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ctm’s Saab experience in Sweden
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ctm’s Saab experience in Sweden

March 14th, 2008 · 19 Comments



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Many of you may have seen the name “ctm” here from time to time.

One of the fun things for me is that I have no idea what his real name his, nor his age. I don’t know precisely what line of work he’s in and I only found out what sort of Saab he drives relatively recently. He is an internet mystery, and a big, big help. ctm has been a rock over the last few years. He’s been a willing translator and always expressed a voice of reason in emails and comments. He’s also supplied many of the Swedish sales data numbers over the last few years for both Saab – and Cadillac :-)

He recently sent me the following, which I guess you could consider a companion piece to many of the service stories we’ve had here in the last few months.

——

There have been some postings lately about how prospective buyers have been treated by Saab. I thought I would run through my own experience in dealing with Saab in Sweden the last 4 years. But before I start, there are a few facts I would like you to know.

I live in Sweden. At least 10% of the cars on the road are Saabs (about 400,000). There are well over 100 dealerships in this country of 9 million people, around the size of California. I don’t live in or near any of the three biggest cities, but I still have five dealerships within a 45 min drive from home. Owning a Saab here does give you some choice, and surely you do not feel alone.

I’m not the person to contact a manufacturer with constant complaints about products, services etc. hoping to get freebies. I have other things to do in my life. If I contact a company, it is because I want specific information or because I (if I really like their product) want to point something out that could help them make it even better.

I bought my current Saab exactly 4 years ago. It’s a 9-3 SE MY01. It was exactly three years old when I bought it. I was satisfied with the salesperson at the dealership. I have my car serviced once a year at the same dealership, and I’m satisfied with the quality of their work. I have had only two minor problems with the car: missing pixels in the SID (which I “repair” myself about twice a year), and the badge on the hood which is losing its colors (I will get a new one). That’s all.

ctm SaabMy Saab. I’m one happy owner, and the car seems to be happy as well…

It all started when I bought the car. Well, actually, nothing started. Not a word from Saab in Sweden. OK, I bought a three year old car, but with the prices in Sweden that is not uncommon. I have heard figures that about 70% of the Saab sale are company cars (I know that’s true for BMW). So picking up one of those after three years (one owner, regular maintenance, lots of equipment) is very common. And it’s still a lot of money. How did Saab treat me, a new owner to the brand?

With absolute silence.

ctmletterIn January 2005, all hell broke loose in media about the oil sludge problem. At the Saab homepage, it said my car was affected; in all the news paper articles it said it wasn’t. So I emailed Saab and asked, and got a prompt reply. A few weeks later, I also got the general information about the extended engine warranty. That was handled as well as it could be.

In September 2005, it was time again: the DI cassette. Again, my car was affected, and Saab would notify all owners and offer a free replacement. Five months later I hadn’t heard anything, so I emailed Saab asking if my car was affected or not. I got a reply saying the replacement campaign was delayed but that I would hear from them soon.

Another six months.

I email them again, asking what is going on – it’s now almost one year since the story broke in the media. Sorry, the replacement campaign was delayed but I would hear from them very soon. In October 2006 I email my local Saab dealer asking if they knew anything about it and if my car was affected or not. No reply. A couple of weeks later I got my second ever information from Saab: it is time to replace my DI cassette. 14 months after it was in the news.

Yes, the dealership… I said I was satisfied. Well, I am, but let’s say they are not really aware of this thing called the Internet. Sure, they got a nice homepage with everything. But the response, the personal relation, the interest in the customer? No…

I have contacted them four times through email:

    October 2004 – asked about advertised winter tires – got a reply
    October 2006 – asked about the DI replacement – no reply
    April 2007 – asked about the price of a service job – no reply
    February 2008 – asked about a car they have for sale – no reply

Four tries – one success.

ctm dealerThe last attempt is interesting. They had a used car up on their page. It says that it’s a SportCombi with 4 doors. OK… No photo yet and no registration number, so I can’t check what it really is. So I email them and ask. And just to clarify one thing. On every page with a used car, there is a photo of the salesperson, his/her name and phone number and email address, buttons to click for showing a general interest in that car, asking them to contact you, getting a finance plan for car etc. So they do want you to contact them. To me, spending 30 seconds replying to an email with a small piece of information to a customer interested in a USD 25,000 car seems like a smart thing to do. But no…

And then there was this thing with a Saab owners web site. I don’t know about other countries, but in Sweden there was a place called something like “My Saab Pages” (www.minasaabsidor.se). I found it out by accident when surfing around on Saabs Swedish homepage. The general idea: you registered (they did some check to see that you actually owned that Saab you claimed you owned), and then you got a place with information from Saab tailored to your needs. You got the owners manual as a pdf-file, you could enter valid data about you car (maintenance bills, odometer settings etc.) and so on. Nothing fancy, a little bit rough around the edges, but clearly a step in the right direction and something that could develop. I mean, the Internet had been around for a decade.

