A post-auction deal collapsed, a direct offer to the Saab community drew a mixed response, and a no-reserve Bring a Trailer rematch produced a higher price.
One modified 1984 Saab 99 went through two Bring a Trailer auctions, a failed post-auction negotiation and a brief direct-sale campaign before the market finally delivered an answer.
The first auction closed on May 14, 2026, with a high bid of $23,500. The reserve was not met, and the leading bidder did not complete a later deal. The owner then offered the car directly at the same price, without Bring a Trailer’s buyer fee.
That attempt also failed to find a buyer.
Five weeks after the first auction, the Saab returned to the same platform. This time, the listing carried the two words that removed any uncertainty about the seller’s position: No Reserve.
The result was a $27,000 sale on June 18, exactly $3,500 above the unsuccessful May bid.
It was a notable outcome for a Saab that could not be valued by looking at factory specifications or conventional price guides. This was not an original Saab 99 Turbo, nor was it a rough engine-swap project presented before its development work had been completed. It was a carefully assembled two-door 99 combining parts from several Saab generations: a 2.1-liter 16-valve engine, low-pressure turbo installation, five-speed transmission, later electronic engine management, Saab 9000 leather, an EMS steering wheel and period-style exterior upgrades.
The two auctions therefore became a test not only of the car, but also of how buyers value a thoroughly developed modified Saab.
Twenty-Six Bids Were Not Enough the First Time
The first Bring a Trailer auction ran from May 7 to May 14. Bidding opened at $1,000 and accelerated sharply during the closing hours, eventually reaching $23,500.
Contrary to an early figure included in the working draft, the auction generated 26 bids, not 19. It also recorded 14,196 views, 744 watchers and 69 comments. The high bid came from a BaT user named “Alrighty,” who outbid “Blackfin” in the final exchange.
Despite that activity, the reserve remained unmet.
The Connecticut consignor Autogalerie, which handled the presentation on behalf of the owner, immediately announced that an offer had been submitted to the high bidder through BaT’s post-auction system. The bidder could accept, decline or make a counteroffer.
No transaction followed.
The difference between a high bid and a sale is particularly important in this case. The $23,500 figure demonstrated interest, but it did not confirm that the bidder remained prepared to exchange funds for the car once the timed auction had ended. Nor did it prove that the seller’s reserve had been unrealistic. It simply showed that the two sides had not reached a binding agreement under the conditions of the first listing.
“The High Bidder Bailed”
The owner, Lewis Eig, did not immediately lower his expectations. In late May, the Saab appeared in a Saabnet classified listing, where Eig wrote that the high bidder had disappeared and offered extensive additional parts with the car.
The advertisement identified Dutch Saab specialist Thom van der Wiel of Saabworld as the builder and described the 99 as the culmination of Eig’s long involvement with the marque. It also stated that the car had appeared at Saab Owners’ Conventions, Saab events, Radwood and other shows, while retaining its factory-tagged body panels and a notably clean underside.
In an early-June Facebook post in the Saab Restoration and Preservation group, Eig was more direct. He said that the high bidder “wasn’t interested in closing the deal” and offered the Saab for $23,500 with no BaT fees.
The post called it a “bespoke 1984 Saab 99 Aero,” although Aero was not a factory designation for this car. The wording described the car’s visual and mechanical concept rather than its original model identity. It was a late European-market two-door Saab 99 that had been reworked into an imagined performance derivative using later Saab components.
Reaction in the group exposed the difficulty of pricing such a car. Some commenters regarded it as one of the best Saab 99 builds they had encountered. Others questioned whether $23,500 was already above the market for a modified 99, regardless of the quality of its bodywork and mechanical preparation.
One participant compared the price with the estimated value of his Saab Sonett. Another asked why the reserve had not been removed while the original auction was still live. At least one potential buyer, however, asked how he could arrange an inspection.
The Facebook response was therefore not a rejection. It was a familiar division in the classic Saab market: buyers who value factory specification on one side, and those prepared to pay for a completed, proven build on the other.
Fewer Watchers, Fewer Bids – and a Higher Price
The car returned in June under a new no-reserve Bring a Trailer listing, this time as lot #248,245.
