I’ve never been afraid to call a Saab dealer out on a bad experience, nor Saab themselves.

I try to be supportive of Saab dealers, though, because whilst the average car dealer is trying really hard to get you to part with as much money as possible, the average customer is also trying really hard to screw the dealer. So we can call that one ‘even’.

I also try to be supportive of traditional Saab dealers because the die-hard ones that I’ve met and had any sort of relationship with do have a genuine affection for the brand. They’ve probably stuck with Saab through thick and thin over the years, and if they’re with Saab right now, then they’re definitely in the midst of a “thin” part.

It’s easy to develop an Us vs Them mentality with dealers. We’ll be wearing white hats and they’ll be wearing black hats, but there’s a few black hats on our side of the fence, too:

One faithful (sic) evening when preparing the boat to bring it in, he (the blogger’s dad) backs the car down towards the boat……He miscalculates where exactly he should reverse to, somehow. Reverses the car deep into the sea, to hook up the boat. When I say “into the sea”, I mean INTO the sea.

Opens the drivers door to get in to drive away, and you could go for a swim inside it there was so much water…..

….A few days go by and the dealer calls him saying it’s only the starter and easy to replace. Day later he calls back, the immobilser is also gone (whatever that is :p) and asks if the car got wet. So my dad blames my brother, said he had it for the weekend and didn’t know what happened hehe. My poor bro.

So next time you feel cranky towards your dealer, remember he’s dealing with stuff like this. Day in, day out. If he’s got to treat a problem you report with a little cynicism then maybe this is why.

I’m not saying it’s OK, but sometimes we get on our high horses and shout them down from the rooftops. A little perspective can help.

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