So I registered, got confirmation, and started to use it. This was in December 2005. In January 2006, I got an email survey about that site and I filled it out. One day in February I couldn’t log in. Weird. (I do work as a computer systems engineer, so I’m used to handling logins.)

I then asked it to email me a new password. Nope, no such email address registered. What?!? On the login page, there were absolutely no contact information for the site. I tried a few times over a week or so, then emailed the general information at Saab in Sweden, stating my problem and asking if they could point me to someone responsible for that site. No replay. Shortly afterwards, the site was gone.

Well, that’s it. To summarize the four years of ownership:

I have got two snail mails from Saab, both things you rather not want to have because it was about problems with my car.

Twice a year a get a really small mail with advertising from my local dealer – basically the same thing you see every Saturday in their ads in the local paper.

I have never got any email from Saab without me first asking them something; and even then I don’t always get a reply.

I have emailed my local dealer (the dealer where I service my car) four times, and they have responded on only one occasion.

I started to participate in a Saab owned community site, only to have that disappear after a few months without a single explanation.

Saab-I

I have signed up for something called Saab-I. It’s an electronic newsletter sent out a few times a year. I had to register myself, and it contains nothing new or interesting. I got the last one in the evening of March 5. It contained pictures and information about the Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept. I got it 48 hours after I got all that information (and ten times more) here on trollhattansaab.net.

——

I wish to add one more thing.

I don’t really know how other brands treat their owners in Sweden today. But I have some clues. After four years, I still get the Volvo owners magazine through my snail mail – Saab haven’t sent my anything, not even a “welcome to the brand” or brochures. I have (through snail mail) received personalized information from Alfa Romeo, BMW and Lexus about new models and invitations to test drives – for Saab, I had to sign up to that stuff myself and the information I get (only through email) is stuff I have already seen all over the net when I finally get it.

But what do I expect? Well… Not much, really.

I would be nice to get regular information from Saab and at least feel that I am a part of a community, especially when one buy a Saab and join the brand. Remember, this is in Sweden with Saabs all over the place. How do they expect owners in other countries to feel that they are a part of the Saab community? And I’m not talking about the Saab maniacs who probably buy a Saab no matter how they are treated. I’m talking about a normal owner that will compare the customer care with that of other brands, and have that as one important factor when buying the next car.

I would gladly spend 30 minutes a year filling out a questionnaire about my car, the service, the brand, why I love Saab, what I think is “Saab”, what I want from future models, etc. – without even getting a free Aero-X pen for it. But are they interested at all in what made me buy a Saab? Are they interested in what I think is important for the brand in the future? Do they even want me to continue as a Saab owner?

So, will new models be enough to sell 150,000+ cars a year, or do they also need to start communicating with their customers?

Oh, and one other thing. I do not belong to the Generation Y. And yet I feel exactly like them when trying to communicate with Saab. That IS scary… Because how do the real Generation Y, the new generation of could-be Saab owners, think?

Tags: Saabology

19 responses so far ↓

  • 1 DanniNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 8:40 pm

    ctm – your experience of the non-committal part of the Saab organization in general is similar in other countries too: I live in Namibia and have bought two 9-5 Aeros – one new and the other used. I have signed up for the quarterly magazine mailed somewhere from Sweden and I get. Both the two 9-5 were serviced in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively, but I have not received a single invite (the launch of the facelifted 9-5 in 2007 and the 9-3 ss in Feb 2008) after having spent considerable dollars on servicing and repairing my cars with the appointed agents. The irony is that a colleague of mine who participated in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour got a leaflet as an owner of one of the GM premium brands and guess what – he got invited to attend the launch of 9-3 SS in Feb 2008 whilst I, who owned at one stage two 9-5 and they have my information on their database since I am servicng my cars there, got zilch! No, not an email, not a newsletter, nothing. And I had spoken to the same saleslady in January in pursuit of the incentives driven MY07 9-3 Vector just prior to the launch. Rest assured you are not alone. But would that deter me from keeping loyal to the brand – not a chance, they can heap as much dirt on me and my psyche in silently trying to push to something else, but I know better. Pity the marketing people or perhaps the entire organization.

