A Saab driver got a warning message alerting him to contact a dealership about issues with his key—but he revealed why that might be difficult.
The short video featuring the interior of a Saab comes from creator guythatworksoncars (@nirvahnsharma6). It got more than 296,000 views as of Monday.
“Key not accepted! Contact the Saab dealer!” he says with mock urgency, repeating the message popping up on the dashboard.
Then, for the punchline, he says, “Oh no! All the Saab dealers are dead!”
The Swedish company is still in existence, focused on the defense industry after having partnered with General Motors on its cars between 2000 and 2010. However, Saab’s 2011 bankruptcy declaration led to its exit from the car business and dealerships. As Car and Driver covered at the time, there were concerns about how the company would honor warranties. Also, as to what would happen to what was left on the lot as the transition started.
There are Saab enthusiasts out there who are keeping their car running. In a Reddit post from 2018, someone talked about going to Garry Small Saab (with the clever saabstory.com URL), positing that it was “the last Saab dealer.”
Could this happen now?
As the Daily Dot covered in January, a similar scenario was unfolding for Fisker. It had been progressing toward bankruptcy and a liquidation of its assets, amid Fisker drivers sharing pretty disincentivizing stories about Fisker ownership
Edmunds reported in November that a 2023 Fisker Ocean purchased for nearly $70,000 dropped all the way to $13,000 in value in less than a year.
“We usually keep our long-term test cars for at least a year and 20,000 miles,” assessed the article author. “But 11 months and only 7,000 miles into Ocean ownership, it’s time to jump ship.”
What happens if your car’s manufacturer goes under? A Cars.com article, inspired by Fisker, noted, “Looking at the imminent shutdown of a company you expected to honor your warranty can be overwhelming for one person, so why not split up the work? Chances are there are probably other owners out there who share the same concerns about keeping the cars in working order. That’s where the importance of seeking out other owners comes in: Together, you can figure out what’s happening to factory parts or where to go for service after dealerships close.”
The internet has, of course, enabled this to take place in a way that wasn’t possible for previous generations faced with similar scenarios.
Viewers think they have a solution
“The GM dealer in my town that used to sell, among other things, Saabs still provides service to them,” one pointed out.
“No surprise since it’s a GM product,” replied another.
“If I’m not wrong any GM brand dealer can work on fixing that,” suggested another.
“I’ve owned a few Saabs,” someone else shared. “Had luck buying parts online and working on them in my driveway.”
That led the creator to respond, “That’s awesome,” before noting, “this was just a joke.”
@nirvahnsharma6 very funny joke #saab #maketsviral ♬ original sound – guythatworksoncars
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Saab via email.
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