IMPORTANT NEWS: National Electric Vehicle Sweden has agreed to buy the assets of Saab Automobile and the sale is expected to be finalized during the summer.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Living next to the world's biggest second hand market for Saab

During 8 years of owning a Saab, I have learned that living right on the border to Sweden is a great advantage. Why? Because in Sweden you find the world's biggest market for both new and used original Saab parts and tuning parts for Saab. For my first Saab I bought a set of 17" Aero rims, an Aero trunk spoiler, a complete Viggen package including front spoiler, rear spoiler and side skirts, Viggen leather seats and a JR air filter. The objective: To turn an ordinary Saab 9-3 into my own special Saab 9-3.

For my second Saab 9-3 I drove over the border to get some 17" Aero rims and an original Saab sport spoiler package including front lip, rear spoiler, side skirts, trunk spoiler and sports exhaust. I also got some replacement parts: brake pads, brake discs and brake calipers.

So by driving one hour and crossing a border, I have saved thousands of kroner.

After I hit a big bird with my new Saab 9-5 earlier this week, my hopes were high when I checked the parts market in Sweden for a new grille. But it turns out that slightly used parts won't be available until spring next year. Okay, that's maybe not so surprising since the car was just launched. I then called the nearest Swedish Saab dealer, but for some reason he couldn't find the part in the original parts catalog either! So now I'm getting a bit worried, remembering the unlucky guy in Belgium who crashed his new Saab 9-5 and his dealer couldn't get spare parts.

Next week I will go to the Swedish dealer to pick up my new 19 inch Turbine rims, and I hope that together we can find a new grille in the parts catalog. Fingers crossed!