Saab workshops and spare parts supply in Corona times

Corona has a huge impact on the economy. What about Saab workshops and the supply of spare parts during these times? Everything works, how stable is the system? Saab companies should actually be tried and tested in a crisis. No reason to worry? I made a phone call from the northeast to the west and further south.

Maintenance in Saab workshops

Saab Center Rostock, H & B Automobile GmbH

The coastal region has been hit hard by the crisis. Tourism, one of the most important branches of the economy, is totally breaking away. How are things going in Rostock? H&B automobiles I still know the Kadammsweg from 2011 and the dealer tour. One of those small, dedicated companies that hold up the Saab flag. I call, it will be a long phone call. The outbreak of the Corona crisis hit the company hard in the first two weeks. Hardly any orders, a noticeable reluctance on the part of customers. The trade in pre-owned cars has collapsed. One employee had to go on short-time work - for a manageable phase, as one hopes.

The situation is now improving from week to week. The workshop is getting fuller, the service business is picking up again. You drive on sight, but with optimism. Saab customers are loyal, and a lot is done in Rostock to keep them. Beautiful vehicles in good condition are bought nationwide to make customers on the coast happy.

For the Rostock region, a lot will depend on how tourism will develop this year. Is the season over yet? That would be extremely hard! From the northeast, I continue to make phone calls to the west. In the German-Dutch border region to Emmerich.

Car dealership Franz Schmitz, Emmerich am Rhein

The Franz Schmitz car dealership is a 3rd generation family business. Saab has been around since 1975 and continues to this day. I'm interested in the situation at the border. What has happened to cross-border traffic? Are customers coming over from the Netherlands or has Europe lowered its barriers here too? Christian Schmitz calms me down. Europe is still permeable, at least on the Lower Rhine. Saab customers from the Netherlands come by, as do German customers. Yes, here too, like Rostock, the Corona shock was noticeable for two weeks.

Short-time work is not an issue. The workshop business has picked up again, but the start of the 2020 season is not quite as hectic as in previous years. The business is spread out better and extends into May. The customers are perhaps a little more relaxed, I think to myself. Emmerich has prepared for the crisis. Pick-up service for those customers who do not want personal contact now, the usual security measures. But the most difficult thing, Christian Schmitz tells me, is to keep some customers at a minimum. Yes, difficult when Saab is something of a family.

The situation on the Lower Rhine seems better than in the northeast, which is also due to the economic strength of the region. But how is the supply of spare parts? Maybe we have to worry that supply chains are breaking and stocks are empty? I make a phone call into the Harz Mountains to Skandix AG.

Skandix AG

Skandix AG trades in spare parts and also produces them. Is there a drop in orders or short-time work in Lutter am Barenberge? Not an issue, Mario Schütrumpf assures me. But on the contrary! The trend points more towards a better than a worse order situation. Private customers now have additional time for their projects, and some are using the crisis to finally get their Saab or Volvo classic onto the road.

The camps are well stocked, as always at the start of the season. The supply of spare parts is no problem, Skandix AG relies on a European-dominated supply network. That now pays off. If anything, the shipments from the producer to the warehouse in the Harz region are delayed by a few days due to the situation of the forwarding agents.

Corona-specific, the hygiene regulations have been increased in the company. Minimum clearances wherever possible, plus face mask in the more difficult sections. The employees should stay healthy, and for their protection the collection of spare parts on site has been temporarily restricted. At the end of the conversation, there is still good news on the phone for the readers. There are other post-productions in the program. The side windows left-wing and right-wing for the classic Saab Cabriolet are finally available, and that Differential bushings for 9000, 900, 9-3 are also available again.

Relaxed in the Harz Mountains, what about the south? Upper Bavaria in particular is a corona hotspot, the ski areas in Austria send their regards. Bad Tölz is located 60 kilometers from COVID-19's Rosenheim focus. In the 90s I was amazed when I was passing through the Saab density in the small town. Today I know the reason.

Car dealer Taubenberger, Bad Tölz

It is the family Taubenbergerthat makes Saab so strong in this region. 100 vehicles from Trollhättan could be sold each year in the better times, an impressive number in a rural environment. It then takes a while before I get a call back from Taubenberger Senior - there is just too much to do. The workshop is completely full, the start of the season is within reach in Bad Tölz. Corona is not noticeable in the service, the occupancy rate is good as always.

