[blackcarlsson]

I think Saab should give pre-GM owners much improved access to available used parts as a gesture of goodwill - perhaps under the aegis of the designers of this forum.

This forum is an excellent platform for enthusastic ownership and I think we have all been ripped off to some extent or at the very least given unrealistic quotes from main dealers.

I would like to propose that we politely write to Saab HQ and propose they act in a more positive way to the "classic Saab" owners to keep the marque going.

The most important point would seem to be spares for 900s and 9000s. The remaining stocks should not be premium rated.

If anybody agrees with this idea, I suggest we get the ball rolling.

 

[BigAl]

I agree - my nearest dealer, Western Saab in Edinburgh must rank amongst the worst I have ever come accross.
Their labour rates are atrocious and parts can be sourced from specialists much cheaper.
Unless you are buying a brand new motor they aren't interested.

Count me in on the petition.

 

[quarryeff]

I agree in principle but you haven't got a cat in hell's chance.
You are aiming at their main profit centre

 

[MikeH]

Whilst I agree with the sentiment and am as annoyed as anyone else at the rip off costs ,I must agree with quarryoff , we have no chance.

 

[blackcarlsson]

I realise it's optimistic but I would never bother with Saab now for parts knowing the defiant pricing of their stocks. There will be countless others who also don't go back to Saab after being stung, so if we take this to its conclusion, ultimately they will have body and accessory parts left over with no buyers.

 

[gassy]

Do they currently sell *used* parts? I would think they'd avoid it like the plague because of guarnatee / liability issues

 

[bambo]

Perhaps this is a pipe dream but have a laff anyhow.

We could: -

1. Establish a relationship with a quality supplier who can trade online and who sells parts for saab whether saab 'boxed' or made by the same manufacturer as saab uses. (eg Vw used Arntz Belting and Borg & Beck - dunno who saab uses).

2. Collectively the registered users of this BB agree to buy exclusively from this supplier instead of from saab in return for the quality and 'membership' prices.

3. With our individual confidence in the pre-described relationship, we can increase business for our chosen supplier and increase stickyness to this brill site- oh and make savings too.

In this way we might save a fortune whilst maintaining the quality of parts used on our cars and at the same time help to increase the use of this site and the profit of the supplier. I don't think that that is a worry since we would be saving as a result? Oh and BTW, we could enilst recommended saab specialists as the fitters of these cheaper high quality parts at membership favourable prices too?

Now c'mon finish your chuckle. Any chance??

 

[JFP]

Some thoughts I had.

SAAB seem very keen to convert owners for life, I remember reading somewhere that SAABs have the highest % repeat purchase of any marque of car. Judging by the number of people visiting this site, if we did all start writing to SAAB i think they might at least listen.

Thinking about how much SAAB spend on advertising and customer reaserch does anyone think they keep a rugular eye on this site ? (probably)

Just think, all those old 9000's that will increasingly go wrong and need spares. If SAAB keep charging stupid money for spares all it will do is force older cars off the road.

A good advert for SAABs is the number of ancient ones you see driving around long after other makes have died

In a few years time when I start looking at those nice 9-5 Aero estates, knowing how much the spares cost may force me to think about ''lesser'' cars

 

[Toby Mack]

I'm curious, what parts do you consider overpriced on the 9000?
I'm not knocking the idea of cheaper parts from main dealers but in my limited experience Saab are no worse (in fact better in some cases!) than Toyota, Nissan and Lotus main dealers (these are the other makes I have dealt with recently).

Of course all these manufacturers sell their parts for more than 3rd parties but then that is a fact of life with main dealers, they have to make their money on servicing and spares because their margins on new car sales are very low.

I'm not knocking the idea but I am curious if people see this as a specific Saab problem or are just commenting on main dealers in general.

