers wary.
What we can say is that over the past few weeks that we have been following the subject, prices of the remaining Saab cars in the U.S. have dropped significantly.
For example, SaabsUnited reported that the Shaw Saab dealership in Norwell, Massachusetts, is offering several ex-loaner 2011 9-3 and 9-5 sedans with less than 8,000 miles at 50 percent off MSRP.
Among other cars is a 9-5 Turbo-4 Premium in a Jet Black shade with an automatic transmission and sunroof that has covered 7,500 miles. It's listed at $22,628 [€17,400]. Some haggling and a price comparison with zero-mileage Saabs (see below) may even get you a better deal.
You can also get awesome deals on virtually brand-new Saabs at most dealerships if you shop around at websites like Autotrader and Cars.
Too many examples to list, but we found somewhere around 535 new 9-5 sedans on both sites, including the black colored 9-5 Turbo-4 pictured above with 11 miles and a price of $24,791 [€19,050] from Tracy Banks Saab in Concord, New Hampshire.
Question is, would you go ahead and take the risk on a Saab or would you prefer to buy from another brand even if you won't get a deal and will have to look for a smaller and less luxurious model?
Shaw Saab Ex-Loaners:
- 2011 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. Automatic, OnStar/Bluetooth, Diamond Silver/Black with 7,100 miles. #8792. MSRP $33,470. SALE $16,735.
- 2011 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. Automatic, OnStar/Bluetooth, Diamond Silver/Black with 7,900 miles. #8794. MSRP $33,470. SALE $16,735.
- 2011 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. Automatic, Sunroof, OnStar/Bluetooth, Java/Parchment with 6,900 miles. #8793. MSRP $34,670. SALE $17,335.
- 2011 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. Automatic, Sunroof, OnStar/Bluetooth, Carbon Grey/Black with 7,500 miles. #8825. MSRP $34,670. SALE $17,335.
- 2011 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. Automatic, Sunroof, OnStar/Bluetooth, Bose Audio, Diamond Silver/Black with 7,300 miles. #8832. MSRP $35,765. SALE $17,883.
- 2011 Saab 9-5 Sedan. Automatic, Sunroof, Turbo-4 Premium, Harmon-Kardon, Diamond Silver/Jet Black with 7,500 miles. #8779. MSRP $45,255. SALE $22,628.
- 2011 Saab 9-5 Sedan. Automatic, Sunroof, Turbo-4 Premium, Jet Black/Jet Black with 7,500 miles. #8806. MSRP $44,260. SALE $22,130
30 Comments:
Oh, hell NO!!! This party is over. Check your insurance company to learn whether they will even insure it, and what categories they even consider insurable. Forums are you only hope of survival. You'll need to be good with a wrench too. Sad to see Saab go this route.
All of those new Saab's are mainstream GM, a 9.5 is a Chevy Malibu or Buick Regal. Parts should be easy. Question is do you by a discounted Saab or a brand new Malibu for about the same price with a warranty.
Perfectly good car for less than msrp. Try it for 3 years and leave it like the rest.
What happens if you are in an accident? Body shops are leery to keep vehicles around waiting for parts, especially if there are no parts. This means your Saab will be taking valuable yard space, not to mention the liability held by the body shop. I bet a lot of body shops turn these vehicles away.
maybe a 9-3 that new 9-5 looks really nice and the interior is nice but its just to much of a risk for that much money. The 9-3 is way past its prime and it would be easier to get parts for and serviced, not to mention at $15,000 to $16,000 its the same price as an older one with more miles so not really bad deal....no warranty and Saab are a bit troubling though I wonder if an warranty company would warranty them though if so good deal
Its a shame...the new 9-5 is a really good car.
Andrew you dont know nothing about Saab so shut up, 9-5 is not a Malibu, check your facts
I would
Or I don't get in an accident like hundreds and hundreds of thousands of other responsible drivers.
Seriously, if your strongest card to play here is "the body shop will reject you", then you don't really have much of a case. As stated before, the 9-5 and 9-3 are sourced from existing GM midsize cars, so even then much of the 'non-body shop parts' can be found and gotten easily.
Er, no. Nope. Nadda. Never. Nope. Not. Bad news. Stay away.
Wow, will you get a surprise if you even thin that a 9-5 is close to a Malibu. Even if 75% of the parts were in common. Many of the rest are not available and an Never will be. Steer way clear of a 2010 or 2011 9-5, unless you plan to garage it for years and make it a collectible
So a body shop is going to bolt on GM body panels of another make and I guess "make 'em fit"? The argument here is not to bank on GM for anything other than common interchangeable parts. BTW, do you have the list of said interchangeable parts readily available? Are they exact fits or do they require modification (GM has many parts that appear interchangeable on models but are not.
My strongest card is this: been there, done that with two unannounced EOL models and a motorcycle brand. And I further tell this too: People who are looking for a deal and who are not true enthusiasts of the brand/model—should not purchase these cars, period! Why? This will be the equivalent of purchasing a historic home. You'll have to find the right people to work on them, and be willing to work on them yourself; locate the right parts or someone willing to correctly fabricate needed parts; you're going to spend a great deal of time online with others in the same situation. Further, there will be people who are scouting—likely happening now—to buyout the remaining parts inventory to resale at a profit (seen this, hated that). No one person will get all the parts so you'll see the bad and the good of those who get the best and the worst of the inventory.
Or I don't get in an accident like hundreds and hundreds of thousands of other responsible drivers. Famous last words from someone who had no intention of becoming involved in an accident that was not their fault. You have zero, nada, absolutely no control over other drivers and their driving abilities.
