[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
But, like wine, it's a matter of taste. There is no right or wrong answer. Indeed, there are a lot of folks that buy them new, but, like everyone in my family, I drive them until they're no longer drivable. One of my brothers just bought a new 9-3 SportCombi, but, still has kept his '96 9000 Aero with about 160k on it. My other brother kept his '91 9000T until the transmission finally went at 265k. We buy most of ours, though, used, so, even then, we allow other people to take the depreciation hit.
Taste and market acceptance are very weird things. I don't have the answer as to why more people don't buy Saabs. What I do know, though, is that BMW and Audi are extremely competitive in that same price point. Just speaking for my self, of course, I'm not crazy about BMWs (Bangle design, very common...), but, I love - and have owned several - Audis. Utterly superb. But, I drive a Saab because I got such a fantastic deal on it. I still lust after a TT Quattro Roadster or an S4, but, can I justify spending $20k on a good used one versus continuing to drive my $3200 Saab? Nope. Again, though, for most people, a car just doesn't matter. They buy what they buy because they either got a great deal on it, or they have an 'image' that they want to project. Saab doesn't have the cache' of BMW, but, Saabs are very nice to drive and are about equal the equality. So, people see them as similar, but, the BMW has that social 'glow' around it that people seem to flock to. I have no idea why BMW has that. It just does.
Take, also, the everlasting debate between Porsche and Ferrari. Porsches are incredible cars and are equal or superior in nearly every way to Ferraris. But, there's just something about a Ferrari that is inexorably appealing. It's so irrational, in fact, that Ferrari owners are willing to weather astonishing running and upkeep costs and ridiculous unreliability, yet, have such love and lust for their cars that they just keep flocking to the brand in droves. Porsches have phenomenal performance, superb reliability, even great practicality as everyday cars, yet, if you ask many Porsche owners what their ultimate dream car is most would answer: "well, other than a Ferrari, of course..."
The question you ask would better be answered by a panel of psychiatrists.
posted by 207.92.198...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
