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Almost traded my GT

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 8:31 am
by AzFusionGT
So there I was cruisin' the internet when the car I had wanted instead of a Vibe pops up, a 2001 yellow limited edition Saturn SC2. 19,400 miles, leather, sunroof, 5-speed, all the toys for $7800. And a mere six hours from me. After much thought and a call to my insurance agent, I decided to do it. I called the dealer, spoke to a salesman who at first, was more-than-happy to help me.This is where it gets ugly. My Father used to work at a Pontiac/GMC dealer, so I am familiar with the ins-and-outs of the whole process. I also know that the salesman was only doing his job, but I still felt insulted. When he asked about my trade, I described it in great detail, all the way down to the last door ding on the rear driver's door. I had already looked up the KBB values on both vehicles so I knew what I was in for. What I wasn't ready for was when he then proceeded to tell me, in a condecending tone, that Vibes don't hold any real value, and that "our professional appraisers" will need to look at it. Let me repeat that I know he was only doing his job, looking out for his bottom-line, but I still felt insulted. (FYI-This is not the way to sell me a car...)So I still have the Vibe. It's got a coolness about it that even a yellow SC2 limited edition does not. It's orange, and is a blast to drive. Besides, the "trunk" is gi-mundous. That following weekend, I used it to help my roomate move into her new house. We put four dinette chairs, the base of the table, and tons of clothes in it.Gotta love my Vibe...

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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:51 am
by ragingfish
Damn, that IS a cool lookin Saturn...

Re: Almost traded my GT (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:51 am
by wicked1981
Sucks the guy was talking s*** about the Vibe.. Crazy I was just in a Saturn dealership about an hour ago. My friend was going to buy a new 2004 Ion Redline its the last 04 so they were taking $5,000 off making it $17,000 not bad but I told her to wait.

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:49 am
by Jahntassa
Not to be a (removed), and NOTHING against your love for Saturns...but..This guy sells SATURNS. Who the hell is he to say the Vibe isn't really worth anything? Granted, they've gone a long way with Saturns since they first started.. But still..That's just my opinion, once again, nothing against no-one!

Re: (Jahntassa)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:52 pm
by AzFusionGT
This particular Saturn was at a Ford Dealer, not at Saturn. And Jahntassa, no offense taken. It's all good...

Re: (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:22 pm
by Rico Rose
I think you did good keeping the vibe, most dealers do not like to trade down. the vibe is worth more than the SC2. i see you already have a saturn so you know they are good cars, but it has been my experience that saturns depreciate pretty fast too. my wife has a 2003 quad coupe. we also had a 2001 SC2 that we traded in on the quad. i would take my vibe over either (or both for that matter)...

Re: Almost traded my GT (silverawd26)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:20 pm
by ColonelPanic
It is a die-cast replica... If that thing were truly real, Saturn has some severe quality control issues. Look at the unpainted metal showing in the door sills.

Re: (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:19 pm
by Jahntassa
Quote, originally posted by AzFusionGT »This particular Saturn was at a Ford Dealer, not at Saturn. And Jahntassa, no offense taken. It's all good... OH...that's even better. A Ford salesman saying the Vibe is worthless.

Re: Almost traded my GT (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:55 pm
by Z600
LOL, you should ask him to compare the Vibe sales numbers to any of the Saturn ION numbers. Vibes seem to really be taking off (around N. GA anyway). I would think that an increase in demand would increase the resale value. I can count the number of IONS I've seen around town, both coupe and sedan, on one hand. Fewer than that of the car you were looking at. I don't think anybody likes them (except you and me... I'm a huge Saturn fan, and woulda' had one now if they'd accepted my GM points). ~ Z600

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:57 pm
by ragingfish
I like Saturns...even the new ION...though I think they probably hurt the sales with that STUPID center mounted cluster...I'm definitely intrigued by the SKY and AURA, and look forward to seeing what else is down the road for Saturn...

Re: (Jahntassa)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:06 am
by Kari
Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa »OH...that's even better. A Ford salesman saying the Vibe is worthless. Yes, most definitely hilarious that he's saying things like that...But then again, those Fords are so gosh-darn AFFORBABLE...

Re: Almost traded my GT (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:33 am
by ToolGuy
Cool diecast car, do you collect them? Hopefully the yelow car you mentioned was the real one! LOL!!Saturns to me are broing anyway. My neighbor has an Ion, he likes the center mounted cluster however the car has an extreme case of "orange peel" the worst I have ever seen and it is black. He leases it and thank goodness since I would not keep a paint job like that! I noticed at the autoshow ALL the Saturns shown did not have O-peal, funny... Now if GM makes the Saturn Aura and Sky the exact same way shown at the autoshown GM will have huge hits on their hands! I liked both of those cars...

Re: Almost traded my GT (AzFusionGT)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:36 am
by ColonelPanic
I'm wondering one thnig here... Does that salesman realize how horrid the resale value is on those Fords too? Yes, the Vibe's resale bytes, but in reality, like a Ford does any better? lol!

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:14 am
by LoveMyPontiacs
I don't think many cars under 30,000 hold a great deal of resale value. I went to the Pontiac dealership just to look at G6's and talked to a salesmen about potentially trading my 00 Grand Am GT in on a Vibe eventually, and he told me "it would be such a huge waste, seeing as the Vibe is such a slow, underpowered turtle" (a Pontiac dealer said this!).He recommended I buy a G6 instead, and said it would hold more and handle better in the snow than any Vibe and be faster .

Re: (LoveMyPontiacs)

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:24 am
by Kari
I'd have to ask him some questions if he'd said that to me... Has he driven a Vibe? Or has he just driven other GM vehicles with 4cyl engines? Because the GM 4 banger sucks. It doesn't have any power at all. But the Vibe doesn't drive like a GM 4 banger, in fact I don't think it really drives much like a 4 banger at all. JMHO.

Re: (Kari)

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:46 am
by Turbo5Speed
Not like USDM 4 bangers anyhow. European and Japanese 4 bangers have some get up and go to them.

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:22 am
by ragingfish
I dunno, I was always pleased with the kick my sunfire had...though I'm confident the Vibe has more torque...