pontiac vibe ($11,500) or saturn astra ($10,500)

[Ross]

My letter came last week too. It has a chart with what I can use.
For most Chevy, Buick, GMC and Cadillac the limit was upped to $3,000 (until end of June)

But I can use up to $5,000 on all Ponitac and Saturns, it even lists the models. I can also use up to $5,000 on Hummer,and the pricey Chevy, Gmc, Cadillac SUV's

Only issue I see is that the offer says "use up to $5,000 of your earning on Pontiac, Saturn"

The term "up to" may be the clincher.

There isn't anything that says the Vibe is less than $5,000. There is a earning code that the dealer uses that is specific to me. I will have to have to confirm this with the dealer, but from what I read it's $5,000 on any Saturn or Pontiac.

I will check this out with the dealer and let you guys know.


Test drive will be on Friday. I was out of time today.

The saturn also has nice 17 inch aluminum wheels while the Vibe has steel wheels and hubcaps. To me the Saturn looks nicer, but a test drive will help.

Thanks for your input. I will bost more info about the $5,000/$3,000 on Friday.

 

[Ross]

Here is the fine print:

"Redemption allowances up to the specified amount listed in the eligible vehicle chart. In order to redeem your earning you must provide the bonus code printed within this mailer to your dearer at the time of purchase. Vehicle must be delivered form dealer stock from 5/28/09 through 6/30/09. This offer can not be combined with GM supplier discount etc etc..."


The chart shows $5,000 on any saturn, so that's the way I interpret it.

HOPEFULLY IAM NO MIS-READING THIS.. I will post more on Friday.

 

[mrsilv04]

Sounds like they want people to burn up their GM card earnings on the 'old' GM, so they won't be able to with the 'new' GM.

Doesn't matter to me, I'm done with GM anyway.

 

[MrCritical]

I like the looks of both cars, especially the Vibe GT, and the 3 door Saturn.

The T-belt job turns me off though. From looking at the GM guide, it's not one of the easier ones either.

I'd say it would come down to the test drive.

With Penske buying it, looks like Saturn is not going away after all.

 

[ET16]

I think I'd go with the Saturn. Opel Astras are solid cars. The Saturn is basically an Opel.

 

[Ross]

Just took the test drive.

You get alot of car with the astra.

Some minor things that I didn't like.
1. No arm rest
2. No engine or coolant temp guage.
3. Wasn't as peppy as the Vibe

The Saturn dealer looked at my gm card letter and said yes I get the whole $5,000 additional off.

My daughter liked the vibe better. But I found that I don't qualify for the $2,000l loyality rebate cause I don't have a 1999 or new GM car. (My 88 fiero with 2,000 miles on it doesn't qualify) He suggest that I find a family member and put my name on the registration as an add on. Cost $5 to do in ND and would save me and additional $2,000

The saturn dealer let me take home the owners manual to read overnight. I will check out the maintence schedule.

I need to have the the wife test drive the saturn before we make a deal.

Thanks for all the comments.

 

[BrianWC]

The Fit doesn't have a coolant temp gauge, either, just hot and cold idiot lights. I'd have to say, depending on what type of driving you do, you may want to research that armrest. Not a deal breaker, but still...

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: Ross
Here is the fine print:

"Redemption allowances up to the specified amount listed in the eligible vehicle chart. In order to redeem your earning you must provide the bonus code printed within this mailer to your dearer at the time of purchase. Vehicle must be delivered form dealer stock from 5/28/09 through 6/30/09. This offer can not be combined with GM supplier discount etc etc..."


The chart shows $5,000 on any saturn, so that's the way I interpret it.

HOPEFULLY IAM NO MIS-READING THIS.. I will post more on Friday.


I bet that's why I didn't get offered $5, but instead offered $3k. I have a 06 Vibe, so I'm eligible for a $2k loyalty rebate. $3k GM card earnings letter + $2k owner's loyalty= $5k total off. hmm..I just spent $250 in tires for my 96 sunfire.

 

[JustinH]

Seems like a no brainer to me to get the Vibe.

The astra is a car that I can see having very little aftermarket, and tough to find, or expensive parts for it down the road. Reminds me of what they did with the Saturn L series with the weird v6 motor, only this might be worse when saturn goes belly up.

I find that extra maintenance absolutely absurd on an economy car. Most econo cars are offering 100k miles with very little service at all.

The vibe seems to be a much better deal. A friend of mine has a 04 vibe with 140k miles, and it has required nothing but basic service.

 

[Vizzy]

Go for the Astra, it is basically a better engineered Chevy Cobalt so there will be parts around for this car for a long time because of the fact that it is a huge seller in Europe and as the Cobalt in the USA.

Parts could be an issue as the Vibe and sister car Toyota Matrix sell in fairly low volumes.

The Astra is better than the Vibe in so many ways...

ride
handling
comfort
utility

plus much more....

 

[MrCritical]

The Vibe and the Matrix use mostly the same mechanical parts as the Corolla, so only body parts and trim would be different.

 

[Cutehumor]

I was playing around with the numbers online today. I can get a Pontiac G6 for $7000 off. ($1250 customer cash + $2750 GM loyalty owner bonus, $3000 GM card earnings (with $1500 of that topped off by GM) I guess the bailout money went to good use. Too bad there isn't a GM dealer around here that isn't closing in Tennessee that I could find. Isn't there a sales tax credit if you buy an American car too? hmmm

 

[dishdude]

What about the Aura? They really are nice cars, and at least now you know the Saturn nameplate is sticking around.

 

[firemachine69]

Base Astra is still being advertised up here for almost 16K (and that's the new ADJUSTED price!)

 

[artificialist]

I would certainly buy the Vibe. It has extremely few GM parts in it, and if you need new stuff, you could say you have a Toyota Matrix and do fine.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
Parts could be an issue as the Vibe and sister car Toyota Matrix sell in fairly low volumes.



That simply isn't true as the others have mentioned.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The Astra is more unique in this market. Only 9000 or so sold last year.

I have a deposit on one, $5000 off msrp plus a klunker comes to $11k for a $20-ish car.

Hardly an "economy car", as was said.

 

[Audi Junkie]

 

[MrCritical]

You can add another grand to the price of the Astra for the t-belt job when it comes due.

 

[wapacz]

Originally Posted By: Ross
Got a letter from my GM card and they upped the limits that you can use on Saturns and Pontiacs. I can now take and additional
$5,000 of the dealers best deal by using my GM card points.

So I am looking at a new 09 Ponitac Vibe base with automatic, after
all the rebates and GM points, my cost is $11,500

Also looking at an 08 new holdover Saturn Astra base model, either 2 or 4 doors with automatic and sunroof for $10,500. That is my price after the rebates and GM card points.

So what do you guys think. I think the Vibe will hold it's value, but the astra was nice with the sunroof.



Good luck finding an 09 vibe. I tried to find one last month when they where running them for 12k just based on incentives. While looking for one I was informed by the dealership that they stopped making the 09s in like January of this year.