The following is my extremely disappointing experience attempting to purchase a Saturn Aura from Saturn of Sarasota, part of the Sunset Automotive Group in Sarasota, FL.
So we are in the process of buying a new car. Our last car, a Nissan Altima, was totaled in March of this year. We purchased that car on an Internet deal from Venice Nissan. I bought it from a guy named Doree and we worked everything out via email. He gave me a quote on the second email and he was only a few dollars from the final price. I never met nor talked to the guy until I picked up the car. All in all a great experience.
I really wanted to buy an American car this time as I think there are a lot stylish and exciting cars from domestic manufacturers right now. Cathy and I spent a couple of weeks looking around and after driving a bunch of cars we sort of narrowed it to the following:
- Saturn Aura
- Cadillac CTS
- Chrysler 300
- Lexus 300 ES
I really liked the looks and the price of the Saturn Aura. Our first car together was a 1993 Saturn SL1 and it was probably one of the best decisions that we ever made. The car drove great for 5 years. The Aura is a brand new model that just out this month and apparently it has the same engine and similar features as the Cadillac CTS. It drives really well and is rather sporty and stylish.
I spoke with Bradford Harris on the phone. He had been with the dealership for about a week and I made an appointment to stop down and drive the Aura. He was a likeable guy trying to sell cars. I took a test drive by myself and then stopped back a couple of days later and took a drive with Cathy. I spoke with Brad Harris on the phone a couple of times and he tried to narrow me down to an interior/exterior color package. We settled on a couple of colors and he went in search for a matching car. In the meantime, I took Tyler down and we took a test drive. Brad Harris really worked hard to get my business.
Today Brad Harris called me and told me that he found a fully loaded Saturn XE for around $24K. Sounded like a great deal! However, I was very upset when he broke down the projected lease payment for it from his manager, Todd Estep. A 2007 Saturn Aura XE with $2000 down and 12,000 miles a year came out to the following:
- 36 month lease for $422/month
- 48 month lease for $384/month
I was stunned! I couldn't see how Brad Harris, Todd Estep and Saturn of Sarasota were so high. I had shopped the Saturn site and found a couple of leases posted at on this page. They essentially outlined the following available leases:
2007 AURA XE Sedan - Lease
$285.00 per month 39 month lease.
$1,995 due at lease signing for qualified leasees. Lease payments based on specially equipped 2007 AURA XE Sedan with MSRP of $20,545.00, a capitalized cost of $19,430.00 and a residual value of $10,683.00. 39 monthly payments total $11,115.00.
2007 AURA XR Sedan - Lease
$348.00 per month 39 month lease
$1,995 due at lease signing for qualified leasees. Lease payments based on specially equipped 2007 AURA XR Sedan with MSRP of $24,545.00, a capitalized cost of $23,493.00 and a residual value of $12,763.00. 39 monthly payments total $13,572.00.
Brad Harris and Todd Estep were quoting me $422 per month for a $24,000 Aura XE when the Saturn website listed a lease for $348 per month for a $24,500 XR (the next model up!)! I would be paying $74 per month more for the lower model Aura than what Saturn listed on their website!!
I was still amazed. I couldn't understand why the lease payments were so high? Is Saturn of Sarasota's strategy to offer a low price and then make money on the backside through the financing? Could the this be a case of a car salesman fooling with the numbers? I was shocked ! I had worked out a lease deal with Coast Cadillac for a fully loaded Cadillac CTS for under $400 per month. I couldn't rationalize why I should pay more for a Saturn than a Cadillac?
We had a good experience with our Altima so I decided to give Venice Nissan a call again. I hopped on the Internet and made a request for a fully loaded Altima SL. Within about 15 minutes I received an email requesting more info. About one hour after I sent the second email I received a phone call from Matt at Venice Nissan. He looked up my last car purchase with them and found a similar car: leather interior, sunroof, 6CD Bose, seat warmers, etc. They had a few models with the features that I wanted in stock and quoted me $281.94 per month for a $26K Altima SL with 12,000 miles per year on a 3 year lease with $2K down. That's a $140 per month less than the $24K Saturn Aura from Saturn of Sarasota. How were Brad Harris and Todd Estep selling cars? Were only idiots buying cars from Saturn of Sarasota? Don't people shop and conduct brand comparisons?
I called Bard Harris from Sarasota Saturn back and told him of my conversation with Venice Nissan. I would really rather prefer to buy the Saturn Aura than the Nissan Altima. (Please I'm begging you.... just give me a descent deal and I'll buy!) I really wanted to buy an American car. However, Brad Harris and his manager, Todd Estep, made that impossible. Brad Harris from Saturn of Sarasota, part of the Sunset Automotive Group in Sarasota, FL, called me back and relayed the conversation he had just had with his manager Todd Estep. Brad Harris said verbatim, "If you are shopping on prices then we can't help you." I was stunned! Shopping on price?! I'm finishing up my Master's degree in business right now and I'm no idiot. We routinely pick apart companies' marketing plans and financial strategies. Saturn may be trying to position themselves as an upscale brand but they are still a value-priced line of vehicles. Ask virtually anyone how they perceive Saturn and they will probably tell you that they are on the low end of the quality and brand recognition. Why have sales been slumping? They are having a hard time differienting themselves from the Korean brands.
Anyway, I picking up my new Altima this weekend. I wish one of the American dealers could have sold me a car.
