“Should I buy a Saturn car?” asks Consumer Reports’ blog of itself in the wake of Penske’s takeover interruptus. “In a word,” comes the answer, “no.” Though other GM dealers will be able to honor warranties and service Saturns, CR worries that there are “practical limitations to parts inventory and technician training.” Normal servicing shouldn’t be a problem, but major repairs could take more time and money, particularly for low-volume Saturns like the Sky and Astra. And of course there’s the unavoidable fact that reliability studies indicate that many Saturn models will be in for repair on a fairly regular basis. Though they conclude that it’s difficult to predict exactly what the Saturn ownership experience will be like over the next decade, “there are simply better alternatives that are more reliable, have lower owner costs, and do not carry undue risks.” We would agree.
Normal servicing shouldn’t be a problem, but major repairs could take more time and money, particularly for low-volume Saturns like the Sky and Astra.
The Astra is believable, coming from Germany as it was, but is CR implying that parts will also become scarce for the Solstice, both on the Kappa platform?
Wonder what they say about HUMMER, given that dealers are evaporating and there doesn’t seem to be anything definite regarding a 2010 model year…
I disagree.
If the selling price is low enough because of its “orphan” status, this will nicely offset any normal repair bills over the life of the vehicle (assuming reasonable care and maintenance). This has happened with several of my Oldsmobiles that I purchased (with substantial rebates) not long before that GM division packed it in. In other words, five years later I am perfectly happy with my purchases and came out nicely “ahead” moneywise. Of course, the unknowing car public is constantly asking me: “Where do I get parts??”….. Actually if I has a 1937 Buick Special (just as an example) I could have parts for it on my doorstep in a couple of days.
Consumer Reports negative to an American car? I don’t believe it…
Sky’s interior and exterior bits are all totally different from Solstice. My limited rental car GM experiences tell me that those are the parts you’ll want replaced over time.
So basically all Saturns are now automatic limited edition cars.
Lets forget the fact that they are stuffed to the brim with GM-wide parts bin components and any GM certified mechanic will be able to figure em out using the same tools they use on every other GM vehicle.
The big issue is body work and trim pieces I guess so if you want a Saturn…don’t crash it. If you want to crash your car CR recommends a Toyota or Honda.
Bridge2far :
October 14th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Consumer Reports negative to an American car? I don’t believe it…
CR negative to a car from a shut down division that never was any good to begin with, and from a company that is already bankrupt and living on MY Tax dollar? I don’t believe it either…LOL…
PS I fully agree with the article as well, it makes perfect sense.
Sorry,
One point that I failed to address (above) with “orphans autos”. Low Value On The Used Car Market…..That certainly is true. But in my personal situation I pass down these cars to my children….and grandchildren. I just gave my ’99, 100K Olds Cutlass Orphan to my oldest grandkid for use at college. He’s thrilled, and so am I.
Of course, Consumer’s Reports doesn’t delve into such paternalistic situations.
Well, for the Astra and Sky they have a point. But for the bread-and-butter cars like the Aura, Vue and Outlook, why not? If you save $1,500 vs. a Malibu, Equinox or Acadia, it seems worth the risk.
With Saturn values in the toilet they should be a good long term buy. Excepting the German models, I can’t see parts and service being more difficult to source than for other previous generation cars.
Wonder what they say about HUMMER, given that dealers are evaporating and there doesn’t seem to be anything definite regarding a 2010 model year…
I think they’ve been putting those letters in the “Crank” file for at least 18 months.
Can someone please explain to me why GM axes a brand RIGHT after the product starts to get well, GOOD?
First Olds, then Pontiac, now Saturn. All had great new product, and then, poof. They kill the brands.
@BDB:
Other than the G8, I don’t see any great new Pontiac product, just crappy Chevy clones (G3, G5, Torrent, etc.)
“So basically all Saturns are now automatic limited edition cars.”
Aren’t all cars limited edition? I don’t know of one that’s been made forever. :)
I don’t see any problem buying a Saturn, as long as you know what you are in for. If you get a good enough deal, the extra grief may be worth it to you. If you want an appliance, you aren’t looking at a Saturn in the first place.
thalter, the Solstice was good. So was the GTO if they had known how to market it right. And the G6 was much better than what preceded it.
