Make index
Selling a dead or junk Saab
Saab has not built a car since its last model year in the EPA's list, 2012, so every Saab you might be selling is at least 14 model years old. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, and a Saab that sits dead in a driveway is exactly that. Sell the whole car as it sits. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.
Updated · 3 sources
- Saab model years in the EPA list
- 1984 to 2012
- Saab models on this site
- 7
- Founded
- 1945, Sweden (headquarters in Trollhättan)
- First production model
- Saab 92, launched 1949
- Most NHTSA complaints
- 9-3, 1,406 of 2,796 across Saab's models
- Fate
- Bankrupt; defunct 2016
Below: where Saab came from, what happened to it, which Saab models owners have complained about most to federal safety regulators, and a list of every Saab model on this site.
From fighter planes to a small car
Saab started as an aircraft company. The name is an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, the Swedish aeroplane corporation, set up in 1937 in Linköping. According to Wikipedia, it was founded "for the express purpose of building aircraft for the Swedish Air Force to protect the country's neutrality as Europe moved closer to World War II."
The car business began in 1945, when Saab AB started a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. The car company's headquarters were in Trollhättan, Sweden.
Owners of Saab, in order
Saab changed hands several times, and each owner shaped the cars. Wikipedia's account:
| Years | Who controlled the car business |
|---|---|
| 1945-1968 | Saab AB, the aircraft maker |
| 1969 | Saab AB merges with truck maker Scania-Vabis to form Saab-Scania, under the Wallenberg family |
| 1989 | The car division becomes Saab Automobile AB; General Motors and Investor AB hold 50% each, and GM's US$600 million buys an option on the rest |
| 2000 | GM spends US$125 million on the remaining shares and owns Saab outright |
| 2010 | GM sells Saab to Spyker N.V.; the sale completes on 23 February 2010 |
| 2012-2014 | National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) |
The company's fate is listed as bankrupt, and it was defunct by 2016.
One detail from the Spyker years matters to anyone holding a late Saab: after the sale, GM kept supplying Saab with engines and transmissions, and also built the 9-4X for Saab at GM's factory in Mexico. So the newest Saabs carry GM hardware under a Swedish badge.
Which Saabs draw the most complaints
The numbers below count complaints Saab owners sent to NHTSA, every model year included, as of October 10, 2026. Each one is something a driver told the agency; none is a ruling that a part failed, and none is a reliability score. A Saab model built for many years has more owners filing reports. The final Saab years have simply been on the road for a shorter stretch.
| Model | Model years (EPA list) | NHTSA complaints |
|---|---|---|
| 9-3 | 1999-2012 | 1,406 |
| 9-5 | 1999-2012 | 557 |
| 900 | 1984-1998 | 353 |
| 9-7 | 2005-2009 | 171 |
| 9000 | 1986-1998 | 136 |
| 9-2 | 2005-2006 | 121 |
| 9-4 | 2011-2012 | 5 |
What stands out:
- The 9-3 is about half of the total. It has 1,406 of the 2,796 complaints counted across Saab's models. It shares the longest run in the EPA list with the 9-5: 14 model years each.
- The 9-5 is a distant second at 557, over that same 1999-2012 span.
- The 9-4 barely registers, with 5. The EPA rated it for just 2011 and 2012, Saab's final two model years.
Open any model page for its year-by-year count and the parts its owners mentioned.
Selling a Saab that no longer runs
With a Saab, fixing it is usually possible. Whether the fix costs more than the car is worth is the real issue. Our guide to old and high-mileage cars walks through that choice, and if the problem is a specific failure, the non-running car guide covers what to check first.
You don't have to strip anything off first. The whole Saab leaves on a truck, from wherever it sits.
- Note which Saab it is (900, 9-3, 9-5 and so on), its year and the odometer reading.
- For a Saab, say whether the motor turns over, whether the car rolls when pushed, and what is broken or missing.
- Find the title. Lost one? Read selling a junk car with no title first.
- Tell us where the truck needs to go: a garage, a driveway, a back lot, a street.
When it is gone, handle the plates and the paperwork.
Rather talk to a person? Call (877) 421-6008.
All seven Saab models on this site
Years are model years in the EPA's fuel economy list, which starts in 1984, so earlier Saabs such as the 92 do not appear.
Questions people ask
- Will you buy a Saab that has not run in years?
- Yes. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, Saabs included. Sell the whole car as it sits, with free pickup anywhere in the US.
- Is Saab still in business?
- No. Wikipedia lists Saab Automobile's fate as bankrupt and the company as defunct in 2016, with NEVS as its successor. The last Saab model year in the EPA's fuel economy list is 2012.
- Which Saab has the most NHTSA complaints?
- The 9-3. Its owners had sent NHTSA 1,406 complaints by our October 10, 2026 count. That is about half of the 2,796 counted across Saab's models. The 9-3 was also sold for 14 model years in the EPA list, longer than most Saabs.
- Was Saab owned by General Motors?
- Yes, for part of its life. GM took 50% in 1989, bought the rest in 2000 and sold Saab to Spyker in February 2010. After the sale GM kept supplying engines and transmissions, according to Wikipedia.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.
- Wikipedia: Saab Automobile en.wikipedia.org
- EPA and DOE fuel economy data (vehicles.csv), fueleconomy.gov fueleconomy.gov
- NHTSA complaints API (example: 2003 Saab 9-3); all Saab models, pulled October 10, 2026 api.nhtsa.gov