Sometimes, leaving that stone unturned, is by far the best option; what you don’t know, can’t hurt as the saying goes, but sometimes, a little transparency allows you to take stock of a situation and ‘sensibly’ decide which road to take next. Over the years, I’ve bought, modified, rescued and enjoyed quite a few Saabs, I roughly keep track of what I spend on each, and when I come to sell them, I try and be as fair as I can with the asking price.

I suppose I’ve always known I overspend on each Saab, and often lose money, but until my recent projects, I’d never been totally honest and added up the spend. I’m annoyed with myself for not doing this exercise before now, but I enjoy the process, the sourcing of parts that make each and every Aeroriginal Saab a bit special.

Six months ago, I purchased the silver 9-5 Aero sport wagon, the idea was to hold on to this one and use it as my everyday Saab, but not one to leave things alone, I set about creating a car as close to a factory modified Hirsch Performance 9-5 as I could, obviously certain parts just aren’t available any longer, but thanks to a number of other Saabists, fantastic alternatives can be easily found.

For complete transparency, I thought I’d reveal the costs involved in getting a Saab to this level. Just to note, this is absolutely not a Concours car, it still has things to do and you’ll find daily wear and signs of its 20 year journey, but it’s a genuinely fantastic Saab and another I’m proud to have helped build.

Is it worth anywhere near the cost of doing it? Financially, the market for these amazing cars would never achieve enough to cover the costs. However, the satisfaction of seeing them honoured like they deserve to be is, in itself, hugely valuable.

Car £4995
Hirsch Performance Pack £1200
Hirsch Wheels £1200
Refurbishment £480
Tyres £440
Bodywork £2050
Mechanics £1250
Steering wheel £350
Badges, wheel centres, stickers £120
3” downpipe £345
Abbott Springs £312

Total Costs £12,742