Pontiac phase-out

Given the news of Pontiac being phased out, what if noone wants to buy a used Pontiac? I have an '02 Montana. What do you recommend to an owner who can’t sell?

What do you recommend to replace (preferrably something with close to same interior space and better mileage)?

Pontiac is made by GM. They all share components/parts. I really don’t see used Pontiacs NOT selling.

This will have less effect on used, out-of-warranty vehicles like yours. Parts are the same as the other GM twins, so it really shouldn’t affect folks. That said, I’m sure Pontiacs in general will take a hit on used car resale prices. How much? I don’t know, but no way would it make your Montana worthless.

As for replacements, there are plenty of 3 row minivans and CUV/SUVs available that get similar mileage. A Mazda 5 would be a little smaller and get better mpgs.

GM has phased out all its minivans at this point. However, engine and transmission components interchange with the other GM minivans and with many of the other vehicles GM offers.

At this point, I wouldn’t panic. If your Pontiac Montana is running well you may want to hold on for a while. I drive a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander and I’ll keep it going as long as possible.

No minivan gets great mileage, and most have as much room or more than the Montana you are driving. To me, a minivan is a minivan–when you’ve seen and driven one minivan, you’ve seen and driven them all. Ford no longer makes minivans either. When you are ready to replace your minivan, some manufacturer will have one available.

I have a hunch that with Ford and GM discontinuing the minivans, a used minivan may hold its value pretty well no matter what the make. Minivans are useful for transporting people and hauling objects and the crossover vehicles can’t do the job as well.

I’m basing my hunch on the experience our family had back in 1954 in searching for a used all-metal station wagon. The used Plymouth Suburbans and Ford Ranch Wagons disappeared the moment they hit the used car lots if they were any good at all. Even the Jeep station wagons commanded a good price, and these wagons had a small 4 cylinder engine. I remember one Jeep wagon my dad tested could be used to fog for mosquitoes because the piston rings were so badly worn. About the only station wagons that were cheap were the ones with a wooden body. I remember that we looked at a wood bodied 1946 Ford wagon in reasonably good shape in 1954 and the price was $100. I’ll bet you would pay 250 times as much for a wooden bodied Ford wagon today.

The minivan replaced the station wagon for many applications and I would bet that used ones will hold their value.

Friend of mine in Upstate NY owns a Pontiac dealership…actually Pontiac/Nissan and GMC.

He’s about to loose about 1/4th of his sales. That’s a LOT of money.

He also has a huge inventory of parts he will no longer need. Only about 10% of his repair business is from vehicles that he didn’t sell. This will be phased down over time as existing warranties run out.

The problem is selling the existing cars on his lot. He owns them outright (one of the few in the country). He expects to loose a few million in the next couple of years. He’ll be selling the cars at a loss…or offering extended warranties (for free)…Tough business.