Saab Saga Draws To A Close
The on again/off again demise of iconic Swedish car maker Saab now seems certain to end in tears for 3,700 workers.
News from Europe overnight tells us that a District Court in Sweden has received papers from Saab filing for bankruptcy. If you remember Saab was first in trouble when its owner, General Motors wanted to close it down following the GFC. But protests were aired and a saviour found in the form of (then named) Spyker for $400 million last year. But then they ran into trouble and wanted to sell the company to the Chinese. But General Motors put their foot down and refused to sanction the deal on the grounds of giving away their intellectual property. So there it stood until yeaterday, where it now appears certain that Saab are gone.
But what does that mean for Saab owners in Australia?
In the short term it may mean very little, if you want to keep your car that is, as spare parts will still be available from main dealers. But if you want to sell it, you may have more difficulty (though the prospect of its demise has probably already been accounted for in its trade in price).
But hey- and here we’re calling on the brave speculators out there, is it worth buying a new or near new one now?
Think Edsel, or MG or a dozen or so good car makers that went down the drain. Their cars are now sought after by collectors for their rarity value. And you can’t get much rarer than a modern day Saab.
We contacted the Saab importer, (or ex-importer) who told us that the last few new Saabs were available for sale, but stock is running out.
So are you brave enough? Saab has guaranteed availability of parts and you will certainly have ‘exclusivity’, and maybe even the chance to make some money by selling a rarity sometime in the future. We think it’s a very good car and worth considering as a new vehicle purchase in its own right. But will it become a collectors’ item sometime in the future? If it does, then we’ll all be clicking our fingers and saying “If only”….
Level 2, 9 Help Street
Joseph Pearl says:
The word is, GM, which had previously owned Saab and held on to some of Saab’s technology licenses, blocked the sale of Saab to Chinese investors because GM didn’t want the Chinese to get this technology. People are now speculating that because of this, replacement parts on the newer Saabs will be tough to obtain. If this is the case, my guess is that someone will emerge and supply these parts.
Joseph S. Pearl, LL.M. – A Professional Law Corporation
1400 Chester Ave., Suite C
Bakersfield, CA 93301
661-281-0253
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:05 am