 

[JFP]

I agree main dealers are expensive. (Lotus spare prices are much worse than SAAB)
I recognise i am buting parts for cars that cost £25,000+ new
Yes SAAB spares are good quality and fit well

But having owned, ford, vauxhaul, fiat(never ever again) i think that SAAB spares are in general too expensive
e.g. brake discs & pads -- more than twice what you pad for best quailty from others
e.g. sump nuts £8, air filters £20 (£8 elsewhere)
trim -- very expensive,
little plastic clips £4 each (needed 10 off) that i thought would be 25p.
What it comes down to is that i would only go to a SAAB main dealer out of desparation, which is not going to help them sell lots of spares (wife & i have 3 9000's at the moment)

 

[zeppelin]

while i agree with above comments the main problem is when you have a fault which you cannotfind/rectify, we are now in trouble because saab have the only diagnostic gear to find the problem and we still get ripped off.i know a brilliant mechanic,saab expert ,but even he has to bite the bullet and sometimes take a car to main dealer to get plugged in;this i think is a bigger issue /we can buy parts elsewhere.what does the panel think?

 

[blackcarlsson]

I read these comments with interest because the idea is a pipe-dream, but so is expecting an enthusiast to pay in excess of the car's real-world value for parts at times. People mention suppliers but there's usually a contradiction or bad experience along the way.

It would be interesting to learn how big Saab's stock of parts for the older machines is and then maybe some deal or acknowledgment of the enthusiasm can be made.

I think we should approach GM and Saab as a unified collective of enthusiasts and use the power of our ownership to save money and keep the cars going.

 

[quarryeff]

Back in the early 90's I was keen on NSU Ro80's - I had 4, all in nice condition. Audi/VW (they then 'owned' NSU) regularly released the remaining stocks of spares at very low prices to various clubs around Europe, culminating in the last 25 rotary engines @ £700 each, crated up and perfect.
Remembering that, I think that I may have been wrong to earlier knock this idea. Maybe a non-mainstream dealer like Saab would be approachable.

 

[zeppelin]

dont get me wrong b.c. i agree with your proposal,and it is worth a try, but the point i was making is also valid. a lot of us can fix cars....when we know whats wrong with it.

 

[aeropilot]

These problems are not specific to Saab. You should see the cost of Ducati service and spares!!!

Saab have moved upmarket from the days of the 2-strokes and V4 96's, and are competing with the likes of BMW,Audi etc. Consequently they are charging BMW/Audi prices for spares.
Having said that there is a precedent in that didn't VW drastically reduce the cost of it's spares some years ago, in response to demand to reduce the insurance ratings of it's cars?

And don't think the cheaper mainstream manufacturers are that much better. As an example, some twenty years ago, a part I needed for the pinto engine in my RS2000 with the Rallye Sport 909.... prefixed part number was 3 times the cost of the IDENTICAL part for the pinto in a Cortina, but with a different part number!!

 

[gassy]

Not wanting to pour water on all this enthusiasm, but ....

One of the inherent strengths of a BB is the lack of infrastructure. What we are effectively saying is that we should put in place a structure, because no motor corporation is going to pay much attention to a (relatively) small group of enthusiasts who don't have a conventiaonally recognisable "organisation".

And if we are thinking about that then let's not re-invent the wheel. Join the SAAB Owners Club (20,000 members ISTR) and try to take action through that.

 

[blackcarlsson]

fine, then let's get a consensus and an agreed strategy and approach the Saab Owners club and ask it - and its 20k membership - to act on the behalf of everyone.

 

[gassy]

Anyone else round here a member of SOC?

 

[BigAl]

I'm thinking of joining the SOC.
Is it worth it?

 

[AYM]

prices of parts for saab are not that expensive ie filters, exhausts, the retail prices are belive it or not somtimes cheaper than the retail prices of cheaper quality aftermarket parts, it does pay to shop arround for replacement parts and you can get o.e parts like brakes at half the saab price. second hand parts are ok if they are not safty related, ie steering brakes etc

where you get your legs slaped is with the very high labour rates that saab dealers feel they must charge. find a good specialist and stick to them if they are members of a trade body like the RMI, MVRA etc this guarentees they will have high standards and if you have problems the trade body will will sort it out so you do have protection agaist bad work etc

going back to the parts cost what you should remember you are NOT DRIVING A ESCORT OR METRO OR ANY OTHER RUN OF THE MILL CAR
If like me you ride a motorcycle (I mean a superbike) you would not moan at the servicing costs for your saab