The second auction attracted 7,614 views and 562 watchers-considerably fewer than the first listing. It generated only 10 bids, compared with 26 in May.
Yet bidder “jbe4th” won the car for $27,000 on June 18, 2026.
That contrast is more revealing than the final price alone:
| Auction | Result | Bids | Views | Watchers |
| May 14, 2026 | $23,500, reserve not met | 26 | 14,196 | 744 |
| June 18, 2026 | $27,000, sold at no reserve | 10 | 7,614 | 562 |
The second auction reached a higher price with roughly 46 percent fewer views, 24 percent fewer watchers and less than half the number of bids.
No-reserve status did not add mechanical value to the Saab, but it changed the transaction. Bidders no longer had to estimate an undisclosed threshold or wonder whether another post-auction negotiation would be required. The highest bid would buy the car.
The first listing had also completed much of the necessary due diligence. Interested buyers had already seen the extensive gallery, watched the long-form inspection and driving videos, read the owner’s history and followed a detailed public discussion about the turbo conversion. The relisting did not need to introduce an unknown car. It needed to bring two committed bidders together without a reserve standing between them.
The final BaT history now records both outcomes against the same chassis: bid to $23,500 on May 14 and sold for $27,000 on June 18.
A Final-Year Saab 99 Built From Later Saab Hardware
Chassis YS3BL25C9E6009016 began as a European-specification two-door 99 imported from Switzerland. As readers of our broader Saab 99 model history will know, 1984 was the final production year for the 99 before Saab combined its front section with the 900 sedan rear body to create the Saab 90.
The seller said this car was refinished in its original Slate Blue Metallic, paint code 112B, around 2010. Its Swiss history became an important part of the sales case because the shell was described as free from the structural corrosion often found on 99s that spent decades in harsher winter conditions.
Eig later stated that the original body panels still carried their factory identification tags and that the underside remained exceptionally clean. Those were owner claims rather than the results of an independent inspection, but the extensive auction photography gave bidders far more information than is normally available with a privately advertised modified Saab.
The visual treatment stayed within the Saab parts catalogue. Powder-coated 15-inch Ronal Turbo wheels were fitted with Goodyear tires in 2021. The body carried H4 headlights, rear-window louvers, a rear spoiler and lower side trim that several auction participants believed had been adapted from Saab 900 SPG or Aero panels.
BaT did not definitively identify that lower trim, so it should not be described as a documented factory AirFlow kit. Its significance was visual: it made the shorter 99 body resemble a performance variant that Saab might have developed during the early 1980s.
The interior followed the same approach. Blue leather upholstery sourced from a Saab 9000 was paired with color-matched carpeting, an EMS three-spoke steering wheel, woodgrain dashboard trim and a Blaupunkt head unit. A boost gauge sat on top of the dashboard, while additional VDO pressure and temperature instruments were placed beneath the stereo. This was not an interior assembled to win originality judging. It was built to make the 99 easier and more comfortable to use over distance.
There was, however, a practical compromise. Auction commenters noted that the later front seats did not appear to provide the same folding access as original two-door Saab seats. For a car intended mainly for two people and vintage rallies, that may have been acceptable. For anyone expecting regular use of the rear bench, it was a detail worth checking before purchase.
The 2.1-Liter 16-Valve Turbo Was the Main Attraction
The engine conversion gave this Saab its identity and generated most of the technical discussion. The car used a 2.1-liter DOHC 16-valve inline-four sourced from a Saab 900, combined with turbocharger hardware from a 2.0-liter application. The five-speed manual transaxle had reportedly been rebuilt by a previous owner.
This was a deliberately moderate installation rather than the sort of high-output conversion seen in the 400-hp Saab 99 16V Turbo previously featured on SaabPlanet. The owner described the Connecticut car as a responsive road build, intended to benefit from the naturally aspirated 2.1-liter engine’s drivability while using limited boost to add mid-range performance.
Before the first auction ended, Autogalerie tested the car with an auxiliary gauge and reported 7 psi at peak boost. Earlier notes from the owner had estimated that it was running close to 10 psi, or at least more than base boost. The measured seven-psi figure should therefore be treated as the better-supported value for the car’s auction configuration.
