Bad Saturn Dealers - Do They Exist? (Kinda Long)

I understand that Saturn has a no haggle policy on pricing. (My first car was a
1993 Saturn SL2.) My wife and I are in the market for a new car, and after
doing internet research, going to the local car show, and finding out about the
$3500 off incentive ( I believe it ends on May 31) we decided on a 2004 Saturn
VUE FWD V6. There are a couple of issues that I would like to present to this
newsgroup:

-Do you know of any Saturn dealerships that , AFTER you've priced everything
that you want on a particular vehicle, try to tack on stuff like "environmental
protection packages", pre-tinted windows, etching and hand-painted sports
stripes, etc. They said that it was done at the dealership and not at the
factory -hence the increase. This would have tacked on between 600 to 1100
dollars (!) on the car. I was a little dismayed with the salesman, when he
somehow miraculously got his hand on a list of VUEs within a two hundred mile
radius.

-How have your experiences been with Saturn dealerships? No haggle? No malarky?
Anything like my experience? Will they try to tack on 10 dollar rust-proofing
for an extra 500 dollars??

Any comments would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

I am a new Saturn Sales Consultant, so maybe I can shed some light on what I
have learned so far. Yes, as Saturn dealerships are privately owned, how
they do things may vary from one to the other.

AFAIK, the No haggle, No Hasle policy still exists, it is thier motto. It
does seem that Saturn has taken a big hit lately however as other companies
have been using this as leverage against Saturn sales by telling making the
public believe that haggling always leads to a better deal. 9 out of 10,
most of the competition accomplishes this by inflated prices and false
advertisement (bait and switch ads).

What I see happening is that Saturn is trying to remain competitive by
offering more featured cars on thier lots rather than a bunch of base
models. People want features in thier cars. Perhaps some dealerships are
going too far and putting too many extras in thier Saturns in order to
entice the mid-price range customers? Yes, it is the dealership who does add
on things like window tinting and after-market parts.

What I have seen is that some Saturn dealerships do have more cars than
others and can have delivered the closest match to what you want from
another dealership owned by the same franchise.

That would be your case. No miracle, just the poor guy who problably just
spent hours with one customer trying to find the right vehicle doesn't want
to lose your business. You wanted a certain vehicle and it isn't on his lot,
so he has to use his resources to find THAT vehicle for you. The problem
with this is that after spending hours trying in vain and then finding that
car at another dealership, do you think it is a good idea for him to send
you to another dealership, or get that car delivered to you?

If your salesman is being honest with you otherwise, give him a chance. If
not, tell him how you feel before signing anything. In FL, everything must
be up front and that is how Saturn should be too, I thought.

The extras you speak of should be on a small window sticler next to the
MSRP, called an "addendum" and should list all the extras and thier cost.
That price should be the TOTAL price (minus taxes and finance charges) that
you pay. Adding on extra things that were not on the MSRP or the Addendum is
not honest and my dealership does not do that.

marx404
Saturn of Stuart, FL

 

Will they try to tack on 10 dollar rust-proofing
for an extra 500 dollars??

Oh and read your Saturn brochure, last page. It says that Saturn does not
need nor reccomend any additional rustproofing". Its the catalogue 47
reasons to buy a Saturn"

marx404

 

Many years ago I ordered a Saturn SW. When it arrived it had an extra
cost pin striping. I told them to ship it back and tell me when what I
ordered arrived. The extra cost fell off rapidly.

Today resale value of Saturns is so low I would buy used if I had to
have a Saturn.

 

I wish I would have read/thought more in to that at the beginning.

J

 

I bought an '03 Vue (awd/6) several months ago, and the dealer was
fine. The dealer had added mud flaps (~$250 extra) and I was told
when I first went in to look at the Vue that this was the case, so
it was no surprise at signing. They offered rust-proofing and all
sorts of interior protection additives, which we declined. The
dealer didn't push the issue.

Don't be shy about specifying what you want -- and don't want -- and
asking the dealer to order a Vue for you that meets your specs. If
they won't or if they insist that you must pay for cruft you neither
need nor want, go elsewhere.

Brian

 

IMO from what i've seen that undercoating crap they spray on cars today
only leads to more rust than cars without it. It is far better to spend
one day every Spring pressure washing out all the salt and crap under
the car and in the cracks and crevices. That is the best way to prevent
rust from forming.

 

Yes mistertroll, they do.

 

A more important question: DOES A GOOD SATURN CAR EXIST?

 

A more important question: DOES A GOOD SATURN CAR EXIST?

I realize that this is Flamebait, but damit, go to another NG and bitch
there. We don't want to hear it. I really like my saturn - I wouldn't
have it if it wasn't a good car.

BTW, OT: anyone know how to set up killfiles in Mozilla:Thunderbird?

 

why not check out the many groups at mozilla.org or look for one at Yahoo
Groups.