Have Saturn's Incentives Changed Your Perception of the "One Price" Philosophy?

[Charlie]

Have Saturn's incentives changed your perception of the "one price" philosophy?

Post your comments.

Thanks!
Charlie

[THX712517]

When they started out, I liked the one price philosophy. Like they said, I could get as good a deal as some guy in California and another guy in Illiinois. I didn't have to worry about how good my haggling was. Now they're running these incentives on cars, depreciating values, and it kind of ticks me off. If they can afford to drop three hundred dollars from the car's MSRP, rather than using it as an incentive, just drop the price on all of them. Ah well.

[John10]

Absolutely. Although most retailers technically retain the one-price system, the "one-price" changes over time. Also I have found there are also local incentives which vary among retailer groups. Saturn hasn't yet lowered itself to haggling but it certainly pays to watch-after incentive price fluctuations over time and compare the net bottom line at retailers owned by different ownership groups.

[tomv]

i believe saturn, like any other company, has to do what they must to survive and remain competitive. the incentives are a necessity in a competitive market. for some reason consumers do not recognize lower prices without incentives. as a member of an automobile retail facility i have seen customers spend more on a vehicle elsewhere because they were offered incentives that were not available on the lower priced vehicle. the bottom line was not cost. it was perceived savings.
until you have experienced it from the retailer perspective it is difficult to understand. the one price philosophy has lost its charm and people are out there looking for the big deal everywhere.
regardless of what former saturn customers think, when a customer walks into an automobile retail facility today they arent looking for the best price. they are looking for the best perceived "deal". in order to be competitive saturn has had to play to that crowd because that is what is selling vehicles today. standing on principle, as noble as it sounds, does not put vehicles on the road.

[kevinthenerd]

Originally posted by tomv
i believe saturn, like any other company, has to do what they must to survive and remain competitive. the incentives are a necessity in a competitive market. for some reason consumers do not recognize lower prices without incentives. as a member of an automobile retail facility i have seen customers spend more on a vehicle elsewhere because they were offered incentives that were not available on the lower priced vehicle. the bottom line was not cost. it was perceived savings.
until you have experienced it from the retailer perspective it is difficult to understand. the one price philosophy has lost its charm and people are out there looking for the big deal everywhere.
regardless of what former saturn customers think, when a customer walks into an automobile retail facility today they arent looking for the best price. they are looking for the best perceived "deal". in order to be competitive saturn has had to play to that crowd because that is what is selling vehicles today. standing on principle, as noble as it sounds, does not put vehicles on the road.

I hate it when such unfortunate rubbish happens to be TRUE.

I had mad savings on my ION: GM supplier and GM Loyalty

[NiteFlite]

Hmm... if I buy another Saturn, it's gonna be pretty hard for me to do without incentives if not 0% financing. I'm spoiled now.

[eRic 02sc2]

yes. i find it disturbing that saturn has to play the incentives game. what happened? they used to have products that folks would buy at msrp. the bottom line is the product. the products need to be "better" so they can charge accordingly. not just saturn but the us auto industry in general.

[PAGuy77]

Yeah I am kinda bummed out now that the 2004's have all these incentives to them. If they were available in 2003, I could have gotten at least $1000 if not more off the price of my car.

[ChrisION]

They are going down the Chevy road... But one thing I think is really not fair is giving all the rebates (0% APR for 60 mos. & $1,000/$2,000 cash back) to the ION2 & 3 and not the ION1. Sure, it is already cheap, but now you can get a comprabably equipped ION2 with $1,000 rebate and 0% APR for almost the same payment as an ION1 with no rebate and 3.9% APR. :(

[BrenSaSC2]

In some ways yes...it's definitely changed their original policies, but I'm certainly not complaining. The only thing I dont' like about the one-price policy is the fact that it applies to used cars as well...

[GR898SL2]

The incentives are clearly designed to move a high inventory of IONs and avoid future shutdowns at Spring Hill. I don't think that Saturn has reached the stage where haggling would be necessary to get a good deal, but they're close. As THX712517 suggested, Saturn should offer a lower fixed MSRP across their vehicle lineup as opposed to incentives.


