Mom's New Ride

This was the last full day of my visit to Detroit and Mom and I had planned to go to Great Lakes Crossing to do some shopping, grab something to eat and catch a movie. We did make it to the GLC for the eats and the movie. But we did our shopping several miles to the north at Saturn of Clarkston.

As I mentioned in a previous posting, Mom's current lease expires next month and she was hoping to make a decision on her next vehicle while I was home to help her do the shopping. She's been driving Buicks since 1989 and really enjoyed them. She's had several models over the years: A 1989 Riviera; a 1997 Regal; a 1999 Century; a 2002 Rendezvous; and a 2005 Rendezvous. They were all great cars which she didn't have an ounce of trouble out of. She wanted another Buick and we test drove the 2007 Lucerne on Friday. But when the salesman ran the numbers for Mom, she realized the Lucerne was a bit more than her budget will stand. Since we eliminated another Rendezvous because it no longer offers all-wheel-drive and is set to be discontinued after this model year, we considered a Chevrolet Impala. Mom has a friend and fellow GM retiree who drives an Impala and she likes it. But, we couldn't find one that totally met Mom's desires. Namely, leather seats with no rear deck spoiler.

I started looking for other options and suggested the Saturn Aura sedan or a VUE SUV. At first, Mom wasn't interested in a Saturn because the dealership isn't as conveniently located as the Buick or Chevy dealerships. But as we were headed to Great Lakes Crossing mall, which is north of Mom's house on I-75, she said, "the Saturn dealership is just off the freeway a bit north of here, let's go." So we did.

We arrived at Saturn of Clarkston around 4:00 PM and, after test driving an Aura and a VUE, we departed at 8:20 PM having left a deposit on the shiny silver sedan. Mom loved the way it looked, classy and European, and loved the way it drove. I was impressed with the ride and gave my hearty stamp of approval. Mom takes delivery on Thursday.

Also, everything you've heard about Saturn dealerships and their sales teams is absolutely true. This was, by far, the best car purchasing experience I've ever been associated with. From the moment we arrived on the lot, not an ounce of pressure. After looking at a couple of models in front of the store, we walked in and were politely greeted by a receptionist. She promptly summoned a salesman for us and he proceeded to help us make the right decision for Mom without ever pressuring her to drive, let alone buy, anything on the spot. From start to finish, this was a great buying experience. All car dealerships should be like Saturn dealerships.

Oh, Good Evening!