Taubenbergers work nationwide and place great value on service. Pick-up and delivery services, the nationwide purchase of good vehicles. The dealership is a family business, as is typical of the Saab workshops. Two generations work together, that's a strength in these times. The situation, not far from a corona focus, is better than expected.

Loyalty not as a one-way street

Family structures, long-term partnerships, concentrated expertise. Admittedly, Saab service companies have faced many challenges in recent years. Those who still hold the flag have their income even during the crisis. They are better off with lean, tried-and-tested structures than their colleagues who sit in glass palaces and have to worry about their economic survival.

Spare parts supply in the green area, the location of the workshops more pleasant than expected. The bottom line of the story is that loyalty to the brand only pays off if we customers appreciate it. It must not become a one-way street. Nowadays it is more important than ever that Saab drivers consciously choose their service company. The best place to stay is where the griffin has been blowing in the wind for a long time.

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polar
polar
3 years earlier

Hello, H&B in Rostock is a small bastion for everyone who drives a SAAB or wants to dive into the SAAB world.

I've been racing with several family SAABs since 2003. The eyes still shine when it comes to this brand. They are always trying to find a solution and there is a real thank you here.

Even when I had a little problem with the tank in the wide Jämtland in the home country of SAAB, I was able to continue enjoying my vacation with your tip by phone.

Stay alive and well and keep the fire going for this brand in the north and not go under.

I remain loyal to this group. It doesn't always have to be a high-gloss AH to get good service.

Ahoy from the Baltic coast!

Ebasli
Ebasli
3 years earlier

Yes, the Rostockers - I bought my beautiful Griffin convertible there about two years ago, after we had even driven to Sweden to find the youngest possible year of construction. And then finally found here, almost on the doorstep (Hamburg). Of course, I can't say anything about the workshop, but the purchase negotiations and everything that went with them (deer etc.) were great fun. Mr. B and Mr. H are simply unique items - you notice that immediately when you enter the quaint shop. We joked and laughed a lot!

When we were in Rostock again last year, we just dropped in spontaneously - it was very nice.

And for those interested: in Rostock you often have beautiful, rare Saab classics in the hall.

Bukki2001
Bukki2001
3 years earlier

So for me there is currently no reason to complain. On site I have a non-brand company with an owner and master who is always ready to deal with SAAB specifics. If his competence is not enough, he says it openly and I then turn to the “Rostocker”. You have a good stock of parts, especially for older 9-5s. By the way, both companies know that I don't have everything done at home and not everything in Rostock.

If we have an advised appointment in Rostock, we always combine it with a shopping trip or a short trip to Warnemünde.

Herbert Hürsch
Herbert Hürsch
3 years earlier

Topic & research

I think it's great that and how this article came about. Reads well and feels good if it continues with Saab despite Corona and occasionally even long-awaited parts become available again.

It improves my mood. Thank you.

PS
In retrospect, however, it still annoys me that my insurance (cover letter) did not bring me to Rostock a few years ago when I was shortly before the coast and wanted to go there. Saab does not exist in the northeast, they said.

Too bad I would have liked to get to know Rostock and started my vacation on time. So it went back home with 3 vehicles. Saab, towing and rental car. Too bad for the insurance company. Was definitely more expensive than the better alternative.

mc55
mc55
3 years earlier

The companies live through us and our cars through them.
I have been going to H&B in Rostock for almost 20 years, although it takes half a working day to bring a car there or to pick it up. It has always been worth it for me.

Aero-9-3
Aero-9-3
3 years earlier

Yes, it's the BASICs that count (now and anyway)!
Kindness, good work, reasonable prices, reliability.
The order is also a personal “rating”.
I deliberately do not include the “Glass Palace”. I can safely do without chi chi / hot air etc.
Loyalty to the SAAB dealer counts.
Have a good spring ride, stay healthy!

mac9-5
mac9-5
3 years earlier

... I would like to support “my friend” at the moment, but unfortunately I have been waiting in vain for a windshield for example since December ...

TomL
TomL
3 years earlier

Great summary, which does not have an apocalyptic character to communicate elsewhere. Not everything is normal as it used to be, but there is a background noise that makes established workshops live. I can only appeal again on the other side ... also make sure that the workshops are alive. Because when gone, the whining is great. At the beginning of April I drove 550km to the north (Kiel, but was not in the report) just for an inspection. Why so far? Very simple. Trust in the work, reliability and now more than personal contact. This is more important to me than looking for someone nearby and possibly annoying me afterwards.