Good Price for 2009 Aura?

[HV Fam Wagon]

Just saw some 2009 Aura for $11K to $12K w/ 36K+ miles on them (from Hertz Rental). Of course, these cars are beyond the 36K miles warranty. Are these still good deals if I buy extended warranty?

[Dr. Chris]

Picked up a used 2009 Silver Moss Aura XR from my local Saturn dealer back in March. Build date of May 2009. Paid out the door $15,200. Leather, heated seats, USB in the radio, 16,000 miles and remainder of the 3/36 warranty. I feel I received a good deal. Car was very clean inside and out, looking brand new.

CT

[Threxx]

A used Aura would be a great buy due to the excessive depreciation on then. (Conversely I'd only buy a car like a Honda Accord new, they're overvalued used IMO)

I wouldn't personally consider buying a rental car though... those cars get thrashed on constantly, even intentionally abused.

I also would want to buy one under warranty, even if not for much longer... simply because I might notice something broken only after I bought the car.

[HV Fam Wagon]

Originally Posted by Threxx

...
I also would want to buy one under warranty, even if not for much longer... simply because I might notice something broken only after I bought the car.

That’s exactly what I think. Thanks for the insight and comments.
I figure, if I can buy factory warranty, extended warranty (or both), on this rental Aura, at least it will be covered for major mishaps. Would that be the powertrain coverage? I still need to look for a warranty at a good price with good coverage. Then my risk is whether:
(1) the rental Aura ran 5 round trips of 10K miles each with harsh driving; or
(2) the rental Arua was used commuting to/from work, 5 days a week since September 2008; 43K miles average to 52.4 miles to work each way. Nowadays, this commuting mileage is believable; I used to drive 42 miles to work.
If the rental Aura had many problems, then it wouldn’t have been driven so many miles because it would have been in a repair shop; not accumulating miles.
I hope I’m not overlooking anything important.

Dr. Chris. You got a good deal.

[golftango]

1 - Don't by an ex rental...never

2 - Autotrader still has 61 listings for "new" Auras. You're better off buying new at almost the same price as used. 25 of those are in the NJ area.

You could probably drive off with a new Aura XE for less than $15K.

[NJastra]

Originally Posted by golftango

1 - Don't by an ex rental...never

2 - Autotrader still has 61 listings for "new" Auras. You're better off buying new at almost the same price as used. 25 of those are in the NJ area.

You could probably drive off with a new Aura XE for less than $15K.

I got excited when you wrote 15k for a 2009. My friend is looking for a new car. I did the search that you suggested and mostly saw XR's or Hybrids in the upper 20's.

[gpartrid]

Originally Posted by golftango

1 - Don't by an ex rental...never

2 - Autotrader still has 61 listings for "new" Auras. You're better off buying new at almost the same price as used. 25 of those are in the NJ area.

You could probably drive off with a new Aura XE for less than $15K.

I'll have to agree with golftango. I wouldn't consider buying used and would advise any friend to buy new as well. I've purchased 3 used cars when I was younger back in the 1980's ('72 Olds Cutlass, '84 Camaro, '81 Accord HB) and they all had problems - you make sacrifices due to finances. Most things can be fixed but at what price and how much time will it take to resolve the issue(s)?

One never knows where a car has been or how it's been treated and many people end up buying used because of the lower price - then they end up financing at a higher interest rate than they would had they bought new and difference might only be $50 / month in car payments between new and used.

Then again, there are several folks here who've had some nagging and disconcerting problems with NEW Aura's they purchased right off the showroom floor. If you look at both sides of the coin long enough, it can seem like a "crapshoot", but new appears to be a much lower risk.

If you plan on holding onto the car for a long time regardless of trade-in values down the road, I'd say buy a new AURA - parts and service will be available for a very, very long time and car is awesome.

[golftango]

Originally Posted by NJastra

I got excited when you wrote 15k for a 2009. My friend is looking for a new car. I did the search that you suggested and mostly saw XR's or Hybrids in the upper 20's.

Never go off the list price. In Nov I got $6K off a XE. I'm sure you can even do better now. Probably get an easy $8-9K off. So if the sticker was $24, that is $16K. These dealers don't want 09 inventory on their lot, especially Saturn inventory.

[Phaeton Driver]

Buy a Brand new one from the GM dealer for $15K
Check Autotrader, Bluebook, Cars.com to see what a similar model/options is worth. You just lost $4-6K if you drove it home.

Buy a rental/lease return with a warranty at $10-11K and put the $4-5K into something else, like a world cruise.

At this time and economy I see no reason to throw away that much money.

And remember companies like Hurtz send their cars to the dealer for every little problem and service the cars with oil and filter changes at prescribed intervals. John Q Owner might not, so buying a rental return is smarter than buying a used car that was traded in at the dealership.

[golftango]

Originally Posted by Phaeton Driver

And remember companies like Hurtz send their cars to the dealer for every little problem and service the cars with oil and filter changes at prescribed intervals. John Q Owner might not, so buying a rental return is smarter than buying a used car that was traded in at the dealership.

But with the prices so close, why not just go new. Where else can you get a brand new $23-24K car for $15-16?

Or if you are set on used, go for an off lease, not an ex-rental. I don't care if the warranty includes a GM tech that rides shotgun for 5 years. Those cars are put through hell...trust me, I worked at a major car rental chain for several years. And no, we didn't send them to the dealer. We had our own mechanic (if you could call him that) on hand and we sent it to Joe Blows oil & lube for oil changes.

