Kelly Cadillac Saab are located in Lancaster County, central Pennsylvania, and they were one of the unfortunate ones who received a letter saying that their dealership would not be one of the retained outlets in the future.
Kelly aren’t taking the notice lying down, though. They have a love for the Saab brand and feel a obligation to their customers, so they’ve started a website – saveoursaabs.com – in order to petition Koenigsegg Group into reconsidering this decision.
……we were somewhat dismayed last week when we were notified that Koenigsegg Automotive has chosen to close our Saab dealership.
Since more than 8,000 Saabs have come through the doors at Kelly – with over 1,500 current and active Saab customers – we believe that Kelly Saab plays an integral role in the future of Saab here in the United States. The Kelly family has been in the automotive industry for over three decades, and owns 12 franchises in 6 locations along the eastern seaboard. We have deep ties to our customers and community in all these locations.
To that end, we have respectfully contacted Koenigsegg Automotive to take a closer look at Kelly Cadillac Saab in order to realize the negative impact that closing this particular location could have on their chances for succcess.
So we’d like you, the customers of our Saab dealership, to let Mr. von Koenigsegg know what you think of our dealership, of your Saab automobile and the importance of keeping a Saab dealership within Lancaster County.
Please click here to read the messages of support and maybe even leave one of your own.
There are 150+ comments there already, which is a very good start.
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Earlier this year there were a lot of people in the car industry who would have left Saab for dead. It seems to me that if you’ve got someone this committed to supporting Saab and keeping them, you ought to keep that person on-side.
It’s my understanding that appeals from dealerships that were cut have been coming into the offices of Saab Cars North America and that those appeals will be considered this week.
I hope some good judgement is excercised here, and that the good people in some of these dedicated Saab dealerships are retained. It matters.
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{ 8 comments }
Kelly is in Lancaster, Lancaster County, PA…
While is is unfortunate that Saab dealers that have been with the brand for decades are now being cut loose there has to be a lot more than that warm feeling to make Saab a successful company with a bright future. Saab cannot afford to make the big combined losses they have been making for the past two decades. Saab/K-G quite obviously has had a very difficult time deciding who stays and who goes. New England is a big Saab market and yes they seem to have proportionally way too many Saab dealers but Saab did its homework. Dont worry once things get better you can bet that K-G will open new dealerships but we are currently seeing a company in serious but stable condition. Once the vital signs get better things will be better.
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@ Zippy: I agree.
I’d like to see ALL of the numbers on this train of thought. Yes, some dealers are around for a long time and have loyal customers, and yes, some dealers have reasonable sales but aren’t being retained. I’d like to see everything out in the open. Were the volume dealers getting good service ratings? Were the high-service-rating smaller dealers actively promoting the brand? Were there simply too many dealers in close proximity? Did market studies show that a single dealer with a huge market will promote the brand better than two or three smaller dealers? I’d like to see both sides of the story prior to passing judgement on any one decision.
I had/have a rant that I almost published last spring that concerned my experience with a local GM dealer that had OK sales but absolutely mistreated my employer’s fleet department with an abusive use of their dealer status. Those folks aren’t in business anymore, and it’s dealers like them that make things ugly. I’m not saying that any of the Saab dealers are that extreme, but I’m sure that the dealer in question would have protested about cancellation of the Pontiac brand with the same argument: “we’ve sold thousands of Pontiacs and this is what we get?” all the while knowing that their service reputation was to blame for their demise — but they would never concede that point.
My point: In these things neither side will admit the bad, and we all know that every relationship has both good and bad.
My two cents.
Did Saab do its homework? And, what will be the final count? I hope Kelly gets reinstated.
For me I have no hope for Scoggin Dickey in Lubbock, Texas. It will be interesting how SCNA handles my service issues. I always have a backup plan, but owning 2 Saabs (a 2008 9-3 and a 2009 9-3 XWD) with the nearest authorized dealer greater than 100 miles (Sewell in Dallas 400 miles) will be interesting. By the way with only 2 drivers in my family, I only own 2 cars. I think that makes me 100% Saab. (If you are keeping count Swade)
I’m not sure what we consumers and Saab customers can do. We can write a letter to Saab USA when we get good service. We can buy cars from them. Not sure what else a customer can do. Sadly many write letters when they think their service was bad but
hardly any write when treated well. But I’m sure many dealers were closed that had great service.
BTW: This dealer may be near Carlisle PA where hundreds of Saab enthusiast flock every year for the Saab convention/import show. Way to go Koenigsegg.
RMinNJ, it’s a bit over 50 miles between Kelly Saab and Carlisle, PA.
For everyone else, the reason that there’s a big gathering in Carlisle, PA each year is that the Central Pennsylvania Saab Club (http://www.centralpennsaab.com/) is based there. They are one of the most active clubs in the country and trace their roots back to 1959 as the first club of its kind, according to their website.
If Kelly Saab isn’t renewed, folks in that area will be looking to drive 100 miles to West Chester, PA to get to a new Saab dealership. Such a distance probably means that Saab will eventually die in central Pennsylvania, having only dealerships around Philadelphia in the east and Pittsburgh 300 miles to the west.
Yeah, I suppose that once things get going, new dealerships will spring up and maybe many of these that have been cut will be reinstated.
Kelly is where I and my family take our Saabs for service. We go to Kelly instead of other dealerships that are closer to our home because Kelly is better. It is more than a warm feeling here. It is more like, I trust my beloved Saab to Kelly and not to those other dealerships (who are staying it seems) who, as far as I can tell, think that Saabs are Swiss. Seriously, I don’t want them touching my car and the time that I made the mistake of taking my vehicle to them for service… well, you leave with a nauseous feeling. This dealership issue has me worried about the future of Saab/K-G more than anything else. It seems completely upside down.
I hope the appeals process will be fair and take into account the level of support this dealership has. Looking at the comments Saab would be walking away from at least 150 future sales just from those who bothered to comment. There were a couple in there that said they wouldn’t ever buy another car if the dealership closes. I think that message should wake some folks up at the corporate office.
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