Sometimes, the buildings you least expect have a collection of fascinating cars hidden within them. Other times, it’s the buildings you would most expect, as was the case for this old Saab dealership in France that was recently investigated by the urban explorers who run the Forgotten Buildings YouTube channel.
The people behind the channel recently explored the dealership that has been abandoned for almost a decade. Part of a larger business park located near a highway, the site was likely a source of curiosity for many, as its big glass windows showed a trio of vehicles in the showroom.
The cars, a 9-5 and a pair of 9-3s, weren’t quite new, but one had paperwork inside suggesting that it had just 59,608 miles (95,930 km) on the odometer. Although not minuscule, that’s still a small number of miles for a vehicle that was first put into service in 2001.
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Unfortunately, given the visibility the cars, these urban explorers weren’t the first to get into the showroom, and the wheels on two of the cars had already been removed by the time this video was shot. In addition, windows were smashed and other vandalism committed.
Fortunately, the showroom wasn’t the only area in which cars were stored. The workshop contained about 20 vehicles, mostly Saabs, in addition to a handful of French cars, like Peugeots and a vintage Renault.
It’s unclear exactly why the vehicles were all locked away, never to see the light of day again, but Forgotten Buildings reports that the dealership’s fortunes turned with Saab’s. Even though they continued to work on a few cars after the automaker went belly up in 2011, with the death of one of the brothers who owned the dealership, the remaining owner may have simply given up on the business.
Although all of the cars are clearly covered in dust, and the majority of them have been vandalized, it would still be interesting to see if any could be recommissioned and put back on the road. Whether it would be worth it yet, is another question entirely.