I've seen them put a car back into rotation after a guy decided to put a gun in his mouth. Just a quick shampoo and new headliner. Top off used condoms, tubes of KY, etc. You get the picture. It's not just neutral drops and burnouts you have to worry about.

[Threxx]

Originally Posted by NJastra

I got excited when you wrote 15k for a 2009. My friend is looking for a new car. I did the search that you suggested and mostly saw XR's or Hybrids in the upper 20's.

When I read this reply I looked to your location expecting to see you located in Canada where car prices are higher by default.

I got my 09 XR-4 for 16k brand new (before TTL) and this was back when Saturn was still a GM brand and everyone thought the Penske thing was a done deal.

Upper 20s, even for a loaded XR V6, is highway robbery... that's at or near MSRP.

[MyOutlookonLife]

If you want to see for yourself why you do NOT want to buy a rental, go to youtube.com and search "rental car abuse". There are lots of videos showing what happens to them on a regular basis.

As far as pricing goes; I have always been amazed at how when some people buy a $100 watch they tell their friends it was $500 or a $200 suit was $600 but when they buy a $30,000 car they only paid $12,000 for it brand new

[HV Fam Wagon]

Thanks for the valuable advice. I didn’t realize that car maintenance is not a high priority to these rental car companies. I appreciate all the info and comment weighing the pro and con of new cars vs. used cars.

I searched the autotrader.com for new Aura, the price range goes from $25K to $29K. Some of them are not listed with a selling price. All are listing the MSRP, presuming this is their asking price during negotiation. I don’t know if there is any rebate or incentive on these cars. My butget is $11K. It seems difficult, if not impossible, to bargain to $12K to $13K.

BTW I also notice some new 2008 Aura available. Not one , not two, but six new 2008 Aura, all at the same dealership. It raises suspicions, perhaps there is something wrong with these cars. From reading the forum here and other customer rating sites, it seems the built quality of 2009 Aura is better than the 2008 Aura. I bought my LW2 in its first model year, and it has many problems.

[gpartrid]

Originally Posted by HV Fam Wagon

Thanks for the valuable advice. I didn’t realize that car maintenance is not a high priority to these rental car companies. I appreciate all the info and comment weighing the pro and con of new cars vs. used cars.

I searched the autotrader.com for new Aura, the price range goes from $25K to $29K. Some of them are not listed with a selling price. All are listing the MSRP, presuming this is their asking price during negotiation. I don’t know if there is any rebate or incentive on these cars. My butget is $11K. It seems difficult, if not impossible, to bargain to $12K to $13K.

BTW I also notice some new 2008 Aura available. Not one , not two, but six new 2008 Aura, all at the same dealership. It raises suspicions, perhaps there is something wrong with these cars. From reading the forum here and other customer rating sites, it seems the built quality of 2009 Aura is better than the 2008 Aura. I bought my LW2 in its first model year, and it has many problems.

You ask a valid question re; new '08 AURAs still available. I'm venturing to guess these are unsold dealer inventory. I'd go into the dealership and ask about these. Test drive a couple, check the mileage, do a walk-around the car, check the trunk, etc. and then try to negotiate a deal.

Someone here mentioned a dealership near Minnesota and they had new '09 AURA XE's - brand new unsold, untitled, not demos. I called the dealership and verified what I had heard and read on their Saturn dealership website. It definitely is worth investigating if you have a lead that sounds / looks good.

Do you have to pay cash for an entire car or can you afford car payments? I know payments stink but, lastly it all depends on what you're comfortable with.

BTW, I don't think there are any "quality" issues between the model years. With '09's you lose chrome door handles and body side molding on the XR but you get USB and bluetooth for your radio / phone.

[golftango]

Originally Posted by gpartrid

BTW, I don't think there are any "quality" issues between the model years. With '09's you lose chrome door handles and body side molding on the XR but you get USB and bluetooth for your radio / phone.

Only late year 09 build dates get the USB, good luck finding one as I've only seen one.

FWIW, 07 was the first year, so bugs should have been worked out by 08. You should be able to score a new 08 for cheap, if they exist. The issue I have with that is that any 08s have been sitting for almost three years unused. I would have the dealer put fresh oil and check all the fluids. Look at the tires too as they may have flat spots.

[Gertlex]

There was some bug with the 08 Aura, I don't recall what. But ya, the 09 was a finished product in the general sense.

[HV Fam Wagon]

I did a search for "rental car abuse"
WOW. I'm shocked, and angry. This is simply outrageous.

[gpartrid]

Originally Posted by HV Fam Wagon

I did a search for "rental car abuse"
WOW. I'm shocked, and angry. This is simply outrageous.

Keep shopping! Don't stop now!

[midniteblue]

hello,just bought an 07 gm is giving all used saturns the remainder of the 5 year/100000 mile warranty- vin number is automatically put in there system after sale...should apply to 08/09

[onefunkar]

all gm 07 thru 09 have balance of 5/100k powertrain which actually covers alot. 2010s and 2011s covers quite a bit less stuff. im amazed that there can be any new saturns left. how is this possible? whats wrong with them that they didnt sell a years ago with the rest? who will sell them if they are left after october when all dealers will be gone?