Bottom line: Remaining inventory will find buyers. The better buyers will be true enthusiasts who want these vehicles; people who purchase them for a "deal" will do more damage badmouthing them when things go wrong. But a true enthusiast already knows this and dissuades the "deal buyers" to go elsewhere.
The 9-5 and 9-3 are LWB and SWB versions of the MkII Epsilion platform respectively. That means that existing powertrains, drivetrains, suspention geometery, exhaust pluming, will mate with respective platform lenghts provided they are souced from similar MkII Epsilion cars. It's not that hard to figure out.
Furthermore, are you really expecting the whole car to simply disintergrate in the next 12 months or something or become fully inoperatable? Sounds like fear mongering for non-issues that would have mattered 70 years ago when there were no quality standards.
Furthermore, you have no knowledge of my driving habits or where I live relitive to the volume of traffic I see everyday. It's unwise and foolhardy of you to pretend that you know I will be involved in an accident. I haven't been involved in any car acident since I got my licence ages ago and I don't plan to start "hooning" just because I have a "new" 9-5 or 9-3.
Also, if I were to jump at a new 9-3, why would I care about body work so much that it would put me off? If after 3 years the car has a ding or scratch, why should I care? The car cost as much as a Kia Rio and has deprecated just as much in those 3 years. It's not like I would expect to keep a new 9-5 or 9-3 after those 3 years or get back what I "invested". At half sticker price and with the predicted nosedive in value, it would be just another appliance that you use until it outlives it usefulness in 36 months.
Just trade in it for $1000 at the end and THEN it can be someone else's body shop problem.
Then you should buy one.
Glad you see it that way.
buy 2, one for parts :D
the 9 5 is basically a buick lacrosse with a different body, the wheelbase is the same, the underbelly (platfrom) identical. the new cadillac xts and the upcoming chevy impala, the same thing. matter if fact, the new 2013 malibu is a short wheelbase version. i would buy one, tow it home, garage it for 30 years without putting any more miles on it, then sell it on barrett jackson lol. G.M should have focused saab on audi, and cadillac on bentley and rolls royce!!! cadillac has no business selling bmw, audi, lexus competitors.
yeap
Sounds like Blarg! is a loud mouthed schnook that thinks he is superior to most, when in reality he is an equal to your average and enjoys making my sandwhich at Subway. I bet you like the sound of your own voice. I Think you should buy the Saab, then when the instrument cluster fails and you are told to go pound salt, you won't think you are so smart. Are you going to rig up the guages from another platform smartass? Didn't think so. As far as the quality control you mentioned.... think of this.... Would you do your best at the Saab plant and put your best foot forward after several of your peers have been laid off and the obvious closure of Saab was coming? I think you would half ass it like you are doing now... Get back to work you schmuck.
matter if fact.. lol..
Just bought a new 9-5 Aero for $33,000 with a 4 year GMAC 60K warranty. My insurance company wrote me a policy with no problem that includes replacement cost. Most parts are GM, so it may not be easy but given I paid about what a Suabaru Outback cost, I am willing to gamble.
My insurance company wrote me a policy that states clearly that id they can not make repairs to the car within 90 days they will total the car. I bought a policy that for the first 12 months will repay cost of car.
being based on the same platform doesnt make it the same car....fyi.....people are so quick to discount platform sharing but when VW group does it a million times over there are no complaints...thats like saying the TTRS is just a golf with a turbo version of the jettas cheapest engine.....
Nice. No risk, no reward. Some people don't get that. I don't see this as much different than buying an out of warranty older vehicle except that you get a brand new one instead.
I think it will not be an issue of the parts not being there, it will be just figuring out what parts off what GM cars. My local Buick dealer said he thought any issue could be fixed except possibly the instrument cluster. It is definitively a gamble, but we will see.
Ohh, someone is butthurt when he couldn't corner me into a easily avoidable argument!
Since you haven't brought anything new to the table except the weakest card you can play, it's simple to answer and dismiss. Simply run the VIN's and/or check the assembly plaques in which you can find the date final assembly.
Since Saab's demise has been well documented, you simply pick the model that was built prior to the day when the words "Saab files for creditor protection" hit the press. At that time, the workers had no reason to slack off or become complacent as they were convinced their future was secure.
Did you honestly think you had me, Jared Fogle?
Who said anything about the instument cluster failing? In all my years, none of my cars, not even the American cars, had gauge cluster failure.
You're really just reaching for a working argument. Feel free to come at me again with proper argument against buying a half price Saab so I can dismember it for you rather than just sneeze on the last one you had someone type for you.
no because they're ugly ass cars, especially the interior
having previously owned a 9-3 convertible for three years and having no problem with it except a glitch in the top mechanism once, I wish I could afford to buy a new 9-3 or 9-5 because I would in a heartbeat. unfortunately in this economy, I can't afford a bike
I do agree the interior is lacking. It's like they ran out of money. I have heard that there are a few carbon fiber overlays available, if I can find one of those sets I think it would go well with the aero trim.
Just received new aluminum dash kit that should help the interior looks. Ordered a aero emblem that will fit on lower radio plate, very expensive 4 bucks.. I think with the dash and emblem mods the interior will look better. Spent 5 hours in the new 9-5 today and it was a blast. Averaged 27 mpg, used the iPhone connector to play music, and just rocked on. So for now very happy with my $33000 aero.
Eying an aero listed at 29900. I've like this car's lines since it was first announced. It is stunning. I feel like it's a once in a lifetime chance with them going away. Dealer offers an extended warranty, checking price. Also, seems like one of those foreign car places that I trust for my Honda, Acura, etc., would be a fine place to keep this thing humming...
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