You had to be NUTS to but a Saturn/Saab and, to some extent, Pontiac (ahem G8, ahem) 4 months ago. The Hummer crap, no so much for you can outsource everything out from the donor platforms.
But the Euro & Aussie parts? You have to be nuts. Or either: a)desperate b)naive c)a mechanic/shop owner
Better trow your money down an incinerator, it will be faster and less painful than owning any one of these dead brands 3-4 years from now.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the Solstice is a beautiful piece of crap. With the turbo, it becomes interesting enough to forget the shortcomings of the car. A Miata competitor it is not but it is an interesting car.
The GTO was a great car. Great powertrain, great handling great interior…whose main shortcoming was a bunch of whiners complaining how it didn’t look like the the old one and magazines printing comments of how it looks like a bloated cavalier.
On it’s own Merits the car stood out ESPECIALLY the 6.0 and looked good in person.
The G6….I’d comment but it always ends up in rampant vulgarity
We are required by federal law to service the parts for all exiting non sold GM brands for a minimum of 10 years. The service information between a chevy dealer and a saturn dealer is common. They all have access to the same data for all GM models. They all use the same parts distribution warehouses. The electronics in a sky are the same as in a corvette
So whats the problem?
This article is pure conjecture with no basis in fact. Plain and simple.
BDB I’ll tell you why. when the current 4 GM core brands count for 141,000 vehicle sales out of 156,000 for september its pretty easy to figure out. Supporting Hummer,Saturn,Saab and Pontiac for 15,000 cars a month is not just stupid its ignorant. The total of those 4 was 1.3% market share. The other 4 core brands were responsible for 18.7%
@BubbaGump –
We are required by federal law to service the parts for all exiting non sold GM brands for a minimum of 10 years.
Cite please…. It’s my understanding that this is absolutely not true…. it’s just folklore.
Yes, GM parts are going to be available simply because of the sheer size of the market for them, but there’s no law (which I can find) that makes it so.
@ Gardiner Westbound
With Saturn values in the toilet they should be a good long term buy.
From what I’ve been hearing the dealers haven’t been dealing much for whatever reason, but that’s only local ancedote – has anybody heard of any good deals on Saturns? I wouldn’t mind a cheap Aura, but as far as buying one at full ticket, no thanks.
Consumer Reports negative to an American car? I don’t believe it…
bridge2far: No, they are just negative to pieces of shit.
Forget the new Saturns – watch what happens to prices on used ones. Here’s a 2009 Aura with 10K miles for 14 grand…if you don’t mind keeping the thing until the note’s paid, it’d be a great buy.
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=31237413&listingRecNum=0&criteria=sf1Dir%3DASC%26alMdId%3D20655%26mkId%3D20039%26stkTyp%3DU%26mdId%3D20655%26rd%3D50%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26zc%3D80134%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DDESC%26sf1Nm%3Dmiles%26sf2Nm%3Dprice%26alMkId%3D20039%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=national
From what I’ve been hearing the dealers haven’t been dealing much for whatever reason, but that’s only local ancedote – has anybody heard of any good deals on Saturns?
Funny you should say that. I was car shopping with my sister and had a brief look at SAAB and Saturn, anticipating that there were bargains to be had. Maybe if it came close to sales time there’d be a lot flexibility but the prices online and in the windows of the cars I looked at didn’t reveal any significant discounting.
(The best deals I saw at a dealerhsip were low mileage, presumably off-lease BMWs.)
pauldun170 :
October 14th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
The GTO was a great car. Great powertrain, great handling great interior…whose main shortcoming was a bunch of whiners complaining how it didn’t look like the the old one and magazines printing comments of how it looks like a bloated cavalier.
On it’s own Merits the car stood out ESPECIALLY the 6.0 and looked good in person.
You are 110% correct. The whiners said it was plain looking and needed to look more like a real GTO while forgetting the original 1964 model was plain, didn’t have stickers all over it. The narrow minded whiners missed out on a great car.