:flag:

[XtremeGrandAm]

Well I dont really know what to think. I see many different aspects. Incentives can be good and bad. I am currently debating a new car for the spring of 2004 and it will be either a saturn or a pontiac there is no question in my mind about that. I though knowing saturn and its past think its kinda sad for them to have to play the incentive game. However, I really couldnt say if I had to pay full price that I would be interested right now.There is just nothing really special about either vehicle that would make me want to pay more than I would with something else. Its not that I dont like saturn I love saturn and will support them always. But...for example The VUE I was looking at purchasing would be 27,420. (I'm also considering a red line quad coupe but of course no price yet) On the Pontiac Side we have the Grand Prix GTP Comp G that I can get fully loaded msrp of a little over 30K and I talked them down to 27,500 and that was when they had no incentives on them. Of course they both have their own advantages and disadvantages but...to me it just seems like right now with the market the way it is there is no way around offering incentives. Its not a good situation though because it drops the used retail value......I think it all goes back to what Eric has said its about the product. There is no way I will or would pay 27,000 for a VUE. Nor would I pay 30,000 for a Grand Prix. Neither car to me is worth the value the manufacturer has put on it.

[ChrisION]

This is how the model prices should go with no rebates but 0% APR available all the time to qualifying buyers:

all prices include destination
ION1: $10,895 manual with A/C, $11,795 auto with A/C

ION2: $12,995 manual w/o power package, $13,795 manual with power package

ION2: $13,895 auto w/o power package, $14,595 auto with power package

ION3: $15,295 manual, $16,095 auto

ION2 wagon: $14,295 auto w/o power package, $14,995 auto with power package

ION3 wagon: $16,595 auto

:D

[Citation84]

Back before the ION came out, does anyone remember the silver ial Edition on the final S Series that was priced at 11,995??
I went looking for one at a well known So.CA. volume Saturn dealer.
I found THREE, and each one had a sign on it that said "Not For Sale, Dealer TV Promotion Vehicle Only."
All the others were around 13,500 and just under 15,000.
To me that was blatant bait ans switch and something I thought was not acceptable Saturn dealer behavior. And there must have been 100 cars on the lot.
THAT pissed me off. After all the TV spots they'd done to promote the Silver Blue Saturn Special [a national promo of specially equipped silver blue Saturns, I believe], the cars they had for that special were specifically marked NOT FOR SALE.
Something real shady about that. I haven't trusted them since. And they're dualled with Ford, so I don't think Saturn is their 100% priority and they couldn't resist falling back on their old dealer habits.
I like to know what I am paying for a car, new or used. The Chevy/Pontiac dealer near me uses the same thing; "Best Price With All Incentives", but they will not give you squat for your trade.
Any car dealer that is not that up front with the price [and especially used car dealers who do not post the prices on their cars] won't even get me on the lot, so the Saturn policies have had an impact on the way dealers conduct business. So many of them now post their "best price" and no haggling.
Take the incentives and run! Don't begrudge Saturn trying to move their cars and still keep a little profit to them. They have a 140 day supply of IONs they have to move.
Go ahead, give the incentives, bottom line it and that's the price you pay. Not too much different that the way it's been done before and circumstances warrant it. I don't think it compromises the saturn Philosophy at all.

[MydnightMyst]

Honestly, it has changed my view, as obviously, it's NOT one price any longer. However, Saturn felt the need to compete and even though it would be good to bring the price down on all of the cars, it's just not an option today. With all of the competition going on, Saturn has to give somewhere.
Saturn, truly, never was a no haggle pricing company. Sure, they didn't honour price incentives, BUT they did honour GM employee disounts, and to me, that's an incentive. I am a GM employee.
I think it can be a good thing, in one aspect. Saturn is being competitve with the pricing, but with the polymer panels, Saturn is slowly losing it's special identity that made it what it is in our eyes.
Yet again, in today's world, it's all about change and those who don't fall behind... Saturn held on as long as they could and it hurt them for it.
I hate to see all of this go, but I am beginning to sway on the side that a Saturn is a Saturn as long as it is still badged as one. One thing I think they should never let go of, is that good customer service (in most cases), AND the singing and picture taking of each new car owner.. :D

[ChrisION]

Originally posted by ChrisION
They are going down the Chevy road... But one thing I think is really not fair is giving all the rebates (0% APR for 60 mos. & $1,000/$2,000 cash back) to the ION2 & 3 and not the ION1. Sure, it is already cheap, but now you can get a comprabably equipped ION2 with $1,000 rebate and 0% APR for almost the same payment as an ION1 with no rebate and 3.9% APR. :(

Elaborating on this... I just found out that an ION1 at $13,705 with auto, A/C, CD Player, Floor Mats and ABS is $240.59 a month ($1500 down and 3.9% APR for 60 mos.) and an ION2 at $15,880 with auto, ABS and Floor Mats is $223.53 a month ($3500 down including $2k rebate and $1500 at 0% APR for 60 mos.) All prices include tax & tags for MD.

