Thank You Saturn! You Guys Were the Best

My Saturn dealership in Downers Grove, Illinois closed down this weekend. Joining it was the dealerships in Joliet, Illinois and Northwestern Indiana.

Apparently, the Naperville Saturn lives on- but obviously not for long- as the brand is closing. The Naperville Saturn is large and has been in business longer than some of the others which must be why they’re holding on a little longer.

I have owned my green 4-door Saturn since 1997. It was a “new” 1998 model at the time, just new in the showroom, when I bought it. The car now has 83,000 miles on it and has been on both the east and the west coasts.

And it still drives like it’s brand new.

A Tale of One Car

I bought the car at the Saturn of Alexandria, Virginia where the “salesperson” (I use those terms lightly because, as you recall, there was no negotiation on price at the Saturn dealerships of old) gave my older brother and I the keys to the car and said, “come back in an hour”- all just by plopping down a copy of my drivers license.

I formerly had owned a Honda Accord that my parents had bought me after I got out of college. We sold that when I went off to law school (as I certainly didn’t need that car in downtown Philadelphia.) But by the end of college, I again needed transportation.

Having loved my Honda Accord, my brother and I (he was my “negotiator”) went back to Honda expecting to purchase another one. But in the intervening years, the Accord had become the “best selling car in America” and they now had the attitude that went along with that.

The Accord was also much more expensive than a few years before. The Honda dealership in Virginia could care less if I bought one of their cars. They refused to negotiate off the $16,000 price tag and basically said “take it or leave it” as they had “others” who would want the car.

We left it.

We went to Mazda after that because Mazda had the cute Protege model that was similar to the Accord. But the Mazda dealership was also unhelpful and practically kept us trapped in the salesman’s office trying to get us to drive off with the car. They also had a price tag of $14,000 or so, which was also steep for a new law school grad.

Saturn Did it Right

Finally, we went to the Saturn dealership in Alexandria. And love struck.

For $12,300 I got my 4-door automatic with air conditioning (a MUST in Virginia). The air conditioning was around $800 extra.

The car was so basic it didn’t have a CD player (considered an upgrade back in the 90s.) To this day, there is simply an empty space where the CD player would have gone and which turned out to be a blessing in disguise when I parked it on the streets of San Francisco for several years. After all, that was one less thing available to steal.

Saturn used to pull the newly bought cars into the showrooms where they would take your picture as you stood in front of the car (I still have mine.) I didn’t know until they sent it to me some weeks later (attached to a calendar) that the sales people were behind me jumping up and pumping their fists into the air in celebration.

Very amusing, to say the least.

Ohio Turnpike or Highway 1 in California: My Saturn Could Handle it All

Bought in Virginia, my green Saturn traveled with me to Chicago after law school graduation (including one night where my brother and I had to sleep in the not too comfortable front seats overnight because all the motels along the Ohio Turnpike were sold out.)

It then moved with me when I took a job in San Francisco (though I had it shipped- as I didn’t want to test it over the Rocky Mountains.)

But it did just fine up and down the California coast- easily traversing the sometimes treacherous, but always beautiful, Highway 1 along California’s coast as far south as Hearst Castle.

I drove it through the mountains to Lake Tahoe several times (yes- with the 4-cylinder engine- I occassionally had to use the “turnout” zones to let those with bigger engines pass me by on the narrow mountain highways.)

My green 4-cylinder Saturn with no cruise control also fearlessly took on the hills of Highway 280 from San Francisco to Silicon Valley (47 miles each way) every day for over 6 months.

No More Free Donuts

With the closings of the dealerships imminent, I recently took my car for one last service at the Downers Grove Saturn. Back in Illinois after 7 years in California, the only “major” problem I ever had with the car was a bad starter and a fuel pump that had to be replaced.

On this check-up, I felt some pulsing in the brakes and wanted them to check it. Sure enough, it was pretty rusted out (Chicago winters for you) so I had the whole thing replaced.

It was eerie being in the dealership so near the end. There were still a few cars in the showroom and a few on the lot (but not nearly what was there six months ago.) There was a receptionist, but one of the two waiting areas had already shut down. The cable tv was still on.

But on the counter, as always, were the free donuts.

Every time I’ve been to any Saturn dealership, and I’ve been to 5 different ones around the country, they have always had the free donuts.

Maybe that’s just a little thing. But it matters.

Here was a dealership about to close, which meant all of those people would likely be out of work, and the donuts were still there.

The service was also still there. First class all the way.

I’ve always taken my car to Saturn dealerships even for basic oil changes because I felt that the service was so good and they, frankly, knew my car best.

Maybe They Built It Too Good?

My car is nearly 12 years old- which is ancient by car standards. But if you look around you on the highway, you still see quite a few of the late 1990s-era Saturns (and sometimes an early 1990s Saturn.)

With its plastic exterior and basic interior there is, frankly, not a lot that can go wrong with the car (knock on wood.) Maybe Saturn built them “too” good. Because I would have bought another Saturn if I desperately needed a new car- but with the old one working just fine- there’s not much of a point.

Children Without a Home

When I was paying for my new brakes at the Downers Grove Saturn two weeks ago, another customer meekly asked, “where do I take my car now?” which is the same thing I was thinking.

Who wants us now?

The receptionist told us that any General Motors dealership can service it.

That’s fine and all, but it won’t be the same. Why will Cadillac’s service department care about us? They won’t.

Saturn had a lot going for it (not to mention the loyalty from its customers.) I’m hoping something positive comes out of the demise of the brand. Maybe there’s an entrepreneur out there just hankering to start up a car company that caters to the customers, has fun cars AND can make a profit.

Thank You Saturn!

And so, after 12 years, I want to say thank you to all the fine Saturn employees, especially the mechanics, who took care of me and my car in multiple states around the country with exceptional service.

And, of course, free donuts.

Thank you Saturn of Alexandria (for selling me my car).
Thank you Saturn of Naperville (for servicing it in the late 1990s)
Thank you Saturn of Marin, California (this dealership closed about 6 years ago)
Thank you Saturn of San Jose, California (for quickly replacing the fuel pump and my starter and other odds and ends)
and
Thank you Saturn of Downers Grove (for my new brakes and numerous oil changes.)

You guys kicked butt. May your spirit live on.