used saab ealing specialist press reviews london uk

Ealing SAAB reviews

By Ian Berg

It's 1986. A Saab 900 Turbo turns into a sharp bend - probably too fast. It flips, then rolls over and over, maybe eight times before it comes to rest. The driver who lived to tell the tale is 52-year-old Peter House, proprietor of Ealing Used Saab. "It proves the point about Saab safety," he says.

Not that he walked away unscathed. He had a broken arm, 20 stitches in a head wound, and spent two days in hospital.

But it could be said that House owes both his life and his livelihood to Saab. He's been selling and servicing the Swedish marque for 25 years and his son Matthew joined the business full-time last year.

Due to an unexpected Saab dealer revamp, the company lost the new car franchise in 1995 and has since specialised in providing its many loyal customers with selected used Saabs.

"It's a safe, reliable niche market", says House. "Seventy-five per cent of the business is repeat or recommended and we run a full spares and servicing operation to the highest of Saab standards." Every car sold has a full service history and comes with our own comprehensive warranty.

Saab commands a level of brand loyalty that is the envy of other makes. And House's customers are also loyal. More than a few have been coming back for 20 years.

One of the company's most interesting services is finding used Saabs to a customer's specification.

The 900 cabriolet is popular, particularly the hard to find "Classic" version - that's the enthusiasts' pure Saab, made before General Motors bought into the Swedish car maker in the early 1990s.

The stock of used Saabs included one of these rare machines, an October 1992, 90,000-mile 900i 16v Convertible in Imola Red, with black leather seats. If I wasn't a Wankel Rotary man I might have been tempted.

Ealing Used Saab, 199 Northfields Avenue, West Ealing.

Tel: 020 8579 2969