Why a 20 thousand dollar saturn <long>

["Christopher Dinsmore" <dinsmoc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have gotten several responses in the vein of "your crazy for buying a
saturn at that price" and Id like to respond to them a bit here.

The actual sticker price of the saturn with the options I want is $17,700
but add a $500 extended warrantee (six years, 86,000 miles total coverage)
and another $1100 of taxes, fees, registration, and title, and the total
drive away cost is $19,300

Most of you have suggested the Contour SVT or the mercury cougar. The
Contour SVT's base price is $23,100 plus another $1500 in taxes and fees,
and you have to wait at least three months to get one around here if you can
get one at all. The Mercury Cougar lists at $21,135 plus the usual $1500 or
so in taxes and fees. The local dealerships didnt have a the cougar that I
wanted (v6 with a 5 speed, loaded) . In fact the dealer told me they doubted
they could get me what I wanted without ordering directly from the factory
and the 4 cylinder Cougar isnt as fast as any ot the other cars and carries
a significant weight penalty at only $500 less cost. For about the same
money of either of those two cars I could buy a 318ti exactly the way I
wanted it and not be on a waiting list.

The only cars that I looked at that were competitive in price and
performance were the Escort ZX2 at $16,500, and the Neon r/t at $15,500
(those prices are before taxes title registration and fees etc). I found the
Neon to be unacceptably poor in quality, though a blast to drive. The Escort
was an ok car all around but it felt like it had even less room than the
saturn, it didnt handle as well, and there were again a lot of quality
glitches. None of the other cars had traction control, which may not be a
big deal where you live but here in Mass we get a lot fo snow and even more
rain. And of all of them I like the saturns styling the best, though the
cougar comes close (they are actually somewhat similar looking)

I drove the saturn yesterday and found it to be a blast to drive. The
acceleration was good (0-60 in 8.4 according to R&T) though not spectacular,
but the throttle response was excelent. The engine revved exactly the way I
wanted, and expected it to and the low to midrange torque is as good as any
4 cylinder car I have driven, including the Neon. This gave it great rollon
performance and passing maneuvers could be performed with confidence. The
salesperson I drove with was a performance enthusiast (and my age) and he
suggested we take a few twisty roads to try it out a bit. The car handled
beautifully. There was no perceptible torque steer even in a full lock full
throttle u-turn (this is a common thing in Massachusetts) and the traction
control while perceptible wasnt intrusive at all. The body roll was minimal,
and nosedive during braking was nearly non existant. It also had the most
comfortable interior of the three with very good seats and excellent (though
somewhat strange in some cases) control placement. All the controls were
large and easily manipulated with my hands on the wheel or resting on the
shifter.  This was definitely not the case with the Neon or Escort.

After my experience at most dealerships I walked away feeling like I had
just dealt with sewage, and this was definitely not the case with Saturn.
The people were all very friendly, courteous, and helpful. I was helped
immediately and there was no time pressure put on me even thoguh I came in
during a peak time, and definitely not in a "going to buy today" mood. In
fact I made it clear that I was considering other cars, and asked the
salesperson to explain to me why I should buy a Saturn over those other
cars. The salesperson answered all my questions though not always without
looking it up first, but I asked a lot of fairly technical questions. And
while my salesman was off arranging a test drive I went looking around the
dealership and another sales man helped me with an underhood inspection of
the car, even though he knew I was another persons sale. Even the finance
people were great when we discussed financing and lease options.  All of
this convinced me to buy a Saturn and I signed papers and am waiting for the
loan to come through as I write this.

And hell if it turns out I dont like it, Saturn has a 30 day money back
guarantee on all their cars, how can you beat that

Chris Dinsmore
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The eyes may be the windows on the soul
But the word is the doorway to the mind
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