I want to buy a 2007 saturn vue hybrid the asking price is $8,995. The catch is it has 107,000 miles on it. My husband thinks it’s ridiculous, it was owned by a corporation and has had very regular maintainancem what do you think?
Though the price seems reasonable, do you need that type of car ?
Regardless of the condition of the car, why would anyone want to buy a specialized car from a company that basically no longer exists. Unless your husband is a master mechanic and somehow will have access to parts that will be out of production soon, I suggest you forgo this one.
Unless you are the type who adopts orphans (and this vehicle is an orphan) and rescues stray animals, save yourself innumerable future hassles, and look somewhere else.
I want American, and hybrid, and now that we have a family, my husband insists we need something at least that size. We are looking at Ford escape hybrids too, but they are more expensive.
No:
High miles
Dead brand
If I remember right, it gets poor milage for a 'hybrid’
Look elsewhere.
Have you sat down with a calculator and proved to yourself that you need a hybrid? Most people cannot possible justify a hybrid unless they drive 30,000-40,000 miles per year or so, and mostly in the city.
Also, the definition of “American” is quite vague. The Toyota Camry came out in a recent survey as the most “American” car in terms of content and jobs created. The runner up was the Ford F-150 pickup truck. A Ford Fusion hybrid is built in Mexico with parts from all over the world.
I think that texases summed it up very well.
Used cars are like buses. Another one will be along shortly, and it is likely to have fewer negative issues than this one.
Uh, did GM completely go under while I wasn’t looking? This car is built on a standard GM platform (same as the Chevy Equinox) and I don’t see why the brand being discontinued would have any effect whatsoever on parts supply. Part of why Saturn floundered in the first place was because they had basically become rebadges of other GM products.
Not that these so-called “hybrids” are anything to write home about, but I wouldn’t discount it on brand alone and the price seems okay for a newish SUV.
Ha! I am exactly the type that takes in stray animals
Most people cannot possible justify a hybrid unless they drive 30,000-40,000 miles per year or so, and mostly in the city.
Is that still the case? I know that was the case when the Prius first became popular, but haven’t the prices come down some?
I agree a break even analysis is a great idea to see if a hybrid is cost effective.
sheepcheesey, which is more “American,” a Honda made in the Ohio, a Toyota made in California, a Ford made in Mexico, or a Saturn made in Canada?
Last time I did this, gas prices were high and a Prius would take me 22 years to break even for me! The so-called “mild hybrids” like the Vue have only a minor gas advantage, and although the primium is less, the payback is still around 10 years for the average driver.
If you drive low miles in Minnesota, you may never recover the extra cost, since a large part of the year the heater will be on.
An aquaintance (living in a cold region) recently bought a new Camry Hybrid in order to “save gas and the environment”. He is retired (and idealistic), the kids are grown up and they only need 4 seats at most. The car cost $10,000 more than my Corolla, which has a 1.8 liter engine compared with the 2.4 liter Camry unit. My overall yearly gas mileage is better than his for $10,000 less in purchase cost!.
So, go figure! But he brags about his noble effort to fellow church members and bowling buddies.
It has worse reliability than some of the other hybrids.
I want American, and hybrid,
“Also, the definition of “American” is quite vague. The Toyota Camry came out in a recent survey as the most “American” car in terms of content and jobs created. The runner up was the Ford F-150 pickup truck. A Ford Fusion hybrid is built in Mexico with parts from all over the world.”
Thanks “Doc”
My advice is to look for a car that fulfills your needs for the price you want to pay with the best reliability. If they make it in hybrid for that price range, fine. If not move on regardless of the sound of it’s name. Try to buy an American made TV/stereo/etc. if you feel that way.
…and gas mileage that is not exactly impressive for a hybrid.
Additionally, these small Saturn Hybrid SUVs are FWD, not AWD, so if the OP wanted an AWD vehicle, this one is not it.
I quit giving people advice a long time ago on what kind of car to buy. I used to advise people to buy a Studebaker Scotsman–very low maintenance–but nobody took my advice.
I will say this, however. I employed by a university that maintains a big fleet of vehicles. These cars travel a lot of miles, but are well maintained. Furthermore, these are highway miles and I would not hestitate to purchase one from the fleet if they were offered to the public and I needed a car. In the case of the Saturn Vue you are investigating, the fact that it has had regular maintenance is a big plus. The 107,000 miles have to be highway miles which is easy on a car. The transmisison doesn’t shift as often on the highway, the car doesn’t go through a lot of stop/start cycles which is hard on a car.
If after a road test and a mechanic’s inspection you feel good about the car, then buy it. Back in 1955, my Dad bought a 1954 Buick from a friend. The car had gone 24,000 miles which was considered a lot of miles at the time for one year of driving. Some of his other friends thought he should have purchased a “low mileage” car. That Buick was a wonderful car. I bought it from him after it had gone 120,000 miles and I drove it to 160,000 and then, idiot that I am, sold the car. It was still going several years later after I sold it and had never had the head or pan off the engine.
Due to globilization, it’s difficult to buy anything specifically made in one country. We own a Panasonic 50" High Definiton TV. It’s designed in Japan and built in…Mexico from parts shipped from all over the world, even the USA.
We love German appliances. We have several Braun kitchen appliances, but only one is made in Germany, the rest are from Spain or Mexico. Our neighbor just bought a GE Elite high end fridge. It’s made in Mexico as well.
As avid outdoors types, we have all the original Coleman (The Greatest Name in the Great Outdoors) camping equipment, made in Witchita, Kansas. If you look at Coleman stuff now, very little is made in the US anymore.
Last year I reburbished one of our bathrooms. The items bought new came from Colombia!, Mexico, the US, Canada, China and Korea. In my home office, one computer is made in Malaysia (Dell!), one in the US (Dell), phone (China), Printer (Thailand), printer (China), printer (Taiwan), bookcases (USA), filing cabinets (USA), Desk (Malaysia), desk (Canada), paper shredder (China), Staplers (Sweden, China, USA), magazine rack (Sweden), Large computer screen (Korea), 2 Samsonite briefcases (France, Belgium), and so on. I don’t think I could get a day’s work done using only US made equipment!!
To come back to cars, all Japanese companies now even have design studios in the US. However, many new Chrysler products coming our way will be designed in…Italy!
Because we are one of the very few countries founded upon an idea, I would think that not only would we continue to value immigration of peoples, but the immigration of goods as well; and hope other countries they would feel the same.
Why should only the elite show off their Royces, Jags and Alfas and be admired for it.
All the while, the admiring middle class feels we have to buy American, when none exists really seems pretty confusing to me.
A used vehicle with known maintenance history(well, ask to see the maintenance records anyways) that’s for sale for about dealer trade-in, depending on options.
Ask to take it to a mechanic and have them give it a look over and see what they say. You may have to take it to a GM dealership though as not many indy garages deal with hybrids.
That’s actually an excellent price for this truck. It should retail for about $12,600, even with 107,000 miles. That’s even a good price for a non-hybrid Vue that is similarly equipped. If the dealer can prove that the truck had regular maintenance, then it could be a good buy for you.