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How much to pay for "new" 9-5

4K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  jmendy 
#1 ·
Hello all,

My first time posting so i apologize if I have done anything wrong. A little about my saab history; after oldsmobile went out of business, my family slowly moved towards saabs. My father leased a 2007 9-3, then my sister bought a 2004 9-3 and last year my mother bought a 2010 9-3. I am the only one who has not had my own saab :cry:. Now to my questions...As mentioned above, my father likes to lease his cars, after the 2007 9-3 lease ended he was talked into leasing a loaded 2010 maxima. That lease is about to end and he is considering a few options, buying a new 9-5, leasing a buick lacrosse or leasing a cts. For whatever reason id like to see him in the cts or the 9-5, the buick is nice but not my favorite. So my question is how much would a reasonable offer for the low millage (not more than a few hundred miles) 2011 saab 9-5s be. Our salesman (we've known for 30+ years) has straight out said they are taking 15-17,000 off bringing the price from 45-50000 to the $32-$35,000 range. I have done a little research and I am convinced that they can be had for the $25-27,000 range. Any thoughts? Has anyone recently bought or heard of someone recently buying one? Any information would be greatly appreciated!! As you know there are no warranties on these cars. Please Help!! thanks again
 
#2 ·
I have been keeping an eye on things also since I hope to purchase a 2010/11 9-5 within 6-18 months. The most I am seeing is still between 35-40% off max on new ones. I guess the dealers are loosing so much money that can't take much more of a loss. I wonder who is going to buy them for 35-40% off which is the same price they could be had for in January (and maybe earlier). I have not seen any new ones with less than 500 miles for 50% off. Maybe a few people got some of those when dealers closed, but I have not seen anything recently. I am considering waiting for a used one with under 30,000 miles in the next 6-18 months since someone would have already eaten the depreciation. Who knows if the values will stabilize or decrease. Darn they might even increase if their is more confidence in parts on the NG 9-5 since there are so few out there.

I can't wait to get one, but am trying to pay off our truck that pulls our camper first.
 
#3 ·
Funny timing since I came to this forum looking for an answer to the same question. I have an '08 9-3 Aero that I'm thinking of "upgrading" to an '11 9-5. But only if I can do it for a heavy discount. Plus I want one new... I'm big on buying new because I'm hesitant to pick up something that someone else has beat on during the break in period (especially if there is no warranty). IMO, these "new" cars with a few hundred miles on them had those miles put on specifically by people who know that they won't be around if (when) their driving shenanigans take their tolls down the road. Not saying it's right or wrong -- just that I like to be the one that puts those miles on there.

I'm seeing them at like $12-13k off sticker. So I thought I would do some critical thinking about if I thought that was a fair price. Here's what I came up with (YMMV). Suppose Saab was still building cars and never went belly up. Now that 2013's are starting to hit lots out there, the 2011 cars still sitting on lots would be few and far between. Because of that, they'd be heavily discounted. Figure at least $1k or $2k under invoice, don't you think? So what would that be? Maybe $5k off sticker on a $50k car? So now you're down to $45k.

Still supposing that Saab was still around... Now factor in what you're losing. You have no free maintenance for 3 years... maybe another $1k worth. And you have no warranty... I'm not sure what a 4yr / 50k mile $0 deductible backed by factory and performed by your dealership is worth in dollars, but it's gotta be something like $4k if you were looking to buy it yourself (and were able to get such a thing). Now we're down to $40k on that same $50k car.

Now factor in that Saab is no more. How much is that peace of mind worth? How about the ease of getting the car serviced by a "dealership", if you go that route? "Dealers" who service Saabs are drying up and not everyone can wrench it themselves or lives in an area where they have a trusted mechanic who works on Saabs, should the need arise. Parts availability never was fantastic, but it's going to get worse as the years go on.

Lastly, factor in the heavily accelerated depreciation now that the company is gone. Saabs always had a limited (albeit passionate) market. The buyers on the fringe of that market have tucked tail and ran at this point. According to Kelly Blue Book's website, that same '11 9-5 that had a sticker of $50k new is only currently worth upper $20's with 10k miles on it now.

The problem is assigning a dollar value to those last few intangibles. If they're worth $10k to you, then $30k is a fair price. If they are worth more or less, then adjust accordingly.

I haven't decided yet what it's worth to me. Nor have I made the painful step of getting my 9-3 appraised as a trade in. Four years ago, it was $40k car... now it's probably worth a quarter of that, and that seriously hurts. However, if I can step out of it and into a 9-5 for about the same monthly payment, it would hurt a lot less. I guess I'll have to see how it turns out.

