Know anything about the Saturn Vue?

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GB

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My wife and I are in the process of shopping for a new car. We went to look at a Nissan Murano, Nissan Exterra, and Toyota Highlander yesterday. I hate car shopping!!! I can't stand car dealers (for the most part. Sorry to generalize).

The Murano was great. I fell in love. It is a bit out of our price range though and lacking on cargo space which is what we need. We have not ruled it out yet, but the more I think about it the more I think it would be a mistake to get it.

We did not like the Exterra at all and the highlander did not look like it had any more space than the Murano.

When we came home I went to vehix.com and did some more research. I found the Saturn Vue. We could get a pretty well loaded Vue for less than a Murano without any of the bells and whistles. I also like the fact that at Saturn you don't have to haggle the price.

Does anyone have a Vue or know anything about them? What are your opinions? What are your experiences with Saturn? We are hopefully going out tonight to look again so any quick advice would be very appreciated. Thanks guys!
 
I don't know anything about the cars in question, but I do have a suggestion for you. Whenever I buy a car I check out the Consumer Reports ratings. Not saying you have to buy the highest rated one, but it does give you what they think are the plusses and minuses of each car. My Jeep was not one of the top rated SUVs when I bought, but what they dinged it for (less storage space) was not important to me.
 
PS: On the beautiful weather days the dealers are selling cars left and right. I try to buy on nasty days when there is less traffic and they are more motivated.
 
Thanks Otter. I tried to get a Consumer Reports review online, but you need to buy a membership. I have read a number of other reviews though and some have referenced the Consumer Reports saying it got a very high rating with a "best buy" tag as well.

We actually picked yesterday to go car shopping because it was raining. With Saturn that should not matter since they have their no hassle/no haggle policy.
 
GB, my last car was a Saturn and I loved it. It was before the Vue was out, so I can't say anything specifically about that car, but I really did think highly of the Saturn. The gas mileage was fantastic, I always felt incredibly safe in it, and I was really impressed with the service I always received, regardless of what Saturn dealership I took it to.

When I bought mine, Saturn apparently had a no-haggle program where you could go to any dealership in the area and the cars would be priced the same. I don't know if that's still the case.

I'd suggest giving it a test-drive and seeing what you think. I don't know if I"ll ever be able to get my hubby to agree to one. He didn't like my old one--said ti felt too small. But if I had my way, when we're in the market for a new car again, I"d get a Saturn.
 
GB:

I guess it was inevitable - first you have a baby then you buy an SUV. That's not so bad, it could have been a minivan.:mrgreen:

My kids are all grown and moved on so I was able to buy a mid-life crisis car.

I have the April 2005 Consumer Reports (annual auto issue) here in front of me. The Saturn Vue was rated Much worse than average for reliability, average for satisfaction and above average for depreciation.

There were a number of negatives:
  1. Steering
  2. AWD system
  3. Interior fit and finish
  4. front seat support
  5. stability during maneuvers
My SO, Suzanne was looking for an SUV last year and I did a lot of research. She settled on a Honda CR-V. It was a toss-up between that and a Toyota RAV4. These two were rated the best in her price range.

This year, CR rated the Subaru Forester as their top small SUV and the Honda Pilot as their top pick in the next category - Three-row SUV.

Good Luck!
 
In my experience with Saturns, they are the safest cars on the road. I don't know if this is still the case, but alot of the body of car used to be made of plastic, which I know, sound really unsafe, but if you get into an accident, Saturns crumple, which again, I know sounds unsafe, but it cushions the passengers against the impact, and with some of the outer panels being plastic, they're cheap to replace. About the VUE specifically, I've heard it's better than most SUVs, which are generally bad for steering and rollovers. I might suggest to you a sport-wagon, toyota matrix or the mazda 3 5-door. My dad has a mazda protege5, and while it's small looking, you'd REALLY be surprised how much you can fit in there. I moved 120 miles to college in that car, and I had a lot of stuff.
 
Thanks guys!

PAB your confidence in Saturn makes me feel much better about checking them out.

Andy, thanks for the Consumer Reports info! That is a lot of good info and definitely things to remember when looking. Reliability is a major concern. I do not want my wife and baby stranded on the highway!
 
Thanks college cook. The reason we are only looking at SUV's is simply for the height. My wife has been in a few accidents and said she would feel safer if she were higher up. If we don't find what we are looking for in an SUV though then I will make sure to check out the Matrix and Mazda options. Thanks :)
 
GB, almost every public library has the monthly Consumer Reports as well as the auto issue.
PS: If you haven't looked at the Jeeps yet, I recommend you do so . They have several models, ranging from under 20k to pushing 40k. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and absolutely love it.
 
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Thanks Otter. I actually drive a Jeep Wrangler right now and that is what we are replacing. I sort of wanted a change, but I will not rule Jeep out for sure. I have always liked the Grand Cherokees!
 
GB, Otter makes a good point. When I traded in my little Saturn, I got a Jeep Liberty. I love it. While it was painful adjusting to the much lower gas mileage compared to the Saturn, I've been really, really pleased with it. Since it's only 4 years old and trouble-free, I plan on running it into the ground with little Baby Baker before looking for something new! DH and I were just saying this weekend how surprised we are at how much we've used it for hauling stuff. It's a good all-around vehicle.
 
GB said:
Thanks Otter. I actually drive a Jeep Wrangler right now and that is what we are replacing. I sort of wanted a change, but I will not rule Jeep out for sure. I have always liked the Grand Cherokees!
GB, I couldn't consider the Wrangler when I bought because its towing capacity wasn't high enough to pull my boat. Now, when I have had my Grand Cherokee in for service I've looked frequently at the Liberty. If you don't need a large SUV, it looks like a pretty slick deal to me. The Grand Cherokee is a bit pricey, but I love mine and plan on keeping it a long time (matches the color of my boat dead-on:) ).
 
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