I’m sitting here, partly wondering why I have to justify myself, and partly pissed off that some people feel the need to take the joy out of life for others.
As some will know, I’ve recently had a few gorgeous Saabs in my collection, all are cars I absolutely adore, and as ever, have enjoyed owning and driving them, but new projects await, so have listed 3 of them for sale, but some people seem to be out to ask the most idiotic questions and why I’d be doing this without making profit.
During my ownership, they’ve all received the usual maintenance and upgrades, because that’s what I love to do. I’ve always enjoyed finding Saabs that might have been slightly under the radar, cars that need rescuing and giving them a new lease of life, or even Saabs that just deserve to be reimagined as something more original, better even. I’ve been doing it since 2010, and have bought and sold over forty Saabs now, but here’s where some people seem to think they have a right to question why I do it.
I’m not a dealer, and I’m sure not in it to make any profit, in fact I can pretty much guarantee I’ve invested far more financially in to each project than they have been sold for, why? because I’ve loved Saabs for many, many years, I buy them, I drive them, write about and photograph them, I do the work others might not do, and hopefully, I then pass them on to others to enjoy. We don’t all do things for money, we do them because we care about something, and I care about these gorgeous Saabs.
I try to be as transparent as possible when it comes to selling them on again; what I’ve managed to do, what I haven’t, and what might need doing in the future, it’s about keeping these Saabs on the road for us all to enjoy. They aren’t perfect, some need paintwork, so might need the odd part sourcing, but for the most part, they leave me far better than when I bought them, each one is a joy to do, I imagine what each Saab might work well with, from minor upgrades to full on transformations, some might just get a damn good service and new brakes and wheels, others maybe get new suspension. I drive the car for a while and then plan a works list for each, my great friend and Saab guru, Jason then helps me make them possible, he sees mechanical niggles I don’t see, and we fix those too, it creates Saabs that should go on to give enjoyment to others, and that makes me happy.
I’ve decided I will totally ignore any future idiotic comments or emails, I quite honestly don’t have the time or inclination to explain myself to anyone besides the people I respect and trust, I don’t need to sell any of these Saabs, so prefer to wait until the right people come along who appreciate them.