Fire Sale Prices For Pontiac, Saturn Models

Potential Savings of $7000 Per Vehicle

Save big bucks on an orphaned Saturn Aura.

If you have been holding back on buying a new car in search of a better deal, you are not likely to find one better than what your Saturn and Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers have to offer. Right now, General Motors is offering dealers $7000 for every Pontiac and Saturn car on their lots, if these cars are moved to service or rental vehicle fleets. Those vehicles would then be made available to consumers, supposedly at a heavy discount.

Gently Used Cars

Technically, if you were to purchase one of these cars, you would be buying a used model. That is because the dealer becomes the owner of the car before you do. Still, most of these vehicles are likely to have new car mileage, which means that there may be just a few miles on the odometer when made available for sale. Importantly, buyers will have the balance of the GM warranty applied to their barely used new cars, another reason why Saturn and Pontiac cars are likely to sell fast over the days ahead.

GM is taking this approach for two reasons: both the Saturn and Pontiac brands are being retired and the company wants to finish December on a high note. The December selling period ends with the close of business on January 4, therefore there is still time for dealers to snap up inventory. At any point, dealers will turn around and sell these cars, perhaps as discounts of up to $7000 per car.

Your Orphaned Car

One important fact consumers should keep in mind when purchasing a Pontiac or Saturn is that you’ll be owning an orphan car. An orphan car is a vehicle whose parent (make) has been discontinued, which means that the resale value of your vehicle may be poor.

Fortunately, other GM divisions can service these cars and the automaker will be providing parts for many years to come. Buy an orphan vehicle especially if you plan to keep it for many years, rendering its resale value of no consequence for you.

General Motors is also closing on a deal to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese company and it may keep its Saab unit alive long enough for a new buyer to snap up its Swedish brand. In any case, when the smoke clears North American GM buyers will see that only four brands remain: Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC.

Adv. – If you’re planning to buy a new car, then you’ll want to get price quotes or find a dealer to arrange for a test drive. You may also want to arrange for your own auto financing which can save you hundreds of dollars on your next car loan.

Photo Credit: GM Corp.

Tags: fleet sales, General Motors, GM, Pontiac, Saturn, used cars