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It was Winter of 2020, going into 2021. Earlier, I had gotten the approval of my parents to purchase my own Saab. However, there was a compromise. The car had to be a modern Saab, of at least 2000 or later. Or, at the bare minimum, have an airbag, except the idea of a late model 900 with an airbag wasn't really motivating my parents. So, I cut my losses. I was now able to get a car, and for me, I was content. I knew I wanted a 9-3 or a 9-5 wagon, and I spent days religiously searching classifieds and ads for a good car.
One day, I found a bright red 2008 9-3 wagon in Massachusetts. It was listed at a used car dealer, and the price seemed pretty fair. I presented the idea to my parents, and we agreed to go check the car out. However, when we arrived at the dealer, the car was there, but there was something a bit off about it. The car's entire right side was full of scratches! These definitely weren't in the listing photos when I was studying them. The rims were scuffed up, and the bumper, well let's just say it backed into something sharp. A bit let down, I decided to pass on the car and keep looking. I thanked the seller for his time, but I let him know I would pass.
My '07 9-3 Wagon, the day after I purchased it.
I began searching again. A week or so later, it was a late December night, and once again, I was desperately searching Craigslist ads. I was beginning to feel like I'd never find anything good. Little did I know that feeling was about to change.
Suddenly, as if the Craigslist gods had read my mind, a new listing of a dark blue 2007 9-3 wagon appeared in my feed. This time, the car was located in Lowell, Massachusetts. The car was around the same price as the red 9-3, but had significantly lower mileage. I think it was around 70 thousand, if I had to estimate.
I ran upstairs to tell my parents, excited that I had finally found something that looked decent. We agreed to look at the car, and I messaged the seller, and we agreed to check the car out the next day.
The following day, my parents and I drove up to Lowell. The car was located in the back of a duplex, along with a few other European cars. This is where I learned of what a car "flipper" was. Until this point, I had never heard of the term or had any idea of the practice. The seller greeted us and we began to look around the car. It was polished up, and everything looked to be in good shape. We took it for a test drive, and it drove well. The engine had no knocks or strange noises, and no codes popped up on the infotainment screen. I did notice that the rear piece of interior trim on the hatch was missing, but I brushed it off as the car being a few years old.
When we got back from the test drive, we agreed to make an offer on the car, and the deal was sealed. Papers were signed, checks were exchanged, and plates were swapped. I now had a car. I drove it home, unaware of the mess that would soon follow in the days to come.
It came time to register the car, and now this is where everything fell apart. The DMV told us the car was unable to be registered because the car was issued with a salvage title, but was never changed to a rebuilt title. That seemed strange, because the title we had said the car was clean. The DMV said that title was not the correct issued title. The Saab would never qualify for registry because Rhode Island required that a rebuilt title must be issued via the state where the vehicle was purchased from. This meant the car would have to go. Luckily, being that the seller was a car flipper and worked for a dealer, the car was able to be exchanged, and we got our money back, which definitely helped ease the stress of the situation. However, in wake of the car leaving, I had learned a valuable lesson.
Yes, I neglected to run a Carfax report, but I also rushed this whole car buying process. I was too set on buying a car, that I really didn't take a step back and think about what I was about to do. I'm very happy this all worked out in the end, and I was able to return the car, but that could've gone completely wrong, and the seller could have skipped town or completely ignore the issue. I was very lucky, and my parents were too, but in wake of the events that had just transpired, I was once again without a car, and due to the stress, I was back to my early days of not being able to purchase a car.
Let's fast forward about a year and a half later to the Summer of '22. I had just finished my first year of college, and I had started working two jobs. I had my usual job at the grocery store down the street from my house, but also picked up a job from my father's friend as a roadie for a wedding band. I was doing very well financially, and I decided to pitch the purchase of a car again. This time, my parents sort of favored the idea, but because of the Saab story from December 2020, they were still skeptical.
I was still looking for a classic Saab, and one evening, I had found an '89 900 Turbo in Merrimack, New Hampshire for only $1700. You can read that story in 1989 Saab 900 Turbo. I was allowed to check the car out, but long story short, I was unable to purchase the car due to the lack of an airbag. Saab 900s recieved airbags for the 1990 model year. This car was therefore one year shy of that update. I was sad to pass on such a great deal, but I didn't give up hope.
The '89 900 Turbo the day I test drove it. Read 1989 Saab 900 Turbo for the story of that day.
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