Sad news for Saab owners today.

December 19, 2011 9:10 AM

With the sad news of Saab's liquidation today and a two year old Saab in the garage - any advice on what to do? Sell quickly or keep and just run it into the ground, so to speak? It runs great and we really like it but do we want to be stuck with a car that is defunct. How to get it serviced years from now, etc.?
posted by Tullyogallaghan to travel & transportation (16 answers total)

I guess that depends on if you owe money on it. Anybody who would buy it from you would be looking for a very good deal since the company is going into liquidation, but if that amount of cash wouldn't pay off your loan then you'd be in a better place just driving it until you do have it paid off.

Aside from that, at two years old I don't think you have much to worry about unless you have a ridiculous amount of miles on it. You'll be able to get it serviced just fine. Your only worry would be parts being scarce, and I doubt that'll be an issue until a decade from now (at least!)
posted by zombieApoc at 9:17 AM on December 19, 2011

Your 2-year-old Saab is really just a re-bodied GM car. As was the case when Oldsmobile was killed off, I'd expect replacement parts to be available for decades. I wouldn't worry.
posted by killdevil at 9:17 AM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]

From this article, published about the time Pontiac models were discontinued:

Auto makers are required by law to supply parts for the full warranty period. That can be up to five years or 100,000 miles for some GM vehicles.
posted by The Deej at 9:33 AM on December 19, 2011

The parts and knowledge of Saab technicians don't disappear because the manufacturer ceases to exist. Even if they did, OBDII would at least allow you to pull codes. Saab has always been a niche manufacturer that inspires marque-specific repair shops. My uncle has run a Saab specific shop for more than 20 years. The aftermarket will make replacement parts.
posted by narcoleptic at 9:37 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

You drive it till you need a repair that's too expensive. This is no different than driving an older Ford or Honda; it may slightly raise the chances that you have to call it totaled in, say, 5 years rather than 7, but it's not like Saabs were every super-common - the Saab-savvy mechanics aren't going to rust any time soon.

(This from a happy Saturn owner who has no trouble getting maintenance for his own GM-owned discontinued company's car)
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:44 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'd at least drive and enjoy that car until its four years old or has passed 120000km or thereabouts. That will give you time to watch what the guys at Saab cook up as their final solution. I can't believe that that's the absolute and final end of it.
posted by Namlit at 9:47 AM on December 19, 2011

Use it and give it routine maintenance until something expensive to fix happens to it; by then you can bet that a small cult of devotees will exist, and you can either get the parts you need from them, or just sell it to them for parts.
posted by mhoye at 9:59 AM on December 19, 2011

Basically, the only impact from Saab going under to you is not to buy a new car from them. It should make almost zero difference to you - the dealerships will continue to service the cars, most of the spares will already have been produced and in warehouses somewhere, specialist shops will still service them etc., etc.

Don't worry about it, just treat it like any other car. It had lots of GM influenced design and parts anyway so it's not as big an impact as you perhaps think.
posted by Brockles at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2011

Nthing that you'll be able to continue getting service if you need it. I was able to continue to get GM dealer service for my Saturn until it finally aged out and I sold it early this year.
posted by immlass at 10:27 AM on December 19, 2011

You have a GM car. Mister Goodwrench will still service it.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:06 AM on December 19, 2011

Yeah, not really sure what the big issue is. You ought to be able to keep taking it to a GM dealer, if not directly to a specialty Euro one (of which lots exist in bigger urban areas). Shouldn't be much of a problem. It's not like you're driving a Delorean or something.

My father had a thing for American Motors cars and the dealer he used to buy them from was still servicing them (although they are now officially a Chrysler dealership) right up until I moved away, but I suspect they still are even now.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:03 PM on December 19, 2011

I agree with the above thrust, that is parts are not going to dry up overnight, or even over several years. To take an extreme view, look at all the cars that are being restored and used that are 50, 60, or more years old.

Some parts may become harder to find, and/or more expensive, as the years go by, but the owners clubs and the internet forums will usually have an answer even if a dealer/service shop doesn't.

Bottom line - there are lots of these cars around, and they represent a demand for parts and service. The market can be relied upon to meet this demand, even if sometimes you have to try a bit harder, and maybe pay a bit more.
posted by GeeEmm at 4:59 PM on December 19, 2011

Keep it. Run it into the ground. No one gets a good deal selling a car that's two years old, and that's going to be especially true in this case.
posted by J. Wilson at 5:25 PM on December 19, 2011

A dissenting opinion - when Saturn disappeared, it only took a few service trips to the GM dealer that picked up their clientele to realize there was a cultural mismatch and that we wouldn't be happy with dealing with the GM system before we sold our old Vue. If the dealer who sold you your Saab will still be around and you're still going to see the same faces, it's probably not such a big deal. But if it involves switching to a different dealer network, it could be annoying enough to consider a change.
posted by Kyol at 6:48 AM on December 20, 2011

Just to address the cultural thing: my Saturn was 11 years old when I finally sold it. For me the "Saturn culture" was already gone at the dealership I was using long before I sold the car. I disliked the local Saturn dealership--not the one I bought the car or its predecessor from--in part because of regular pressure to trade in my car and upgrade to a new Saturn. The move to the GM side of the dealership came as something of a relief and the repair experience for me was actually better until I sold the vehicle. Kyol is right that there may be a mismatch, but much depends on the dealership(s) you're working with.
posted by immlass at 6:57 AM on December 20, 2011

This just in:
Saab Halts Warranty Coverage.

All new Saabs on dealers lots sold or leased 'as is'.

GM will pick up warranty coverage for those cars sold when it partially owned Saab (2009 models and older).
posted by artdrectr at 4:58 PM on December 20, 2011