Thread: RIP
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Old October 4th 09, 06:20 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.saturn
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Default RIP


"SMS" > wrote in message
...
> Oppie wrote:
>
>> All the same, I'm now wondering where I will get repair parts for my L
>> series. Many parts are dealer only. Hopefully, these will still be
>> available through other GM dealers.

>
> I expect that GM will continue servicing Saturns for a few years, then
> they'll sell any remaining parts inventory to some third party that will
> make it available to independent mechanics (as happened with Daewoo).
>
> The lack of after-market parts has always been an issue with Saturn since
> they sold in such small volumes there was no incentive for after-market
> manufacturers to jump in with alternatives to dealer parts as you see with
> nearly every mass market brand.




IMHO one of the most major failings of GM was their failure to integrate
Saturn spare parts into their huge and well established GM parts
distribution system. This, more than anything else caused Saturn to remain
as a second class orphan in the GM family and was the major issue which
almost caused me to pass on the purchase of my first new Saturn in 1996. I
had
existing relationships and understanding of the workings of the GM system
that allowed me to buy GM parts wholesale, but was never able to get similar
service from Saturn. This caused me to avoid the Saturn dealer shops even
more than I would have otherwise.

The closure of the Saturn brand and division will IMHO result in a steep
drop in resale value due in large part to fears of parts availability
problems. There is still good availability of S series cars at the self
serve wreckers but this will probably diminish with time. Now is the time
to stock up on spare parts such as radiators, wheels (w tires) and mufflers.
I suggest that the low resale value will make the purchase of an inexpensive
similar car a good strategy as a source for major spare parts or as a spare
good running car. I suspect that normal aftermarket replacement parts such
as brakes, plugs, filters and tires will continue to be available with
better price and quality than the factory dealers were.

I still think that the S series cars are an excellent design and give great
value. I also think that Saturn should have continued to produce them
(especially the SW1) and that the greatest failure of Saturn marketing was
in not selling an optional turbo diesel. I lost interest in purchasing new
Saturns when they dropped the SW1 but my existing cars are still giving
excellent cost effective service and hope to keep them for many more years.
My original 96 SW1 now has 330,000km and still burns only 1lt of oil every
1,500km and the gas consumption is getting even better (lower) than when
new.

Good luck and Happy trails,


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