On November 28, I went to DCH Saturn on rt. 1 in North Brunswick, NJ. I went looking for a specific car - a red Saturn Ion 3 with the bigger engine. The sales girl Lisa Ocasio was pleasant but told me they didn't have any ion 3s on ion 2s left. After looking at the ion 2s. I picked out a silver one and purchased it.
The next day when I drove it to work, my co-worker Donna asked me how come I settled for that Ion. Now, she had bought an Ion 3 for the same saleswoman at the same dealership a month prior. She got the car I had wanted but in blue. She then when on the ask me if they had called around to the sister dealerships in the area to find me the ion I had wanted. I was shocked to hear this because i was never even offered to have them look for what I wanted.'
So I called the saturn customer service and they apologized for not being offered and that they would have the dealership call around to see if they could find exactly what I wanted. About a day later, I received a call saying that they coould get a silver Ion 3 with the bigger motor if I had wanted. And I was explained that Saturn had a 30 day buy back program that allowed you to return the car you originally purchased for nother Saturn so I did.
So very excieted the following day I go to pick up my new car and it has everthing i wanted excepted it wasn't red but silver was almost as good. The next morning, I wake up and go outside to check my new car out! I look inside, ok no floor mats like I was supposed to have but I can just call and get them. Then while looking at the car externally, I find a nice size dent in the bumper. I am furious. I call the dealership and they apologize. They explain to me how saturn is know for their dent resistent cars and it can just be popped right out. So when I bring my car there to take care of the dent, I could also pick up the floor mates.
Well after taking car of all of that, I am a happy new car owner.
A few months later, something happens to my heating/ac unit. It will only work on selections 3 or 4 which are the two highest blower selections. Ok not happy but not overly concerned.
Then 2 months later when I go to leave work, my brand new car wont start and the check engine light is on.
Afer trying to get it to start for about a half hour, it miracously starts and I drive it home. I call saturn to make a service appointment. I bring it in for it not starting and to have the blower looked at.
Well they have to replace the motor and the heating/ac unit but they also have to replace the fuel tank because it has a leak. THey will order the part and call me when it comes in. WHAT??? My car is brand new and I seem to have had bad luck with it from day one.
This past Friday, 05-30-08, ready to leave work, my car wont start again. I sit there for about 3o minutes trying until I decide to use onstar to get me help. I get a time a tow truck can be there and low and behold the car starts. So I have onstar cancel the tow and have them alert Saturn I am bringing the car down. THe service staff their is very nice and being that I dont have an appointment, they are squeezing me in and might get a chance to look at it Saturday if not definitely Sunday. Ok that is fine with me being that I just showed up.
When I leave the dealership that friday, I go home to call Saturn corporate customer service to complain.
Now let me refresh your memory. I purchased this car brand new in November. When I received it from the dealer it had no floor mats and a dent in the trunk. All taken car of. Now my brand new car had the blower motor replaced and needs a new fuel tank. It only has 4600 miles on it. When I get the lovely Ashley Cooper from saturn service on the phone, she is nothing but a dissapoinment. SHe tells me repeatedly that the car is under warranty and that it will be fixed and I will have nothing to worry about. My reply back to her was that I thought that when I purchased a new Saturn I would have nothing to worry about because the car was brand new. I asked her that what if in a month somehting else goes wrong and she tells me that she cannot see into the future and I am still under warranty. Then she decided that we will wait to hear from the service department about why it wasn't starting and then discuss my option.
So Monday I get a call from the service department saying they replaced the fuel tank and that the reason it wasn't starting this time was the remote started. Now I am thinking to myself that both tmes the car wouldn't start int he past, the same exaclty thing happened - the car wouldn't turn over and the check engine light came on. So the first time it was because the fuel tank needed to be replaced and this time it was due to the remote starter. Sounds a little crazy to me but I am not a mechanic.
I go and pick up my car and I await the phone call from Ashley from the corporate customer service. She calls on Tuesday and asks how my car is. I told her that it starts now bt what happens in a month when something else happens? Her answer was that it was fixed and running now and I am still covered under warranty. And there would be nothing that Saturn would or could do for me. I then asked to speak to someone higher in charge there and she told me that there wasn;t anyone higher than her there, that they are all have the same level of power and decision making and that anyone else there would tell me the same think. She then tells me to try the dealer and see if there is anything he could do.
So I leave work and drive directly to the dealer. I get to sit down with the general manager Ray Di Simone. I explain everything to him and he says he will do everything in my power to help. I explain to him that I dont want anything free I just want to be able to have a new car that is reliable. He asks if I am interested in any other cars there. I say yes that was my idea just to credit mine towards the purchase of aother new one.
Well when I purchased my car on November 29, my cost before taxes was $18756. I am sitting there being told that they are going to be nice and give me $11,500 for it as a trade. A difference of $7,256 which is a loss to me on a brand new car that only has now 4,720 miles on it. I had wanted to get credt for it towards the purchase of a Aura or the small suv. My payments now are $330 a month. I get an estimate that with either vehicle I pick, my payments would should up to between $480 and $550.
Needless to say I leave the dealership crying.
So to no fauly of my own I am stuck with a Saturn Ion 3 that I have had nothing but problems with since I even started at the dealership. It has less than 5,000 miles on it and is only 6 months old. I am afraid to drive it anywhere far from home because I am afraid something else will go on it and I will be stranded.
I have 2 co-workers that purchased the sar car with in months of me and they have not had a single problem. The one guy is even on his third saturn because he has had such good luck with them.
I realize that eveyone and a while a bad one gets out but now no one is willing to deal with it and I sm stuck driving a car that I anticipate will break down again at anytime.
And I am repeatedly told that things like this rarely happen. Then why wouldn't your corporation go out of their way to help the few it does happen to so they can have a piece of mind about the vehicle they are driving?
I just want to be able to have a brand new car the I can rely on.
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