The seller also confirmed that the installation used:
- a mechanical wastegate
- a water-cooled turbocharger
- no Saab APC boost-control system
- no separate engine-oil cooler
The absence of an oil cooler prompted sustained discussion. Several experienced Saab owners argued that turbocharged operation could raise oil temperature under prolonged load, even though Eig reported that the VDO gauge seldom moved above approximately 180°F during his use.
Other commenters questioned the rear anti-roll bar arrangement because the car did not have a corresponding front bar. Owners familiar with competition-prepared front-wheel-drive cars noted that a rear-only bar could sharpen turn-in, while others warned that it could also produce unfamiliar behavior in high-speed corners.
None of those questions proved that the car was unsafe or poorly engineered. They demonstrated why the auction’s extensive driving history mattered. The 99 had reportedly completed long road journeys, Saab gatherings and vintage rallies without the conversion behaving like an unfinished prototype. Still, the next owner would be responsible for confirming fueling, ignition timing, oil temperature and boost control before increasing performance.
The Listings Disagreed About the ECU
One detail deserves to remain explicitly unresolved. The May auction description stated that the car used a Saab 9000-sourced ECU. The engine paragraph repeated the same claim, and owner notes published in the comments also referred to a 9000 ECU. The June relisting, however, changed that wording to a Saab 900-sourced ECU.
No explanation for the change appeared in the relisted description. It may have been a copy-editing error, a later correction or a simplified reference to the engine-management family, but the available auction material does not establish which version is accurate.
For an ordinary classified advertisement, the difference might have passed unnoticed. On a custom turbo engine, ECU identity affects how a buyer understands ignition control, knock response, fuel delivery and future tuning options. The new owner should verify the hardware directly rather than relying on either listing.
The Mileage Also Needed Explanation
The dashboard showed approximately 256,000 kilometers, or about 159,000 miles, with roughly 5,000 kilometers reportedly added by Eig.
BaT also disclosed that the Carfax report recorded 251,525 miles during a 2021 title event and that the New Jersey title categorized that mileage as “Actual.”
That figure does not correspond with the metric odometer reading. It may reflect a clerical error in which kilometers were entered as miles, but neither auction listing resolved the discrepancy. For valuation purposes, the car should therefore be treated according to its visible metric reading and documented mechanical condition, while retaining the Carfax inconsistency in its permanent history.
The issue apparently did not prevent the sale, but it remains relevant if the car is later offered again in the United States.
What the $27,000 Result Actually Tells Us
The final result does not establish a universal $27,000 value for modified Saab 99s. There are too few comparable cars, and the differences between builds are too substantial.
A converted 99 with incomplete wiring, an undocumented engine and hidden corrosion belongs in a different category from a car built by an established Saab specialist, driven extensively by a knowledgeable owner and presented with hundreds of photographs, records and spare parts.
Nor should this result be treated as directly equivalent to the market for a factory Saab 99 Turbo. Originality, production specification and collector provenance remain decisive for buyers seeking a historically correct example. SaabPlanet recently reported on a restored 1979 Marble White Saab 99 Turbo that sold in Sweden for 236,000 SEK, providing a useful factory-format reference but not a direct price comparison with the Connecticut car.
The same distinction can be seen in Caspar Hietbrink’s carefully restored 1978 Saab 99 Turbo. That car retained a stronger relationship with the original Turbo specification while incorporating period-conscious mechanical improvements. Eig’s 1984 two-door took a different route, using later Saab hardware to imagine how the final 99 might have evolved if development had continued.
The $27,000 sale price represents the value that at least two bidders placed on this specific combination:
- a structurally clean final-year European two-door shell
- a completed 2.1-liter 16-valve turbo conversion
- five-speed gearing
- Saab-only donor components
- documented long-distance use
- strong presentation
- service history and an extensive spares package
Most importantly, the result corrects the conclusion that might have been drawn after the first auction. The failed $23,500 bid was not the car’s market ceiling. It was one unsuccessful transaction involving a reserve and a bidder who subsequently withdrew.
When the same Saab returned without reserve, a smaller audience produced a higher price.
The car did not need another repaint, a new engine specification or a revised mileage claim. It needed an auction format in which the final bid was also the sale.
