Saab Sale Experience and Results from Smart Auction by Ally Financial

For those that do not know me, my name is Julie Gardner and I have been a fan of SAAB since 1989 when I got my first “real job” at as a Sales Consultant at a (now long-gone) rural York County, PA, USA Ford/SAAB dealership. I am currently employed by Kelly Cadillac SAAB in Lancaster, PA and am known as the resident SAAB Specialist. As such I convinced our store’s owner, Geoff Kelly, to participate in the Smart Auction (SA) sale of 2011 inventory being made available to GM/SAAB only dealers as a way to make money to satisfy the debt of SAAB Cars North America (SCNA) to ALLY after December’s bankruptcy filing.

Through forums like Facebook, SAABsUnited, SAABWorld.net, and others my name became available as a contact for bidding. An official plan was formed to charge a flat $2200 fee over the final bid amount. This would include auction fees, transportation from NJ (where the first round of vehicles were all located) to our facility in Lancaster, PA, and PA state inspection or safety inspection as was applicable.

Though we knew there was a possibility of flat-spotted tires, rodent damage to electrical systems, dead batteries, and paint issues, we hoped for the very best and generally did OK in these regards. What I did not expect was to have inaccurate descriptions provided- but more on that later.

June 28 was a day filled with anticipation. I awoke with butterflies in my belly that never left until our final bid was placed, accepted, and won. I began the day with 6 potential bidders though we found that the pricing was higher than expected early on and 5 of the 6 were out by soon after lunch.

The sale is to run from 9am until 2:30pm; however, if a bid is made at the last moment, the auction end can be extended to as late as 3pm in 4 minute increments with each bid made after 2:30. When at 2:25pm the 9-3x Tom wanted was already higher than his initial planned purchase amount, I expected to bow out. But Tom decided he wanted this car so we pushed on making a few more bids between 2:30 and 3pm, with the final one made literally at 2:59:45. After 35 minutes of heart-pounding stress we had a winner! Tom got his 2011 red SAAB 30 years after his first, a 1971 SAAB 99 also in red. It was clearly meant to be.

Arrangements were quickly made with our drivers to pick up the 9-3x the next day at Newark. I had them take a picture and call me upon arrival there to confirm the car’s overall condition which all seemed 100%.

When they got back to Lancaster I was waiting with the video camera to film its arrival and forward to Tom to resume his excitement of the day prior. Unfortunately that excitement was short-lived as the inspection report for the car included satellite radio and telematics system, neither of which was installed on this car. $1845 worth of equipment was missing!

We opened an arbitration case with SA hoping to receive compensation for the loss of options. After several days, a physical inspection by a SA employee, and a few phone calls they said we could either return the car with full reimbursement of all expenses including fees for the sale and transportation, or we could accept it as is with 0 compensation for their mistake. I unsuccessfully attempted negotiation with an SA supervisor as did Mr. Kelly, but all to no avail. In the end we were fortunate neither missing feature was important to Tom so he did not hold us responsible for the errors made by SA.

But the trials of this first sale experience were not yet over! In completing the inspection of the 9-3x it was discovered this car fell within the VIN# range for a potentially faulty fuel pump. The tank and rear end needed to be dropped in order to inspect the pump’s lot # for inclusion in the recall. $275 in labor costs later it was determined a new pump was required. Another $900 off the profit to install the new one. Back to arbitration with SA again for yet another unsatisfactory conclusion.

Wanting to try to save any profit left in the deal I contact Warrantech to see if their extended service contract, the same one SCNA endorsed as replacement to the now-canceled factory coverage, would provide benefit for the pump replacement. Two calls later I get the positive answer I’d hoped for, but now needed to get Tom to purchase the coverage which he’d still been “on the fence” about. Thankfully, he decided it was good investment protection since nearly ½ his initial investment was already being covered by this repair.

The adventure of Tom’s 9-3x purchase would have just one other hiccup when the 1^st transporter arrived with an open flatbed and I questioned how that qualified as the covered transport Tom had hired. Sure enough with a few phone calls to the carrier and Tom the dropped ball was found. Tom now had to make a new transport request and wait some more, but a couple weeks later the enclosed trailer we expected arrived and Tom’s new SAAB was on its way to the Wild Wild West.

He has been happy with his decision overall, though he spent more than he originally planned, and it took longer than anyone would have anticipated. I was happy just knowing another SAAB had found its way home to a well-deserving caretaker.

