My Saab

1,877km in an $800 Saab 9-3 or How (Not) To Buy a Car Sight Unseen

Saab 9-3 Aero

Getting a new car is an exciting adventure — but if you’re planning on buying one from another state, you need to be prepared. You probably shouldn’t travel out of state if you aren’t certain that you want to buy the car in question, but if you’ve done your research and truly believe your perfect car is worth the trip, continuing that thorough preparation will help make the experience easier (though it’s definitely not a breeze!).

Two Australians from Australia have just decided on this step – buying a “site unseen” car, and then a long road trip from Melbourne Victoria to Brisbane Queensland in their mighty, $800 Saab 9-3 Aero. See this interesting Saab adventure (Odyssey):

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What’s more exciting than going on a road trip? Going on a road trip in a car that you just bought, site unseen, for under $1,000 dollars, two states away with absolutely no plan what-so-ever. This duo found the car at an online auction in Melbourne in July 2018. Being avid Saab lovers, and noting that it was a 2002 Aero with the 93 Viggen body kit and low kilometres, they smashed the bid button without hesitating and without giving any thought to the fact that it was nearly 2000km (approx. 1243 miles) away.

Saab 9-3 Aero on trailer

Much to their surprise they won the auction for $800 and were now the proud owners of 2002 Saab 9-3 Aero.
Now all that was left to do was get it inspected by a mechanic, plan out their journey and book their accommodation… none of which they actually did.

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The next four days of their life proved to be challenging, stressful, exhausting and a hell of a lot of fun.

They now know that

  • this video serves as a perfect example of what not to do, nor how to plan a road trip and
  • Saabs are awesome and massive, wacky road trip adventures with your mates are one hell of a fun thing to embark on.

Thanks to them for sharing the experience with us.

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Goran Aničić
the authorGoran Aničić
For over 15 years, Goran Aničić has been passionately focused on Saab automobiles and everything related to them. His initial encounter with Saab cars took place back in 2003 when the first Saab 9-3 and sedan version were introduced. At that moment, he was captivated by the car's Scandinavian design logic and top-notch engineering, and everything that followed stemmed from that first encounter. Later on, through his work at the editorial team of the Serbian automotive magazines "Autostart" and later "AutoBild," he had the opportunity to engage more closely with Saab vehicles. In 2008, he tested the latest Saab cars of that time, such as the Saab 9-3 TTiD Aero and Saab 9-3 Turbo X. In 2010, as the sole blogger from the region, he participated in the Saab 9-5ng presentation in Trollhättan, Sweden. Alongside journalists from around the world, he got a firsthand experience of the pinnacle of technological offerings from Saab at that time. Currently, Goran owns two Saabs: a 2008 Saab 9-3 Vector Sportcombi with a manual transmission, and a Saab 9-3 Aero Griffin Sport Sedan from the last generation, which rolled off the production line in Trollhättan in December 2011.

1 Comment

  • Looks like a blast! Who needs planning, just take what life throws at you, and make the most of it. You only live once, make the most of it.
    I bought a SAAB over the internet that was 1,100 miles from me. Talked to the owner a little bit, rented a car and drove to Iowa from SC to pick it up. Fortunately, I had 0 problems making it back home. It was a blast, got to see some of the country that I would have never seen if I wouldn’t have drove this far for my SAAB!
    SAAB ON!!!!

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