had to make an unpleasant decision.
 

A couple of weeks ago, I began having problems with my Saturn once again. This latest issue marked the seventh time this "new" vehicle was going to require warranty work in the 14 months that I owned it. The decision was made to get rid of the car while it had some warranty still left and before it had the opportunity to break after it expired.

Unfortunately, I also had alot of negative equity in that vehicle. Getting rid of the VUE also meant that other vehicles had to go so that I could afford it's replacement. This means my Daewoo Lanos, and the Euro 240D also ended up on the chopping block.

The three vehicles went in trade for a leftover 2003 Toyota Prius. The hybrid system has had plenty of time to prove itself reliable, and also means mucho fuel economy on my lengthy commute.

I'll still keep the old 59 and just concentrate on it's resurrection. I'll miss the Euro alot. :(

Like I said on Saturnfans, good luck with the Prius. and hey, look at it this way.. you can always find another 240D to restore, and without all of the cooling problems.
I wanted to take my VUE out and shoot it this morning... I went to leave for class, stuck the key in the ignition and got the seemingly familiar "womp womp wooooommmmp crank crank crank sputter pop and then ignition" After expressing open hatred of the beast, I took off for class. After it got somewhat warmed up, the engine mounts must have settled nicely because it was running smooth as silk, and easily pulled to 6,500 RPM as I went to pass a bus. Having the roof open and windows down has restored some of my luster for the beast... but I still want rid of it for a Benz.
~D.J.~

I do wish that the 04 model Prius would have passed the back seat space test. I would have had the luxury then to sell the 240D to somebody here, and put the Daewoo back on Ebay to get its full value. The cooling system would have been solved if I would have had the time to pursue that bypass valve. I did get the time to check in the shop manual and found that the whole thing was replaceable.

Oh well, if anybody here wants to try to snag that car before it gets wholesaled out and on the auction block, you can look up Texas Toyota in Grapevine, Texas. I really would rather somebody here manages to snag that car before it heads off into never never land.

Diesel power,

I can't understand why you didn't keep the 240D and drive that. I would have.

P E H

That seems like a lot to trade in on one of these. I have not priced one, but they must be more than I thought. I would think that the VUE alone would be worth about the same price- if it were a 03' model. I guess the hybrid models cost more than a typical car. Did you have to pay any cash as well? Some of these new car dealers like to rip people off. Its ludicrous.
I know that a new Avalon (Toyotas flagship sedan) can be bought for about $30000-$35000. What is the retail price of a new Prius?

The Prius was only $20k. The problem is that the Saturn's value dropped like a rock. I had $9,000 in negative equity that I had to answer to on that car, which meant that other stuff had to be sold off to help offset the difference. Had I not given up the 240D and the Daewoo, I would have been basically forced to keep the VUE, and risk a multi thousand dollar repair bill if something failed out of warranty, which was only a coulpe of months away from expiring with the miles I put on a vehicle. Every wierd noise and shake that came out of that car resulted in huge repair bills had they happened out of warranty. The totals on these bills would have made MB dealer service look cheap.

Boy, I can relate to that, owning a Chrysler that's long been out of warrenty. My 20 year old Benz is waaayyy cheaper to maintain.:eek:

I'm confused. What's a VUE? Also I too don't understand why you didn't keep the 240D, assuming you liked it. How much did you get for it?

I used to have a 2003 Civic Hybrid but I sold it because of disappointing quality (rattles, squeeks and occasionally crazy auto-shutoff system) and my love for the bullet-proof MB diesels.

a Vue is Saturn's SUV.

You traded in the Euro car?? You should have posted it for sale here first. What a shame.

Yes I did like the 240D and the Daewoo both. My problem is that I'm car poor, and don't have time to keep up with them all. The 240D did have a cooling problem that while I think I was close to resolving, I just didn't have the time, space, or capacity to keep 5 cars on the road, especially with two of them being restoration projects, and one being a potential bank breaker on it's quality issues. I still have two more 240D's in my back yard that need to be stripped and sold off in parts on Ebay. These funds are going to be earmarked towards the 190D's resurrection. Additionally, I'm trying to get totally out of debt as my long term job prospects here are not looking very promising right now.

The choice I made last Tuesday was not one made lightly, and while I have a fascinating new vehicle to show for this descision, it still was bittersweet for what I had to give up in the process.

Nope, the vehicle didn't qualify for any lemon laws. They were each different failures within the vehicles systems. Saturn was also very good at getting a rapid turnaround when something would fail, so the car never spent much time in the shop despite the problems.

It is a real shame on how the quality of the Hondas and Toyotas has declined just over the past couple of years. In the 80s and 90s- these cars could go well over 200K and still be rattle and squeak free. I had a 1991 Accord LX w/180K that was virtually rattle and squeak free. I also recently had a 1993 Camry LE V6 w/212K and it was 100% rattle free. I also have owned several other older Japanese cars, with very low/no rattles. I recently test drove a 90' Lexus LS400, with 226K and it was 100% rattle free. Now I hear of rattles on the new Lexus ES, as well as numerous rattles on the newest Camrys and Accords. I test drove a 1997 Camry LE w/141K and it was still rattle free, but have read where owners of the 02-03' Camrys have excessive dash and door rattles. A real shame that quality like this is now showing in cars that once rated tops in this area.

To each his own I guess. There is no way I would have gone over to the Japanese car though. A new or used TDI would fit the bill better IMHO. RT

I wanted to. My problem was that the car I bought was literally the last 03 to be found in a 5 state region. Had I attempted to sell the cars before buying this one, the risk would have been getting rid of the cars and not being able to purchase the required replacement. I would have then been back down to only one vehicle (which needs its 100k total vehicle inspection), and would not have had a suitable vehicle for transporting family when they visit, or for commuting.