Kelly Cadillac SAAB made a net profit of under $300 so it was difficult to get Mr. Kelly to participate again in July and I was forced to skip that sale though I did assist a few folks with their bids placed elsewhere. From networking online I was able to save a new friend in CO $1000 by providing information about July’s results though we did not bid and I still had a lot of interest from folks all over the country. I soon convinced Geoff that participation in the next sale would be easier and more profitable since I knew better what to expect and to look for and he hesitantly agreed.


Saabs at the FAPS storage facility at Port Newark

We again started with several interested prospects but it quickly became apparent a few dealers were bidding quite aggressively and making it difficult for others to join the party. Five of the six prospects I began with were soon outbid, but one silver 9-3 combi with manual transmission remained on my bid list- a car that Harry in CT thought would be the perfect addition to his SAAB fleet which already included a 96, a Sonnett, and a 95 under restoration. Because of my previous experience I decided to simply observe until close to 2:25. Harry and I spoke and decided to place a bid at 2:29 with hopes to snag it at the end without extending the auction time too. Others were also interested though so it wasn’t as easy as we hoped- again it was a last minute offer that sealed the deal.

Prior to bidding I had insured Harry’s new 9-3 combi would not need a fuel pump replacement and that he knew this was a car with no options. We were optimistic that the car would arrive as clean as the 1^st 9-3x and when my drivers brought it back the next day we confirmed all was well.

Harry picked up his new SAAB just 5 days after placing the winning bid and the transaction could not have gone more smoothly. Another happy Kelly Cadillac SAAB owner : ))

Since the sales had previously occurred one per month, the email from Harry on 8/28 alerting me to another auction in just 2 days time, caught me by surprise. Apparently I was not the only caught unawares as even SA took until the very day of the sale to post inspection reports, pictures, or even VIN# to be included. I hurriedly contacted those bidders with prior interest, compiled a bid list, and had Mr. Kelly approve my participation.

We had our eyes on a 9-4x and an Aero XWD 9-5 sedan. Both cars had bids as we moved through the day but I was feeling confident. Unfortunately just after 2pm both reached numbers beyond my customer’s expectations and the last sale ended without further purchase.

Initially it was stated in an ALLY document dated June 13, 2012 that there would be 300 cars available through SA to SAAB/GM dealers, another 600 cars to be sold as 6 lots of 100 cars each, and some additional company cars to be sold even prior to the 1^st, 6/28, sale.

Based on the numbers from the SA tool online (which one would assume should be the most accurate) there have been a total of 194 sold thus far of the original 300. (45 on 6/28, 73 on 7/24, 39 on 8/16, and 37 on 8/30) SAABWorld.net had published information that said 78 were listed for 7/24, 70 for 8/16, and 76 for 8/30, but the sales results listed online at SA read differently.

Overall the average sale prices were:

9-3 convertibles (2) at an average of $28,350
9-3 sedans (119) at an average of $19,369
9-3x (4) at an average of $28,250
9-3 combis (10) at an average of $20,238
9-4x (8) at an average of $31,181
all 9-5 models (49) at an average of $26,842

but breakdowns on 9-5 models using the last 3 sales results only (6/28 results were too old to retrieve):

9-5 Turbo4 (3) at an average of $20,400
9-5 Turbo4Premium (11) at an average of $25,271
9-5 V6 (7) at an average of $28,333
9-5 AERO XWD (14) at an average of $31,030

From what I can tell there are no manual transmission 9-5 sedans remaining, no 9-3x combis, and no 9-3 Aero sedans.

There seem to be about 8 convertibles left on the list, 15 9-4x Aero models, and 5 non-Aero 9-4x models. Also 30 9-3 combis, and more than 250 9-3 sedans. I can also count about 290 9-5 4 cylinder sedans (all automatic) as well as about 60 9-5 V6 models and 12 XWD Aero V6 9-5 sedans.

Of course what we do not know is which of these cars will still be made available to us through SA, if any.

I sure hope there are more to be sold as I am enjoying my conversations with SAABers from all over about their past, current, and (hopefully)future SAABs. I believe in karma and know the SAAB love I spread will come back to me at least two-fold : )) so keep those calls and emails coming and I will do all I can to assist each of you.

Yours in SAAB~

Julie


Saabs at the FAPS storage facility at Port Newark

Article by Julie Gardner, original images added by Frank Wulfers

More reading and pictures:

SaabWorld - Ally Financial to auction 900 new Saabs stored at seaports in the USA
SaabWorld - Many Saabs still waiting for their new owners at Port Newark
SaabWorld - Ally Financial is suing SCNA to seize Saab vehicles at the Port of Hueneme, California
SaabWorld - Last chance to buy a new Saab
SaabWorld - Hundreds of new Saabs stuck in the Port of Newark, New Jersey