Topic: Saturn Astra

[hoss]

Well in my seemingly never ending quest for a new car, I took the advice of some forum members, and drove the Astra,  I really wish I had not done it.  This is one nice little car.  It is so German, it even smells like a VW.  Understated, well finished, with tons of legroom.  It's not perfect: one cup holder, and the digital display looks like it's out of the 80's.  The radio is the most confusing thing I have ever seen.  But I like the car.

They have really nice insentives $3500 plus $750 if you opt out of the maintanence deal from GM.  The price is less then the Vibe, Matrix and Touring, BUT where is Saturn going to be in 2 years.  The sales person had some long story (fairy tale?) about how the start up heads from Saturn where going to take it private and return to their roots.  That's great but the Astra (and many of their cars) are built by Opel who has problems of their own. 

So it comes down to saving some money on a nice car. (unproven new design) built by a European company (Opel) for a North American company GM (in trouble), whose brand Saturn is being sold, shut down? 

I don't know, at least if GM goes (I doubt they will go away) the Vibe is a Toyota, so parts are going to be around.

Too many choices!

[Erik]

I understand your thoughts and concerns.

I walked through a Saturn dealer not too long ago, and was very pleasantly surprised by the product.


However, I don't know that I would commit myself for the next 5-6 years on Saturn at this point either.

[vdk]

This will solve one of your problems. The Astra has been around in Europe for more than 4 years now, so it's not an unproven design.   

[dr_spock]

SirA has one and if you need parts...

[Triple Bob]

It's definitely not an unproven design, and SirA's looks fantastic in blue!

My choice would be the two door hatch, great looking and handling car.

[mmret]

Would be a shame to see Saturn go as they actually have some decent stuff now (finally).

Foreign automaker might buy it. Don't know how the Opel link would work, if at all, though. Then again maybe a two-for-one package deal can be wrought.

[inco]

With all of the press surrounding GM, one thing that has not happened is for them to come out and detail the changes they are going to make to survive. What brands will survive and what happens to the others is still pretty much up in the air.

We have read about Saab and Saturn being packaged and of course Saab is for sale on it's own, but that combo would make sense since they cohabit in many places already.

Regardless, if the Astra appeals to you I would pull the plug. Parts will be available for at least 10 years and then there is the Cuba experience to make them last forever!  Yes the resale value might be zilch and that is a risk, however if you plan to keep it a long time, it doesn't really matter.

Sir A loves his and I'm sure he will come along and add his .02.

[Cortina]

  Yes the resale value might be zilch and that is a risk, however if you plan to keep it a long time, it doesn't really matter.

If they are, I will be running out to buy one. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I am enjoying mine 

I wish it had more power, and more economy considering the power, but it handles great and you get used to anything. Opel is a GM company, although GM may sell/spin a portion of it off to investors. The controls are quite confusing, but again you get used to them (the other day I was driving my friend's truck and I went to turn off the turn signals by moving them the same way I did to turn them on which is what you do in the Astra opposite to just about every other car). The Enhanced Audio package sharpens up the screen, but is a lot of coin to do so.

With GM points factored in and the Promise Plus 5 year maintenance opted-out, a new '08 5dr XE can be had for $9700 (or so, forget the specific amount) minus any margin the dealer wanted to give. Forget the bare-bones Accent and Aveo, that's the deal right there at that price. XRs have $6,500 discount + 750 PP + think $1,000 GM Points if you've collected them. '09s have less discount but still substantial.

And you're right, it's a very solid secure attractive appealing vehicle. Top safety marks too!

IMO Astra makes a lot of sense if you can purchase one you like at $9,000 - 16,000.

[carsncars]

Even though it's getting on in its years, the Astra is a very nice economy car. We test drove one--the things that stopped us from buying it were:

 - Resale value (because we may have to sell it in 3-4 years)
 - The automatic needs another gear, if you plan on doing a lot of highway driving
 - Could use a bit more power, given that...
 - ...the fuel economy is not as great as you'd think

Other than that, we were impressed by both the exterior and interior (feels like it has a little more "class" than the Corolla or Civic) and the looks. The handling was confident and the ride was fairly refined, but the performance was just "acceptable".

If you're looking to keep it for a while, it'd be a good runabout vehicle. And the incentives are certainly tempting.

[hoss]

With GM points factored in and the Promise Plus 5 year maintenance opted-out, a new '08 5dr XE can be had for $9700

Wow I was quoted almost double that.  I don't have any GM points (I'm not even sure what they are).   I was looking at the five door XE with air.

[gta_driver]

If you live in the greater Toronto area, their is a promotion going on the the 5 door XE model. Pick up a copy of the Toronto Star or Sun. The purchase price is a steal. Parts availability down the road won't be a problem. The car has been sold in Europe for awhile and their is an aftermarket.

[mikeeb777]

i test drove the 5door xr today ... there are a few negative things with it ( like the lack of power, rearview mirror its blockin too much of the windshiels, no leather seats), but i really love the way it looks... also the dealer gives you $6500 off now, which is awsome, so now im torn also.

[vdk]

Wait, you can get leather seat! I remember that from a year ago, there's a leather package or something like that, $1.5k or so. I found the power with a manual transmission adequate.