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Saturn VUE

3783 messages,  Last post on Sep 12, 2012 at 5:29 PM

You are in the Saturn VUE Forum.

What is this discussion about? Saturn VUE, SUV

Messages Page 188 of 379

#1865 of 3783 by dindak

Sep 15, 2002 (6:35 pm)

jmatero : Sure sounds like you are flaming Saturn to me pal, and I hardly think your observation of vehicles in a parking lot is proof the VUE is not selling. Clearly the actual sales numbers tell the real story and you are wrong.
 
graphicguy : The 5-speed auto in the VUE is not a GM transmission. It's a outsourced one made in Japan. I think Saturn should have used 4-speed one in the L-series, but I guess some one wanted a 5-speed on the VUE.
 
anonymousposts : Lots of 5-speeds around here, almost all the 2002 4-cyl models made are 5-speeds. You can always order one if your local lot has none.

#1866 of 3783 "Me Thinks I smell a Hyundai Salesmen in the Vue Forum" by simonov

Sep 15, 2002 (7:03 pm)

Hey JMatero, I must say that you had me going until I figured out that you must be A Hyundai salesman trying to stir up business. "Rumors of the Vue's premature death have been greatly exaggerated". I agree with Dindak, it's not very scientific to count cars on a lot to forecast actual sales. I live in Colorado and their was an article in The Fort Collins paper stating that Saturn has surpassed Honda sales in Fort Collins, sounds healthy to me. I test drove the "Voluptous" Santa Fe before deciding on a VUE. Yes, they offer a lot of features at a good price but how reliable are all of the features and the car in general???? I think their is a reason for the extended warranty and don't forget to read the fine print. I'm sorry, Hyundai is struggling to build a brand that equates to some kind of quality and reliability, we will see. Read the posts in the forums from the people that own Vue's and Santa Fe's. Vue owners are not complaining about major problems, I like the "purr" of the engine. Also I think their is a reason that GM is going to introduce a Chevy version of the VUE and it's not because the Vue's are not selling!!!! Oh and by the way I took your challenge, I stuck my finger in the power window switch as you suggested, feels fine to me, "the dash did not move and creak with it", HUH! You must have fingers of steel or maybe you are superman and you don't know your own strength????? My center console lid works fine also, you just have to know how to work it. You New Yorkers must just be impatient, (I was born in the Bronx many moons ago). Saturn has managed to build brand loyalty in a very short time with a whole new car buying experience, Hyundai is the one that is floundering. It may be Hyundai that we'll be saying "Kaddish" for and not the VUE. Let us know if you buy one, we'll send flowers to the funer....... oops, I almost said it!!!

#1867 of 3783 New VUE in the driveway by ldiagnostic

Sep 15, 2002 (8:36 pm)

We have a new VUE sitting on our street. My wife wanted one. It is a top of the line model with V6 and AWD plus leather and sunroof. Black. Very nice driving car...and I drive a Cadillac Seville.
 
Much better looking SUV then the Santa Fe..or Honda for that matter.
 
I am a bit biased...I work on the VUE at the Saturn plant in TN.
 
Logan

#1868 of 3783 ldiagnostic by dindak

Sep 16, 2002 (5:24 am)

Must be cool working at Saturn. Do you know if any changes are in store for 2004? I like the VUE a lot, but there a few improvements I wouldn't mind seeing.

#1869 of 3783 Can't beat the Service Dept. by joelis

Sep 16, 2002 (10:45 am)

In reading thru all these comparisons lately, I am surprised that Service has not been mentioned much.
 
Now I am definitely not a big Vue supporter (which is my wife's current vehicle) for various reasons mentioned by other people in earlier posts, but I have to say that I was very surprised and impressed with the Service Dept at Saturn, even going in with the expectations that they were "above average".
 
I happened to be available to take the Vue in for its first regular service work (oil change, minor fixes, etc.) and honestly wanted to see if the service hype was real or not.
 
Wow. Absolutely awesome class act service. (polite, timely, informative, thorough, compitent, clean, etc). I can't believe that these guys have ANYTHING to do with GM. How could they be so different from the BS service of Chevy, Pontiac, etc dealerships?
 
I actually offered my wife to take it in any time it needs service, it was that good. Now, I know for a fact that Escape owners can't say that about Ford service (I've owned enough new model Fords in my day), and neither can Hyundai, since they are usually partnered with a local domestic (like GMC/Pontiac/Hyundai or Buick/Chevy/Hyundai/Isuzu) etc. Having had a Hyundai in our family in the past (never again by the way) you'd be lucky if they knew enough about the car to fix it at all.

#1870 of 3783 Look by jmatero

Sep 16, 2002 (12:09 pm)

Look, I'm NOT a Hyundai Sales person.. geez. And I'm NOT flaming the Saturn. Look, if you come from, say, a chevrolet or another Saturn chances are you'll find the inderior of the VUE acceptable as it is no worse than any other Saturn. It's just that you would think an ALL NEW vehicle would have a dash with a quality feel, that's all I'm saying. Now, I'm coming from a Passat which has a Dash that seems to be cut from stone and bottons/switchgear second to none and I was happy to read that GM has hired the former head of Audi/VW's interior design group to head up GM's interior design. We should all see the fruits of that in 4 or 5 model years time.
 
