There was so much potential in Saab, it’s unfortunate that they aren’t still around, at least in their current form. The 1974 Saab Sonett III seen here is listed on eBay with a single bid of $999.99 (it must be a gas station owner..).. and there is no reserve! It’s located in Reno, Nevada.
I don’t see any rust in the body of this car at all!.. er.. crickets.. just kidding, it’s fiberglass. The seller says that this “is an interesting car, part fiberglass part steel. The pan is very good not rotted out I will be adding pictures. There is some minor fiberglass, leading edge of the drivers door etc. Its fiberglass, damage is easily repaired.” They say that all of the “glass is intact, small repairable chip on windshield.” This was an estate find and even though it had been sitting for quite a while, “the fluids were all good so we put a battery in it and it fired right up. I drove it about 15 miles and the main issue was the brakes need bleeding, I was told they had been serviced.”
There are no photos of the passenger side at all, which is always disappointing, but hopefully the seller would send any serious bidders additional photos. And, there are also no interior photos at all, as in not even a hint of what it looks like inside other than through the windows of the exterior photos. The only tip about the condition of the interior is “Headliner is gone.” Bummer. You can see a few trim exterior trim pieces that need work and the front bumper is a little askew, as they say in Sweden.. But, overall this Sonett looks like it’s in decent condition.
We take our victories when and where we can, and at least there’s an engine photo! This is Ford’s 1.7L V4 from the Taunus and it would have had around 65 hp. 1974 was the last year for the Sonett, it would be great to see what a 2018 Saab Sonett would have looked like. I’m guessing that it wouldn’t have had 65 hp and weighed under 2,000 pounds. The seller has a good supply of spare parts that go with the car, “including bearings, distributer [sic], valves, piston rings etc.” Have any of you owned a Sonett III?
Had one almost new in the 70’s… Super fun to drive, and the best heater ever…came in handy in those cold Cleveland winters….
“Now, if I only had the space in the garage…” (says the guy with two more bikes coming in from Japan).
I always thought that the Sonnett was a cool, if rather strange looking, car.
Hope it finds a good home. FYI, the license plate ‘T’ prefix would place it being registered in California around 1977, not that it means much as this point.
is there a site to check plate #s ?
I’ve never found one, it’s mostly from memory. Or, you can do a California, 1977 auto search, photos, and look for original blue plates and check the letters. OR, you can just trust our foggy old memories LOL!
Unless they got new plates at a later time (after ’74).
I tried to buy this car when it came up on Craigslist a few weeks ago. The ad was 25 minutes old and it had already been sold. $500 was the asking price.
I never have had one of these. But they have always interested me.
bid:US $2,025.00
[ 15 bids ]
IT’S A FLIPPER
Not just a flipper but a shill or two in the bidding – anyone with half a brain realizes that only bids in the last couple of minutes mean anything. No reason at all for a genuine buyer to bid early.
So…don’t like flippers, don’t bid. Its so easy…
Unless you’ve saved every car you’ve ever owned you’re a flipper too. Man I get sick of this refrain. Big deal – don’t buy it if pre-owned gets your panties in a wad. ALL used cars are being flipped by someone.
Someone recognized an instant profit potential.
Bidding over $2K already, with 6 days to go….
Yep.
I dislike flippers and it seems thats what happened here
Hopefully someone will rescue this neat oddball
I use to feel the same way Scott. However, a lot of cars might never be brought back out into the public to have a chance for restoration if not discovered by flippers.
Scott, I hope you never play the stock market or like your 401k to go up in value because those are flippers too. You buy something low and sell something high …no different than day Traders on the stock market or investors. People do it with cars and you dislike them for it but people who flip houses are “smart” ….Doesn’t make sense. If you bought a stock for $0.50 a share and 1 month later you sold it for $8 a share you would be happier than a clam! Darn stock flippers. It’s really easy, if you have something against people who flip cars, don’t buy one from them…lol
So Scott you have every car you’ve ever owned?
Boy, would that car look good lowered an inch and as a convertible…
Always liked the Sonnet along with the P1800 another classy Swedish sport coupe.
Ooga shucka ooga ooga ooga shucka ooga ooga ooga shucka.
I had one in late 70s, very fun to drive. This looks good for restoration because the floor is solid, although would be nice to see the trunk floor also. Trunk is more vulnerable with the battery in there and possibility of rear window leak. Restoring a Sonett II V4 now.
What’s the VIN on your V4, DLM? Mine was 000686, regret selling it in ’75.
got a link to the earliest model, liked them best of the 3.
Had an orange ’71 Sonett in ’75-80, drove it from the Midwest to San Diego and back, had front wheel drive and freewheeling which was rather odd, the Ford V-4 was actually half of a Ford 289 V-8 or so I read at the time. Go-kart handling but acceleration was leisurely at best.
Actually, 2/3 of a German Cologne V-6, which was made in displacements from 1.8 to 4.0 liters. Know anyone that put the Capri/Mustang II/Pinto engine in one of these? First year Fox body Mustang/Capri had the 2.8 version.
I was fortunate to drive a friend’s that was set up for ice racing. Dang that was FUN! Had a transplanted 2.6 L V-6. Get it to 3rd gear, and if there was any traction to be found, it would FLY!
love the car in blue around Minnesota i only see the orange or green colors and i can say blue is cool color to the other ugly colors. i think it came in red also. if it was closer i would get it.
If this doesn’t have the usual Sonett rust issues, who cares if it’s a flipper. Anything under 4K is a great price for this little Saab.
Love this thing!
It seems like a good car at a reasonable price,so far. When you look at his “other items by seller for sale” its mostly all fishing gear. He sure is a heavy duty flipper,lol
I think it is just a hobby and I say good for him !
Cool cars, even though the styling is a bit odd. I had a friend that had 2 of these, and for all I know, still has them, one was a parts car, which today, would probably be a restoration candidate, and the “good” one had some problem, so I didn’t get to ride in it, but I sat in it and it was really nice. And the way Saabs were built back then, this was the perfect 2 seater. They must have been expensive when new, you didn’t see many of these in the midwest. Well worth it here. I wonder about parts for older Saabs.
There is a very robust and active owners’ group for these with a great parts network. What kills these is rust in the steel under-skeleton (think c2 vettes and their birdcage issues) and this one seems to have avoided that. I will say that these are not highway cruisers. Much like highway driving in a Europa, you will quickly feel very intimidated amongst trucks and high flying suv’s, and even though these are very ‘zippy’ you aren’t going to outrun much if you find yourself in trouble on a 4 lane interstate.
But quirky as all get out and guaranteed to put a long lasting smile on your face.
My favorite Flipper! LMFAO
I always liked these…I don’t find the styling that unusual, though–the side profile reminds me of a 240Z..
Bruce, when I had my ’69 Sonett V4 (#000686) in the early ’70s, we thought the Sonett IIIs were visually akin to supercars! I’d love to get another Sonett, but unless the right one comes along, I won’t. Hubby says I’d have to sell my classic Mini, and I’m not willing to do that.
had one in Germany until a Mercedes
turned it into worlds biggest ashtray!
that was the largest piece left.