I hope we can get some more responses to this thread. I'm really curious as to what people think. To the OP, where did you do the "research" you mentioned... it's hard for me to find anything online.

Also, what do people think about buying a 9-5 sans warranty? Are there issues that will pop up and make me regret that? While I've bought a fair number of new cars in the past 15 years and not too many of them required major $$ repairs, it was rare that I didn't take it in for some sort of minor warranty work. That being said, even "minor" things turn into big $$ when you have to pay for them out of pocket. Even my 9-3 had to go in for leaking coolant (reservoir recall) and a faulty switch for the sunroof. Those things, however minor, could have easily cost a few hundred dollars if I had to pay for them.
 
#4 ·
I've got a 2011 purchased as my company car a few months before Saab imploded. I (well my company) paid a negotiated "retail" price for it. It's a great car, I love driving it every day, but honestly I'd have walked away from it if I knew then what I know now given it is a daily driver. As a company car I'll have it another 3 years at most, so not really a problem for me, but I think, and I could be wrong, but this car will have very shallow support, it will be a hard car to keep on the road in 5-10 years just from a parts and "who can fix it" scenario. Maybe with the Saab Parts group in place that might change but it's impossible to hide from the fact so few were produced and that will eventually affect parts availability, not like filters and spark plugs but some small $25 part that fails and you can't get that could strand the car. The only worse car from that perspective is a 9-4X. Just my 0.02 but find something else from a solvent manufacturer unless you are going to put only few miles on it per year. I'm not Saab bashing, I'm Saab stupid, I have 3 of them but at least the 9-3s I have I know that there will be used parts available, with the 9-5 it's much more doubtful. Good luck with whatever you do.
 
#5 ·
I agree with bmwrider.

I knew Saab was in trouble financially prior to the official announcement so I worked a good deal in November 2011. But I thought they would be bought and continue production. Well, I was wrong and already it's tough to find certain parts. I got into a fender bender about 2 months ago and still can't find a replacement front grill so I looking a having someone build me a custom grill which will cost.
 
#6 ·
I actually asked the guys at GenuineSaab (Taliaferro Imports in Springfield, MO) about this the other day when I was there.

If you do a little research, you can trace where most of the major drivetrain parts came from in most of the variants. For example: both the engines are pure GM parts bin.

I don't have much knowledge of the NG9-5 personally, but I've been watching prices passively as well and figured I'd pass on what I heard from some Saab pros
 
#7 ·
So if you guys *were* to find a deal that was adequate enough that you'd spring for a new (untitled, less than 100 miles) 9-5, would you buy an aftermarket warranty? (Like something from Zurich or another reputable insurer.)

My wife and I are quite fond of the Saab brand and think we'd like to take an opportunity to by a new one (to replace our 9-3) while we still can. However, the prospect of having a couple of relatively small issues cost big $$ isn't very reassuring. That being said, purchasing a warranty has always been something that I didn't see as worthwhile. After all, if they were such a great deal for the buyer than the seller would go broke.

If you were to buy one, would you get one for 4 or 5 years or would you just get one for a year or two (hoping the typical electrical gremlins get worked out by that point)?
 
#8 ·
I thought Saab Parts was back online... No?

I'm a "classic" guy myself, but I secretly long to own a new one. I scan Craigslist and eBay daily for the chance to pounce. I will say this... The thing that makes owning a classic Saab palatable is the fact that I'm not writing a check every month for the privilege. The constant prowling for parts has become sort of a hobby. I wouldn't be willing to do that if I were making payments!

Very soon, all you will find for sale, are cars that have a big repair bill on the horizon. Personally, unless I can find a new(ish) 9.3 or 5 for a hair over $10k, I'll start looking at BMWs. If I can't pay cash for a new Saab, I can't afford to own one... That's for certain!
 
#9 ·
I have had my new 2011 Saab 9-5 for a little over three months now. It stickered for $47,650. I paid $27,650 after some haggling. I sell cars for a living, and I knew about what they are going for at auction. Anything less than say $18,000 off is paying too much. Also got the full bumper to bumper warranty for just $1500, which I think was a good compromise.
 
#10 ·
Price of new Saab 9-5

I bought mine in Virginia for 26K and change. With an after market warranty I walked out for 28K and change. I thought it was pretty good, the sticker was almost 49K. And yes it was new. I now have 26,200 miles on it and haven't had one issue with it. It rides great and seems to hold up well.
 
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