Saab warranty situation unclear

Saab owners have been left unsure over who'll pay the bills if warranty work is needed.

With the bankruptcy of Saab in Sweden and Saab UK in administration, official channels of information have dried up. We contacted Saab dealers in the UK, but they have no official information, either.

In the USA, owners of Saabs built before January 1, 2010 (when General Motors owned the Swedish car maker) will have their warranties honoured by GM.

There is no arrangement in place for those who bought cars after this date. While both Saab Cars USA and Saab Parts the company that provides spare parts for Saab vehicles are both still in business, Saab Cars USA boss Tim Colbeck said that his company cannot reimburse dealers for warranty work at this time. That means either the dealer or the customer will be liable for the bill.

In the UK, the situation is worse because many Saab dealers are owned by Saab UK, which is in administration. When GM sold Saab there were no ties left between it and any other GM businesses in the UK.

Vauxhall (as GM's main trading business in the UK) told us it has not heard anything to suggest Vauxhall would be stepping in to honour warranties on GM's behalf, as GM in the USA has done.

David Rogers, communications manager at Motor Codes, the self-regulatory body for the automotive sector, said: 'Because of the early stage that proceedings are at, were unable to offer any specific advice.

'In the first instance, the advice is to contact your dealer. Once the administrators make clear the situation with warranties, our advice line will be able to relay the message to Saab customers'.