  • 2 YingNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    What Saab need, is a clued up and capable BRAND MANAGER.

    See Apple. See BMW, See Sony

  • 3 vagabondNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    lagom ar bast.

    Good enough is best? EnG

  • 4 MarkSNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    ctm – Thanks for the comments! It seems to me that it wasn’t always this way. I received “Saab Soundings” from 1984 to the end of the 1990’s, when I’m assuming GM killed it (I could be wrong). That was a great publication and I really enjoyed each issue. After Soundings was squashed, I received two issues of “Saab Magazine” (which was interesting but not quite as Saab-centric as the Soundings publication) before all communication stopped. I’ve contacted Saab USA several times about this publication and have either been ignored or, as in one instance, told via e-mail that the magazine was “not available in my area” (I live in New England). I now have to settle for “Saab-i”, or whatever that e-mail blast is called. It’s really a waste of time even to look at it. I’m not feeling the love, for sure! The dealership issues are a whole other story which I don’t have time to get into now…but I’m hoping things will improve!

  • 5 saabyurkNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 9:52 pm

    ctm: I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping it was only Saab USA that was like that, and it is like that, almost to the T. At least the Saab Owner’s Center is still working. I suppose I’ll lose all of the service info I’ve entered there someday. That’s why I keep a copy on my PC. Since you have to give them a VIN, it would be nice if they married in your service info from the Saab mainframe.
    They need to know that it does benefit them to be responsive. For example, we needed a pickup truck for our far (not Saab I know), so my wife emailed the nearest Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota dealers specifying what we wanted (base work truck), and asked for a price. Ford: No response; Dodge: Come on in, we got trucks!; Toyota: Added us to their junk email list; Chevrolet: An unbeatable price from a salesman complete with contact info and truck info. We now have a Chevrolet truck.

  • 6 saabyurkNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    Kinda off-topic, but I’m wondering how SAAB will respond 30 or 40 years from now, if they’re here at all. How will fans restore these cars without help from Saab? Probably impossible, it’s almost impossible to do DIY now. I don’t care because I won’t be here, but I pity car restorers of the future.

    Here’s what I’m talking about, I read this on Saabcentral yesterday:
    So I tried it myself after buying a CIM … trying to start the car afterwards was a major problem…..it didn’t start. Got an error message, “Incorrect FOB, see Saab dealer,” or something like that.
    I put my old CIM back on and fortunately, everything was back to where it was before. After having a Saab repairshop (not Saab dealer) try it, they said that using their Tech II, they would need to access the Saab mainframe to download the required integration software to marry the CIM to my car. They didn’t have access to the Saab mainframe. So tomorrow I’ll try another Saab repairshop. See if they can marry my part to the car. Hopefully, I’ll hear wedding bells.”

  • 7 cdp88No Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    I didn’t buy my SAAB from an authorised dealer but I did have to go and make a few warranty claims. The dealer here was pretty good about it and everything I raised with them was fixed. I asked to be put on their mailing list and I have received the occasional email and post card.

    They actually called me once to ask why I didn’t get my car serviced there. It was good of them to ask but it still won’t convince me to service my car there. My independent is just around the corner from my place and is much more reasonably priced. Although I hear they have quite good mechanics there (even if they also are a service centre for Hummer, Citroen, Ssanyong etc).

    In terms of SAAB the company I was pretty happy with my interactions with them. I emailed the website with some questions about how the warranty would transfer and roadside assistance before I bought the car. A real person replied and I have since emailed him a few times with other questions and he always responded. I gave him my details and he updated their database and the warranty.

    I have received the SAAB magazine for years now, long before I bought my car. I signed up for one complimentary copy on their website and they kept sending it. I still get it now even though I’m not using a dealer for servicing.

    I guess the real test will be when I buy a new car from a dealer. But so far SAAB Australia is doing ok by me.