When Buick dealers sold the REAL Opel, they had little desire to carry parts for it. When GM switched to the Asian Opel, the German parts dried up almost overnight. Nearly everything that still was available had a 7-10 day wait. A few years later next to nothing was available through GM.
Olds and Plymouth were little more than twins of existing vehicles so parts and service live on.
Saturn parts? Maybe if you have a local Studebaker, Packard, Rambler dealer that picks up the product line.
If you need the car as reliable transportation, a Saturn buy at any price is dumb, dumb, dumb.
I don’t think they even sold the GTO here in Canada? I’ve never seen one. On the other hand, a certain red G8 lears at me every time I drive to work.
Back to Saturn. When the dealerships wind up, do their unsold cars end up at auctions of the type frequented by Mr. Lang or…?
From a practical standpoint there were a couple real big drawbacks to the GTO, as nice as it was in other respects:
Access to the back seats. Your only access was to wait (seemingly forever) for the electric motor to s-l-o-w-l-y move the front seats forward (and then s-l-o-w-l-y back again). Comfy enough once you’re in, those who didn’t fancy being trapped there if the car accidentally entered a lake were turned off.
Trunk. As in, what’s a trunk?
Its really is a math problem. How much of a discount can you purchase a new Saturn for? Will you keep it for at least 5 years? Are you near an existing GM dealer? Well then it might make great sense. Buying and selling cars have transaction costs, in general its best to minimize your transactions and keep your current car in good shape.
BDB: The G6 was a mediocre rental car. Yes, it was much better than the Grand Am, but a Radio Flyer wagon is a step up from a Grand Am.
And don’t get me started on the Solstice. The Solstice was a gutless, under engineered poser-mobile. It stood no chance compared to the Mazda Miata – a REAL sports car.
“We are required by federal law to service the parts for all exiting non sold GM brands for a minimum of 10 years.”
Ah, but I don’t think those laws survive bankruptcy. Saturn is part of “old” GM, isn’t it?
CR is right. Buying a Saturn would be a foolish move.
It doesn’t matter to me if they drop the price $10,000 on any of their products.
It’s still GM.I am already subsidizing them as a tax payer. No further interaction with GM is required.
I have two Saturns currently. The 05 ION I bought new. There was a good car in there somewhere, before GM screwed it. And this is after the 800 improvements they made in it for 05. The engine and trans and the ride are the best aspects of it. And the polymer.
Never again. Not ever, not even at a discount with my own [and my neighbor’s] tax money. Not even if GM were to pay back those “loans”. Not even used.
Consumer Reports assumes none of their readers lift a finger for anything but the purchase. Look at their reviews of appliances – they assume repairmen will be called for every little thing, the homeowner can do no diagnostics, swap out any parts, etc. They also assume lawnmower blades wont be sharpened at home and that a Whitman’s chocolate sampler needs to be rated.
CR assumes brands still generally mean something. After I started fixing all my home appliances, for example, I learned there are 2 basic designs for dryers and about 15 manufacturers, so brand didn’t matter. But somehow the same dryer from 2 different manufacturers get rated differently. Any situation where Kenmore is rated lower is suspect to me; they buy their appliances from other major manufacturers and they REALLY are the same in most major respects.
CR also removed the explanations behind most of their ratings. So when a model not “top rated” the reader receives no details why.
In other words, the magazine is for drooling idiots.
Consumer Reports is a good source of information. Use it as part of your due diligence, not as a sole source.
Five different brands of a product can be concurrently going down an assembly line. How each is built is determined by the Build Sheet. Small and large appliances, electronic gear, furnaces, and photo equipment come to mind. How yours was assembled was determined by what price point or marketing features the seller was trying to hit and the Build Sheet generated to hit that goal.
You must compare the Build Sheets (or parts lists), not the location of the assembly line, to determine if the items are indeed identical.
Yeah, sorry for my flamebait. I was given a 5-year subscription to CR as a gift. Over the years as I have learned more, and they’ve decontented the magazine, I’ve been just laughing more and more.