Does anyone know whether there will be issues with warranties if the Saturn dealerships close or are acquired by someone else? I have a Saturn and am considering buying another. Thanks, J
Saturn being a division of GM, the warranty should be honored by any GM dealer.
If that happens GM will have to handle your vehicle at a remaining GM dealership. Which model do you have and are you considering? Some are very similar to other GM vehicles. If your new choice is one, I’d consider buying the other brand.
I have a Vue and we are not sure which other car we ould buy. Our VW passat lease is ending soon.
I think the Chevy Equinox is similar to the Vue. The only odd model is the Astra, no other division sells an equivalent.
GM is considering closing up the entire Saturn division. It has never turned a profit, and GM has far too many brands. Even though service may be honored, a car from a closed down division, like Oldsmobile, will have significantly less resale value. If you keep the car a long time you may have problems with body parts after 10 years. I would go with a brand that will be around for years to come.
I was behind a branny new Saturn Sky today, the “baby 'vette” model. That’s the nicest looking thing GM has com out with in a very long time. Sweeeeeeeet!
Astra? No problem, just head to your local Opel dealer…
Yeah! If you own an Astra or a Vue, just have it air-lifted to Germany.
That should be cheap. (NOT)
On the other hand, if someone has a Saturn Aura, just take it to a Chevy dealer, since the Aura is the same car as the Chevy Malibu.
If you have a Saturn Sky, take it to a Pontiac dealer, since it is the same car as the Pontiac Solstice. However, since Pontiac will probably be on the chopping block right after Saturn, there may be no dealership that is really familiar with those problem-plagued cars.
I wonder what Toyota clone they’ll come out with after the Vibe is no longer made.
GM has far too many redundant brands
Fixed for more accuracy.
I know Ford is similar with their Lincoln and Mercury model lines.
Speaking of redundant brands,
It’s the same as the Pontiac Solstice ! Why would GM do something so stupid ?
What’s next the Chevy Sun ?
It’s just the usual stuff that GM (and Ford, and other manufacturers) do to fool consumers into thinking that they market very different cars through their various divisions. The Sky has a somewhat different (more aggressive-looking) body than the Solstice, and this is probably enough to convince some people that they are different cars, rather than mechanically identical twins.
Dodges and Plymouths used to be only slightly different on the outside, but were mechanically identical. Ford apparently has fooled many older people into thinking that a different grill and different tail lights makes a Grand Marquis into a car that is different from a Crown Victoria.
For years, the major difference between full-size Chevies and Pontiacs was the presence of twice as many A/C vents on the dashboard of the Pontiac (8 tiny vents, vs 4 normal-sized vents). I guess that some really dumb people thought that this indicated an A/C that was twice as powerful on the Pontiac. Oh, and the Pontiac had a louder muffler, which may have convinced some people that it was more powerful, despite having the same engine as the Chevy in most cases.
It all comes down to marketing and to the fact that many people are uninformed and/or are not able to perceive trim differences that make no substantive difference between two “different” makes of car.
I think that this type of marketing has probably come to the end of the road, but then again, maybe not. After all, look at how many people buy a Lexus ES, thinking that it is something different from a Toyota Camry. If those people bought the top-level Camry model, they would have the mechanical twin of the Lexus ES, albeit for about $6,000.00 less. Of course, if one likes the styling of the ES better, it may be worth the difference in price, but I would be willing to bet that fewer than 10% of Lexus ES buyers realize that they are just buying a very expensive Camry.
I agree with both Cabella dn VDC. Just wanted to comment. The Sky is much better looking than the Solstice. The front has a nice wide-mouthed smile rather than looking like the grill on a medevil jousting helmet. The side and rear panels seem to have sharp, clear lines as opposed to the poor attempt by the Pontiac division to round the details off.
JMHO.
That’s what I said about the Vibe/Matrix. The price difference isn’t worth it when you look at the mechanicals underneath.
Sure am glad we can rely on European and Asian car makers to not duplicate models, huh?
No, maybe if they do duplicate it’s because most of them are manufactured here.
If you wanted to hedge your bets, you could buy an extended warranty from another company.
Best bet, I think, is do what we all know we should have done all along and save money to pay cash if the system falls apart and nobody honors their contract with you.
Thanks; the Saturm division was originally launched to imitate the Japanese,and incorporate all the world class systems Toypta uses. It never worked out that way; now it’s just another division (redundant) that is a drag on the company.
I never really considered a Saturn until the Sky came out. But where I live, the Sky isn’t a practical car for someone who doesn’t have a garage, and gets winter weather.
Their no haggle pricing is a good idea, but you can always negotiate a better price with another, similar car from a GM dealership
Dodges and Plymouths used to be only slightly different on
the outside, but were mechanically identical.
When I worked in a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership back in 1976, we got a load of new cars off the truck for us to “prep”. One of the cars had “Plymouth Voyager” logo and nameplates on half the car, and “Dodge Aspen” logo and nameplates on the other half of the car. This was direct from the factory. We got a good laugh from it.
We bought an Oldsmobile after GM announce that they would stop producing them. The Olds dealer also sells Chevrolet and CAdillac; they honored the Olds warranty.