  • 8 TompaNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    Regarding the silence from Saab in Sweden..
    I can´t recognize myself in that. With every Saab I´ve bought (Always used ranging from 1-14 years, think it´s 8 in total) I have always been sent the Saab Magazine and local offers of servicediscounts etc etc. So I´m a happy camper.
    I live in Uppsala 60km north from Stockholm and before that in Stockholm itself. Never ever any problems with dealers, service or Saab themselves. Thats my story. A happy one with super autos and realy good service which makes me never want to leave Saab.
    I´ve owned Nissans, Fords, Mazdas etc.. Never a word from them or a dealer. Only exception was Jeep.. (Owned two Jeep Cherokee XJ 4.0 Ltd Executive High Output. Brilliant cars in rough terrain)
    I´ve been a salesman of Skoda, Opel, Chevy US, Peugeot, Mazda and Subaru.. when it comes to service to their clients… beeeeeep flat-line.

    So, I guess every brand has their flaws.. Only Saab could do better. Wonder what it´s like beeing a Volvo driver in the US. Not much better I´d presume. But both of them SHOULD have Lexus service.

    Cheers from a happy Swede/Tompa (Tom)

  • 9 GriderNo Gravatar // Mar 14, 2008 at 11:22 pm

    While we’re speaking of customer support, i’m had the toughest time finding parts for my ‘99 9-3 at my local Cadillac/Saab dealership. Based on my past 3 years of Saab ownership, I believe they only actually keep 3 Saab parts behind the counter: oil filters, power steering fluid, and oil change bolts. Everything else “takes about two weeks” to get here. Fortunately, as with most things, the free market has intervened and i’ve had nothing but good luck with eeuroparts.com, but still – if I need a power steering return hose or a reverse light switch, both relatively common problems on the old 9-3’s, I shouldn’t have to wait “about two weeks”. I’m not for each repair shop not turning inventory, but I am for good logisitics.

  • 10 Mike C.No Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 12:10 am

    ctm: I used to get Saab Soundings and that stopped… I now have become a memeber of The Saab Network so that I get a subscription of “Nines Magazine”… I must say, my friend has a BMW and he gave me his BMW Magazine to read. Full of BMW information from front to back. Everything from delivery programs to how they make the seats for the cars. JUST VERY INFORMATIVE. Like you I have purchased a Saab that is a few year old. I do love the car but the lack of brand/dealer concern does not give one a premium feel. Saab’s lack of getting the word out to the people is now the norm.
    JAG. BMW AND LEXUS get it done, Saab does not. How can they expect to move the metal if they don’t want to get the worn out. Exclusivity is one thing but in today’s market YOU HAVE GOT TO SPEND TO MOVE THE PRODUCT. Word of mouth will not cut it.
    All of the video I see from these car shows looks great, new models new cross drive. BUT, WHAT’S IT ALL FOR IF YOU DON’T WANT TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT?

  • 11 MarkSNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 12:18 am

    Hi Tompa, your comments are interesting, and I’m very glad to hear that things are different in Sweden! I blame Saab USA management and GM for the slightly more frustrating circumstances here in the US. Since GM took full control of Saab back in 2000 we’ve been heading in this direction. The latest move to consolidate Saab dealerships with other GM-owned brands has only made this situation less friendly to the Saab enthusiast. In my past experience, Saab salespeople were generally Saab drivers and Saab enthusiasts themselves. A recent visit to one of the newly established Cadillac-Hummer-Saab dealerships proved this is no longer the case. To them, the cars on the lot are just a commodity, and I think some of them actually prefer Cadillacs (UGH!). Anyway, if anyone in the US knows how/where I can subscribe to Saab Magazine, I’d appreciate the information. Take care fellow Saabers….

  • 12 PTNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 2:35 am

    I get a regular Saab magazine mailed to me (as well as the internet version) here in Australia but thats about it. I don’t think its connected to my ownership at all, its more because I fill out forms & requests at motorshows etc.

    Hate to say it Swade but you know who are constantly emailing, calling, texting etc with offers and events…….it starts with a B….

    I was even invited to the launch of a new Renault dealership last week which was great fun. 500 people, music, great food & drink and a Stig-style driving performance to introduce the new Clio sport.

    My local Saab dealer is a bit of an afterthought at a big Holden (GM) dealership. They usually have two very only looking cars parked just near the rubbish bins.

