SaabWorld - One million kilometres with a Saab 9-5 in The Netherlands

Below is a translation of a local newspaper article. It is about a 1998 Saab 9-5 2.3t 170hp with a manual transmission. The owner drives about 100.000 kilometres every year. The engine was converted to run on LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas or Propane), a common automotive fuel in the Netherlands. I haven't seen any interior pictures but reports say it is in very good condition.

1.000.000 kilometres is 621.371 miles. Quite an amazing accomplishment for a 14 year old car. But not just any car. It's a Saab.

Article in Dutch at SaabWereld: http://saabwereld.net/een-miljoen-ki...-een-saab-9-5/

Sjef Kuijpers lives in the southern part of the Netherlands in the town of Veghel, province of North Brabant. He has been a customer at Autotess in Deventer for maintenance and repairs for his Saab 9-5. A few months ago, he parked his car at their business with exactly 1 million kilometres on the odometer.

"That's what I promised Gerrit Tessemaker of Autotess", Sjef said. "I was 1 kilometre short so I had to drive a few blocks in the area. After that, I went to a local bakery and bought a cake which showed "Saab 1.000.000 km 24/04/2012". This happened a few months ago and the car currently has done 1.016.000 kilometres.

Gerrit talks about the 9-5 as a special car, something he hasn't seen before. "Sjef's Saab appears to be a car that has only done 300.000 kilometres. And it is very remarkable the car still has its original engine and transmission. I wasn't sure if the odometer would continue to 0 but it remained at 999.999.

It is very special we helped achieving this milestone by maintaining this Saab 9-5. Sjef came to us because he had a problem with his car not other garage could help him with. After that, he always returned for maintenance and repairs."

Sjef bought this Saab 9-5 when it had 329.000 kilometres on the odometer. "About 5 years ago, I had a few problems with the LPG equipment in the car. Local workshops could not fix the problem. Eventually I ended up at Car Service Ton Elzebroek in Deventer where Gerrit used to work as a mechanic. Gerrit quickly figured out there was a problem with a control unit. A day later, the part was replaced and the problem was fixed. I was very happy about that." Reason enough for Sjef to return to the same garage every time the car needed maintenance.

"Oil and filters were replaced every 10 to 15,000 kilometres. This happens about 6 to 7 times a year. I also stop by their garage for other regular maintenance and replacement of parts. You should be able to trust the garage that maintains your car and that trust is well earned by Autotess. Service and repairs are done when the car needs something but no unnecessary repairs are performed. Gerrit is a very nice guy and mechanic Ronald Kaboel is very knowledgeable about Saabs and even owns one himself".