I’m sure that many people have heard that Saab Australia has gone into administration. However the implications I don’t think are widely known at the moment, so I thought I’d share.
Saab Australia was handling parts supply in Australia, and their warehouse has the parts supply. When they went into administration the administrators locked up the supply and are trying to find the highest bidder to buy the whole lot at once. So currently those parts aren’t available to be purchased by the general public as individual parts.
Now we know that Midlren’s will be taking over from Saab Australia, the problem is that they have no parts. There is currently a container load of parts on a boat between Sweden and Australia, once it’s here there will be parts, but until then there is nowhere to buy parts from in Australia.
Sit tight, parts are on the way…
So Midlrens are taking over Saab Australia but not their warehouse and parts?
Ah, didn’t see the “from”.
Yeah.
Saab Australia warehouse and parts are in Melbourne.
Mildren’s warehouse and parts will be in Sydney.
I bet parts will cost an arm and a leg. They did just prior to the bankrupcy, I needed a petrol pump for a 1997 Saab 900 2.0 and they wanted $700 before tax. I ended up getting it expidited to Australia from England in less than a week and it cost me around $230 with the shipping. That was a lot cheaper. An option for Australian Saab owners is to get parts from overseas. For Saab, the UK and US are usually the best and cheapest places. Many can be found by looking on eBay Motors. Of course this isnt always an option for all parts and for all people, but it is something.
I have been in the same boat and got fed up with the price gouging by Saab Australia and its dealer/service network. Some dealer/service outlets are unwilling to fit supplied genuine parts as they loose their percentage markup. If running a Z19DTH then most parts are available from the Holden dealer network at a substantial cost reduction and i believe this is also the case if running a B284.
Did Mildren’s buy the parts in the warehouse? If so it will have some parts available before any containers arrive. Unfortunately the worst part about having a private importer for parts is that prices will likely be higher.
There are a number of parts suppliers in Melbourne. I often get parts from a very nice, knowledgable and helpful supplier. Terry from All Saab Parts is sure to have many parts you’re likely to need, either new or second hand. There’s not much Terry doesn’t know about Saab parts. Check out allsaabparts.com.au
No…I don’t work for Terry, but I’ve always found his business to be fair, honest and reliable.