See how the ION2 is cheaper than the ION1? :p

[AjaxSL2Guy]

It makes me sick how (at least in Canada) Saturn has totally gone away from the one price policy. In the greater Toronto area, we have retailers (dealers actually!!) that are dickering on everything, giving away cruises, snowblowers, DVD players etc... just to get a sale. I remember when I started selling Saturns in 1999, EVERY retailer was the same price , PLUS the interest rate was 5.9%, but it did not matter, Saturns sold better then (and all we had was the S-Series) without all these gimicks and incentives.

[bodie]

The incentives not only changed the way Saturns are bought but the way they are sold. Dealers no longer stress the saturn difference but they have to sell price and incentives making them no different then traditioan dealers. With the demise of polymer and Saturn vehicles coming off the same lines as other GM cars the difference is further eroded

[BradJK]

I don't mind the incentive system. If you are attentive to your newspapers advertising and know when these deals are running, it works out to your benefit.

The car pricing really doesn't fluctuate so there is no need to haggle, thus not changing the Saturn selling techniques. As long as you do your research you will know when to cash in on the incentives.

[HiWire]

Incentives are fine as long as they don't interfere with a good buying experience or make the final price go UP!

:)

[swoker183]

i think it has. now its like a game, not trying to get the best price by going to different dealership and haggling, but waiting month to month to see what the incentive is going to be.

[setfree]

Certainly think that is what is causing the increase in depreciation.

[setfree]

The day after I made the above post I went and traded.
Well, after what I just went thru in trading my SL '02 for a Ion I Sedan. I definitely say, "Yes." I can't believe they only gave me $3000 for my SL. Should have gotten at least $4200 for it. Of course, the DPA was $1500, but I don't call that DPA, I call that a scam. But I still got a decent deal. Much more happy with the Ion, even though this is the most I have ever paid for a car. And yes, I have had discussions with the management of the dealership. Hopefully, the finance aspect of buying a car will change a bit as they say it will. I use to always brag about how easy and unstressful it was to buy a Saturn. Hopefully what I went thru will never happen to anybody ever again at any Saturn dealership. I still think Saturns are one of the best if not the best vehicles on the road. Hopefully, Saturn can continue and/or return to being the best at the buying experience, which I know they can be.

[Whitey]

I think that saturn has not really introduced their incentives. These were GMAC incentives (at least according to my salesman). You could go to the Cadillac Dealer and get the same incentive (0%--60 months). I was even lucky enough to get the $750 off for being in graduate school. I was really pleased to get my new saturn ion 2 at the rate and price I got.

As a former 2 time corolla buyer, I was hesitant with a saturn, but fell in love with saturn and out of love with the 'BORE--olla'. I love my saturn (ok--really I Love My Wife and SHE loves her Saturn. . .and her husband.)

Here is a question. . .
Has anyone EVER had any luck getting any money off of the MSRP with a new saturn? Just wondering

Whitey

[David 93 SL2m]

Originally posted by Whitey

Here is a question. . .
Has anyone EVER had any luck getting any money off of the MSRP with a new saturn?I bought my 2003 L200 in March 2003 and paid $4,000 below MSRP thanks to the incentives offered at that time.

In addition my L200 was a "Special Edition" package which meant they built the car with all the options except the DVD player and 7 inch drop down screen (incompatible with the power sunroof). Had I ordered those options the package offered outside of the package on my own, then the price would have been $1,845 more. In other words, getting this package saved me another $1,845.

So in essence my fully loaded L200 was $5,845 below MSRP.

[SaturnSdn]

Incentives............. I have no problems with saving money.

[billc]

Originally posted by ChrisION
They are going down the Chevy road... But one thing I think is really not fair is giving all the rebates (0% APR for 60 mos. & $1,000/$2,000 cash back) to the ION2 & 3 and not the ION1. Sure, it is already cheap, but now you can get a comprabably equipped ION2 with $1,000 rebate and 0% APR for almost the same payment as an ION1 with no rebate and 3.9% APR. :(

Yup, now until Jan 4/04 it is $1,500/$2,500 on Ion 2 and 3.

I am going tomorrow to possibly buy my first GM product ever. Don't know if I will love it or hate it, but willing to give an Ion-2 a try, like you said with the incentive for about the same price as an Ion-1 after you add Air and CD.

