I purchased my 2007 Ion Quad Coupe in August 2007 and for the first 6 months everything was fine. I took the vehicle in for its 6 month oil change and immediately freaked when I was passed an invoice for over 100 dollars. I was informed that because of the tires for life, a wheel alignment had been to be done with every oil change for the tires for life promotion to be vaild and that is why my oil change had been so expensive. I had not been informed of anything along those lines and when I saw my signed lease I was appaled to see that not only had Tires for Live been added to the car, but I was charged over 1000 dollars to have the "free" replacement tires. I asked if I could speak to the sales rep who sold me the car to discuss this new development and was denied, told that "he's busy helping the new customers".
I left the dealership and went home and kinda ignored the additional charges for tires for life and continued to drive my car. However, within a month of the oil change, I noticed a vibration in the car whenever the brakes were applied or if the car was ideling. I made an appointment and paid the diagnostic fee to be told that the car was fine and vibrations were normal. Not sure how normal it is to have your car shake violently whenever you slowed down, but I trusted what they said and continued to drive the car. Within the next few months, the vibrations increased and whenever I put my foot to the brake the wheel would shake so hard that my hands were always white from holding onto the wheel so hard. It wasn't until I slid through an amber light that I realized that something was seriously wrong. Whenever I tried to stop, the car would shake so violently and slide that I was terrified of a serious accident. I made another appointment and paid the 200 dollar diganostic test and was told "there is nothing wrong with your car, your brakes are perfect. Perhaps you might want to drive a little slower so you could stop at the traffic lights".
I was furious with the comment and filed a complaint with Saturn Canada as soon as I arrived home detailing what was happening. I received a responce stating "we are sorry for your experience but our mechanics and diagnostic tools are state of the art. We trust that there is nothing wrong with your car". Again, I trusted them and continued to drive the car. Then, one perfectly fine night, I was turning into a parking lot when the car wouldn't stop and I almost crashed into Swiss Chalet. It took hitting the curb before I could get the car to stop. I drove straight to the dearship and asked for a mechanic to accompany me on a drive so I could show them how bad the car was. I described the incident to the mechanic behind the counter and he was like "its your ABS brakes, don't worry". I explained that the car did not have ABS brakes and he said "yes it dones, you just don't know what you are taking about". I tried to remain calm and asked for another mechanic to take a drive with me so I could show them how bad it was. AFter about 20 mins, finally someone came out and agreed to check out the car. As soon as the mechanic sat in the car, he said that something wasn't right. The car shook like crazy just sitting in the parking space, as soon as he started to back out, he said "I"m not going any farther, something is seriously wrong". I entered the dealership and made an appointment to have the car fixed on Monday, since this was 5 pm on a Friday night.
The mechanic behind the counter (same guy who told me that it was the ABS brakes) came out and stood next to me to discuss the car. He said that he couldn't guarantee that the car would be looked at on Monday and asked what I planned to do. I was trying to decide if I should leave the car there and take a taxi home when he stood directly in front of me and said so, what are you going ot do about this". I told him that I was trying to decide what to do when he said "its not difficult, take the car home or leave it here. Make up your mind, I"m busy here. I asked if there was a loaner car available and he flew off on me, yelling in my face "its Friday evening, we're shut down until MOnday, everything is gone. What the hell are you going to do with your car? ". I informed him that I needed a vehicle and asked if there was anyway to have one avilable and he said "what do you want me to do, make a damn loaner car for you? ". I was so mad at that time that I grabbed my keys from his hand and left the dealership. As soon as I arrived home, I called Saturn Canada and explained what happened. They didn't really want to listen to what I said, but I informed them that I would not be hanging up until something was straightened out and finally after 2 hours on the phone, I did receive a loaner vehicle until my car was ready.
The car was in the garage for 2 days and when it came out, I was informed that the car was off balance (so much for the balancing that I paid for a few weeks before), the tire was defective, the brakes and routers were bent and that there was a loose bolt in the wheel joint. They fixed everything free of charge, thank god, and I went on my way again.
Here we are a month later and now the car is vibrating again and rattling. You can actually feel the exhaust shaking while driving and the entire under carriage is rattling and squeaking. I contacted the dealership again and told them that something isn't right and was told "we're backed up until Feb. Just come in when you get your oil change and we can take a look at it". The car is a little over a year old and its nothing but a piece of crap. Whenever you drive, it feels like the entire bottom is going to come out of the car and we'd have to flintstone our way to where we have to go.
To me, Saturn is just a bunch if rude assholes who really don't care about their customers safety. My lease was signed without all aspects being reviewed, signed up for something that I didn't even get offered. Its horrible how they treat their customers and I wouldn't recommend anyone purchasing a car from them... if you do, you're going to spend your time worrying if the car will fall apart when you take a turn.
Ih8mycar
St. John's, New Brunswick
Canada
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