I've driven both the VUE and SantaFe and I can tell you that I like the exterior of the VUE better. That is why I checked out the VUE begin with. But lets be serious. The new vehicles coming out of Korea... mainly the Hyundai Elantra, 2003 Tiburon and SantaFe... have all been on many top 10 and highly recommend lists including Consumer reports and others. Their quality is moving up and the quality of the materials used inside and out is incredible considering the price. All one needs to do is adjust the temp control on a SantaFe vs. a VUE to see what I mean. The Hyundai moves smoothly and feels of high quality... the VUE turns and clicks and turns past the detent as though it will break off. As for which vehicle is 'Better'. I don't know. It will take time to tell... time for data to appear. I'm critical of the VUE for the same reason that editors of every newspaper, online site and magazine have... the cheap interior. Mechanics? No issue to me... I really like the 2.2L as it is VERY smooth and VERY quiet. The 5-speed is kinda clunky with long throws and the clutch is heavy but the motor is great. I'm leary about getting a CVT tranny on a new model to be honest (mainly with a 3/36 warranty) but that's just me. The body is gorgeous as far as I'm concerned. I think it is the most distinctive of all small SUV's on the road. However, I'd like to see sales figures on VUE compared to the competition. Perhaps somebody here can access VUE sales vs. the competition via WARDSAUTO.COM.
 
Again, in THIS part of the country... SantaFe's are just like Honda Minivans and SUV's.... they are not on the lots, they are not discounted and they are in High demand. VUES are sitting on dealer lots around here. I mean, they are lined up on the road at the dealer near my job, they are in the newspaper discounted (and Saturn has a no-haggle price) and if you're looking for one.... call Saturn of West Nyack, Saturn of White Plains, Saturn of Stamford, Saturn of Poughkeepsie, Saturn of Larchmont and Saturn of Ramsey... they've got it. Or better yet, go online at Saturn.com and do an inventory search of VUE's in the NY/NJ/CT area. They're out there.
 
As for the interior quality, again, I ask anyone to go and sit in one.... touch, press, feel, tap the dash, buttons, console, e-brake, etc. It's a notch below it's competitors.... so it has to offer something they don't. It appears GM was hoping that would be the combination of CVT, 5-speed auto with the V6 and the dealer service. However, the 5-speed auto I drove was NOT on par with the smooth shifting 4-speed in the L-cars with V6. The CVT is a technical wonder but is untested on the market in the U.S.....and worse yet, you can't GET the 4-cyl VUE with a regular Auto Tranny like the great one in the L-series mated to same 2.2L.. At this point it appears the one and only thing the VUE DOES have over its competition is a great service department/network. If it DOES break, you'll get Saturn's excellent customer service. Look, to each his own. To happy VUE and SantaFe owners, enjoy your new vehicles!
 
But, I have to take issue with the person who suggested SantaFe boards are full of owners with problems and VUE's are not. I'm currently deciding between a VUE and L-series Wagon and I'm suggesting folks looking at the VUE go to the forums at 'SATURNFANS.COM' There are posts and posts and posts about the infamous VUE Steering pop, front suspension clunk, onboard computer failure, CVT shift issues, interior trim problems, interior leaks, etc. Like any car it seems to have first and second year issues that will hopefully be worked out in the third year (?). I've also spoken to two Saturn service managers in my area (Westchester/Rockland NY) who both claim the L-series is bullet-proof at this point and admitted the VUE has quite its share of growing pains like the L did when it came out. But to suggest the VUE is less trouble prone then it's competitors... the SantaFe in particular... isn't fair.
 
And again, I'm about to become a Saturn Owner so I'm not trying to flame it... just trying to be a person who doesn't want to regret his purchase and is doing a LOT of research.

#1871 of 3783 jmatero by vuefor2

Sep 16, 2002 (12:59 pm)

The big problems I see with Santa Fe are the looks (butt ugly in my opinion), the poor service and the questionable long term reliability. I remember a good friend of mine bought a Hyundia and while it was great for the first 3 years, things literally came apart after that. The thing became a nightmare and she sold it and bought a Neon which she still drives and likes. While I know things have improved, I still would never buy one until I see a 6 year old Hyundia that doesn't look 10 years old.
 
Getting back to the VUE, we have a V6 and I don't find the auto jerky and I don't find the truck noisy. As for sales, I read somewhere that VUE is outselling Santa Fe so I don't think your observations that it is not are accurate. In fact, our dealer has only 3 2003's in stock.

#1872 of 3783 Well,.... by jmatero

Sep 16, 2002 (1:55 pm)

Well, I guess the VUE is selling better in some parts of the country than others... If you're looking for a deal on one and are willing to drive to NY/NJ/CT Area, give it a shot.

#1873 of 3783 well, there's another one I never expected to hear! by nippononly

Sep 16, 2002 (2:34 pm)

Neon being called better than anything!
Talk about a cheap car.
 
I am no great Saturn fan either, was very disappointed with the one I owned, but I also have to chime in here and say Saturn dealer service is stellar - can't be beat.
 
And I thought this CVT was tried and true in other models in other countries? I wish they would offer it on the V-6...

#1874 of 3783 It's Official - Saturn sales rose by 22% in August by np1908

Sep 16, 2002 (4:56 pm)

There has been some discussion here reported about declining (or even demise?) Sales figures of Saturns. To the contrary, Sales for Saturns have risen by about 22%. GM, by itself had a 18% increase, fueled mostly by 27% increase in trucks. Car sales have increased by only 8% (3% retail). More details can be found in Saturnfans board.
Even by this standard, Saturn sales have been particularly good 'cause Saturn competes in segments which are dominated by imports. And Sales have been impressive for both L and Vue. Of course, the 0% offer definitely propped-up most of the sales growth.
I am of the opinion, that -- more the no. of people experience Saturn, more will be the spread of good-will about the cars, and the better the sales. (Pls be reminded that Saturn has 50% repeat customers)

Messages Page 188 of 379

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