[RedLineGuy]

I think it is very unfortunate that Saturn has chosen to start the incentive game. It takes away from the saturn experience, and makes it difficult for a buyer to be sure that they are getting the best price. Who knows... the might add $500 to the down payment assistance next month. The problem is that the automotive industry isn't the same as it was 10 years ago, and it certainly isn't the same as it was pre-9/11 (and being a Saturn Sales Consultant I've been watching this happen slowly for some time now) GM start 0% in mid September '01 and now America is addicted to it, so in order to stay in business GM has to either play the game, or lose the two months of car sales it would take to break america of their addiction. Saturn, or at least my store, and myself have continued the tradition of low pressure sales, and great customer service, which is really what it's all about. Have faith, Saturn will be there for it's customers, reguardless of what the current trends are in the auto industry.

[mark]

Great question. I too agree with Tommy, if Saturn had stayed 100% with the one price no incentives, I would be looking for a job right now. Even the old "hard core" Saturn owners are coming in looking for the best "deal". Wish it wasn't so but that is the way it is folks!

[billc]

I love the car I got(so far anyways) and the Incentives.

I actually got the $1500 off, AND 0.00% financing for full 60 months AND 90 days before first payment due AND payed almost no sales tax because of my trade.

Without the $1,500 off AND the 0% financing, there is a good chance I would be in a Hyundai Elantra or a Suzuki Forenza or I would have had to settle on a more stripped Ion-1.

[bravesfann23]

no

[wlhawk]

The incentives aren't an issue of price haggling. An incentive didn't influence my decision to buy any of the 8 saturn purchases
I've made. The 0 % interest and incentives did however allow me to get more expensive models than I might have otherwise.

[hickeb215]

I think that Saturns are priced fairly,compaired to all the other cars,the rebates are competitive also.
I feel that if Saturn could only get more people to drive these cars,and show the buyers,the terrific values,as compaired to Honda , Toyota Mazda 3 and even Chevrolet,that they would even have to increase production at Spring Hill.
No more Bush Cheney????

[mikebutkus]

Two weeks after I purchase the car I miss out on $2 - $3000 in discounts. Got a lousy 5.5% rate (paying it off with another loan) Sounds like the same old tune. In calling Saturn about my 'loss' they try to sooth me over with an extened power train warranty to 50K.

[motorheadkev]

what changed my philosophy and almost lost the deal is the added Dealer Installed Options DIO that i almost had to pay for. that also added a hefty profit to the dealers cost. it was only because i made a big stink and the options were not even installed on the car yet, that i was able to buy the car at sticker.
yes that left a very bad taste in my mouth. i would think twice when going back to this dealership.

[setfree]

i also had the problem with dealer incentives, but not as intense. Best thing I ever did was buy a 2003 model in Nov 2003. Since they wanted to get rid of that year's models, they knocked off the extras that had been added to the car.

[blue blood]

Let's face reality people, without the incentives Saturn would be selling way less automobiles (great car) lots of buyers shop price only, and in most marketplaces you have to give the consumer what they want. I have found that in most cases incentives do not change the buying experience at Saturn stores. And if really is better for all the Saturn buyers out there. If the manufactures want to throw all this money and finance around, why should we be the only consumers that do not benefit?

[setfree]

Just seems like it has changed Saturn to where there is haggling for the final price now. Liked it better where the price was the price.

[louis1971]

The incentives haven't really, but I've seen firsthand that they ARE willing to negotiate prices if they think you're going to walk away. In fact, I recently got one to offer 1500 off, in addition to factory incentives and another offer almost 2000 off in addition to incentives.

Now, what's the catch??? And, more importantly, what's the price???

As for lowering the price versus offering incentives, I'd hold the price, so the cars don't drop in value and if anything offer a better warranty.

[Brad LeBosse]

The $3,000 incentive is the reason I bought a 2004 ION Quad Coupe last week. Also, if you have a vehicle to trade in, then the Saturn dealer can also be "negotiable" with the price of the new vehicle.. In my case, Saturn gave me $3,200 for my trade (1996 Chevy Lumina with 70,ooo miles) where every other dealer (Chrysler, Nissan, Chevy, Honda, Toyota) would give me a max of $1,800. Obviously, Saturn took another $1,400 off of the price of the ION QC. Saturn can’t do that without a trade in vehicle as part of the “deal”. It definitely works to the consumer’s advantage to shop for a Saturn if they have a trade in vehicle. This is not common knowledge but everyone I know who traded a car at Saturn got a great offer on their trade in.

[setfree]

unfortunately I was only offered $1500 incentive and only $3000 for a 2002 Saturn. So sounds like you got a better deal Brad. congrats.