    FWIW I am currently working for a company who’s delivery of “customer experiences” is pretty crap at the moment. Your story sounds very real to me CTM. The problem seems to be some kind of weird, inbuilt cultural attitude that is VERY hard to shift. Its a very inward looking company ( albeit with some great products and good people) and I can see this coming across to my customers. Keep an eye out for a new email address Swade!

    As Peter Drucker the famous Harvard professor of business said:

    Business has two responsibilities: innovation & marketing.

    So many people/companies. do not grasp these kind of basics.

  • 13 Adam GNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 2:50 am

    I’ve found that if E-mail doesn’t work, and I want an answer, I pick up the phone and call someone until I get the answer I want. If that doesn’t work… there’s always driving down to the dealer.

    That being said, we don’t bring our Saab to the dealership and haven’t for about 15 years. Whenever we did, they’d tell us _ and _ were wrong with the car and that it wasn’t covered under any type of guarantee.

    That Saab was one of the most frustrating cars we’d ever owned… until we stopped taking it to the dealer. At 22 years old and with 91k miles, the only thing to go in the past 2 years has been the linkage on the wipers.

    So I think you’re right in the sense that the customer care portion of the ‘deal’ is broken. The car’s great, but that doesn’t mean much when the dealer and the company could care less about you.

  • 14 samNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 3:00 am

    My dealership here in Salt Lake City has almost always done a good job. They send out a newsletter every couple of months with news and service coupons. If I had to complain about anything, it is the high cost of repairs there as compared to regular service shops.

  • 15 SportModeNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    Glad you’ve had a better experience downtown at KGS, sam, because I’ve been disappointed a few times when I show up. My biggest beef is that you have to practically beg to get a salesperson to talk to you- I’ve shown up three or four times during business hours and never even been greeted by someone.

    I must say, though, that when I do interact with people there (service, parts, etc.) they are quite cordial. So I gotta give ‘em that.

  • 16 eggsngritsNo Gravatar // Mar 15, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    ctm: Good stuff. We here in the US have ZERO expectation of communication with the OEM when one buys a used car without factory warranty remaining. I can understand with the concetration of Saabs there that you have different expectations.

    My general comment is this: Saab’s committment to their dealer network here in North America has been questionable for some time — Grider’s comments are far too common. However, for every “two week wait”, there’s another dealer that gets it done. You simply have to find those people.

  • 17 PTNo Gravatar // Mar 16, 2008 at 8:41 am

    Servicing is separate any dealer/Saab experience for me altogether. I go to an independent who was with Saab for a long time but now has his own show. Our car has its occasional problems ( most recent – fuel pump – now THAT is an overpriced part….) but Adrian is always up to the task. He’ll offer used parts from one of the various cars he always has in pieces if he thinks a new part is unnecessary and the work is always finished when he says it will be. He’ll take phone calls at all hours without charge as well. In fact, his expertise is what the local dealer routinely calls upon as they have minimal Saab experience.

    To be completely honest, I sometimes feel that the two major, ongoing reasons for my loyalty and enjoyment of SAAB are Adrian and TrollhattanSaab. Is it coincidental that they are both independent owner/operators? There are LOTS of other interesting cars out there to drive but these two businesses certainly pull me back to Saab for the overall experience.

    hmmmmmmmm………

  • 18 zippyNo Gravatar // Mar 16, 2008 at 8:43 am

    I think Ying said it best. Saab truly needs a real gung-ho brand manager and I can think of one particular gentlemen that we all know and hold in the highest esteem! I wonder why they didnt ask him when he was there in Jun 07 for the 9-3 relaunch? :)

  • 19 Richard/JapanNo Gravatar // Mar 16, 2008 at 11:40 am

    I’ve been living in Japan for 25 years, Saab has his 3rd general dearler with these 25 years! Now it’s a company selling mainly Mercedes. As in other countries, the ‘after-service’ service…? is almost inexistent!
    I had bad experiences with the general dealer when I had to get my MY1999 (now 137000km)repaired after a frontal accident. It took too long as parts were not available here anymore. I should have gone to my regular local mechanic to get it fixed.
    I’m satisfied wth my lady. she runs as　if she were new. And she protected me very well at the accident (she destroyed the Nissan …)The guy was not too ‘angry’as it was an old model and he thought his wife would allow him to buy a new one.
    We have a yaris at home and Toyota’s service is Excellent !