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Did my eyes deceive me? Yesterday my local station's regular (87 oct) dropped from $2.01 to $1.99. Should I be ecstatic that the price is below $2.00?
Gas price check
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I envy you. I have 4 stations within blocks of my house and three of them are at $2.69. The fourth...ARCO...is $2.59, however, they pull a trick on you by charging 35 cents for ATM use, so for 10 gallons, that ends up at $2.63 unless you use cash. Plus out of the four, it's the most inconvenient one to drive out of (though getting in usually isn't much problem) , since it's only a couple hundred feet from the highway exit.
The higher the prices go, the bigger the benefit you are getting from you Prius.So did mine. What is it about Saturn owners migrating to Prii? You, Melgish, and I have all referred repeatedly to our former gallant steeds. Coincidence, or is there something about both seemingly dissimilar cars that we Pri-oids find attractive?DanMan32 said:
Oof. Sorry to hear.
My Saturn also had an accident ON ITS WAY to the Toyota dealership to discuss trade-in value.
I was at an intersection in the right lane waiting to turn right, and a giant truck in the left lane also turned right.
He didn't see me, crept toward the intersection while we waited for the light to change, and I got a 2mph SCRAAAAAPE down my left side as I frantically laid on the horn to get his attention.
Needless to say, the trade-in discussion was postponed.
My Saturn also had an accident ON ITS WAY to the Toyota dealership to discuss trade-in value.
I was at an intersection in the right lane waiting to turn right, and a giant truck in the left lane also turned right.
He didn't see me, crept toward the intersection while we waited for the light to change, and I got a 2mph SCRAAAAAPE down my left side as I frantically laid on the horn to get his attention.
Needless to say, the trade-in discussion was postponed.
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I'd had my Saturn since 1994. Saturn was still "innovative" then -- the selection effect is probably in part being drawn to something new and not being in the very high end market. Oh, also, I don't like stodgy silver sedans and I've been antil SUV for everything except what they were originally designed for since they came out. Among other things, they drove the price of trucks so high I can no longer imagine hauling my own horse any time soon.
It's all about Customer Service!
For me, the Saturn was/is a very practical choice. A good balance of features / price / quality. I'd wanted on since I first heard about them in 1991. Being that was about the same time I'd had to declare Bankruptcy... I had to wait quite awhile to get my 1998. Indeed I'd saved up well over half the price of my fully loaded SL2. -- I would have had all of it but I squandered the other half getting married.
What really makes the difference is their customer service. The quality of customer service I get from Saturn seems light years ahead of Toyota. Now I'll qualify that and say that it may just be that Saturn Space Coast is unusually good at it, and that Toyota of Melbourne is unusually bad at it. But I never feel second class when taking the Saturn in.
After 7 years of owning a Saturn, I know everyone in their service department by name... but I don't know the phone number to call. I never once had to raise my voice to get someones attention.
On the other hand after 7 months of owining a Prius. I don't know the name of anyone at Toyota there have been too many staff changes to keep up... I've dialed their phone enough times to memorize it. Also, The very first time I took my Prius in...3 days after taking ownership, after standing in the 'wait here to be served' area for 15-20 minutes... I had to walk in shouting before anyone even acknowledged my presense.
I even went so far as to tell the general manager Alan Brodski at Toyota of Melbourne these things.... His response went something like "Well, they sell about 100 cars a month, while we sell 1000"
I took that to mean, "we're in business to sell cars, not service them"
For me, the Saturn was/is a very practical choice. A good balance of features / price / quality. I'd wanted on since I first heard about them in 1991. Being that was about the same time I'd had to declare Bankruptcy... I had to wait quite awhile to get my 1998. Indeed I'd saved up well over half the price of my fully loaded SL2. -- I would have had all of it but I squandered the other half getting married.
What really makes the difference is their customer service. The quality of customer service I get from Saturn seems light years ahead of Toyota. Now I'll qualify that and say that it may just be that Saturn Space Coast is unusually good at it, and that Toyota of Melbourne is unusually bad at it. But I never feel second class when taking the Saturn in.
After 7 years of owning a Saturn, I know everyone in their service department by name... but I don't know the phone number to call. I never once had to raise my voice to get someones attention.
On the other hand after 7 months of owining a Prius. I don't know the name of anyone at Toyota there have been too many staff changes to keep up... I've dialed their phone enough times to memorize it. Also, The very first time I took my Prius in...3 days after taking ownership, after standing in the 'wait here to be served' area for 15-20 minutes... I had to walk in shouting before anyone even acknowledged my presense.
I even went so far as to tell the general manager Alan Brodski at Toyota of Melbourne these things.... His response went something like "Well, they sell about 100 cars a month, while we sell 1000"
I took that to mean, "we're in business to sell cars, not service them"
I agree, Melgish, Saturn of Port Richey were very friendly. I only had one issue with them, and that was when I found a vibration at 52MPH as if the wheels were out of balance, and also noticed the dash lights flicker. They fixed the lights problem for free as it was a bad battery cable and considered that a safety issue. They wanted to go half on the front wheel balance. I said no, I just bought the car last week. Didn't fix the problem, but they didnt' balance the rear tires or check alignment.
Granted, it was a used '99 I bought in 2002, but still...
Melgish, did you notice a vibration at 52MPH? They said all the SL2s did that.
Free car washes. Didn't take full advantage of that though.
Oh yes, they could tone down the 'celebration' of my 'new' purchase. You would have thought I won the lottery by all the hooplah.
Granted, it was a used '99 I bought in 2002, but still...
Melgish, did you notice a vibration at 52MPH? They said all the SL2s did that.
Free car washes. Didn't take full advantage of that though.
Oh yes, they could tone down the 'celebration' of my 'new' purchase. You would have thought I won the lottery by all the hooplah.
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71 Posts
1.96 tonight----maybe it is getting lower
Here's another one.
I'm not sure it is a coincedence reading this thread.
I'm a former Saturn owner too. 1996 Saturn SC2 coupe. I bought the Anniversary limited edition in black with leather seats. The car was only 9 years old with less than 50,000 miles on it. No major problems. I could have kept the car another 10 years. The mileage was still in the 20s.
But...I'd have to replace the car eventually. And if I waited the value would go down, the cost of a new car go up, I'd miss the $2,000 tax break...and loan rates would probably go up too. I got 4.74% at my credit union. I took a test drive. They had one on the lot at MSRP. I didn't figure I could do worse than that so....I bought it. Been very happy with the decision.
Kearny Mesa Toyota is very close to Saturn of Kearny Mesa. Looks like the service there is going to be very close to what I got at Saturn. The dealership was sure a LOT nicer than Toyota of San Diego (never go there.)
The auction for my Saturn ends Saturday night on eBay. 3 people have bookmarked it. If it doesn't sell my nephew may get it. The only down side was that when I had it detailed prior to taking pictures to sell....the Kwik and Kleen on Genesee Ave in San Diego, CA got the leather seats soaking wet right down into the foam. When I went to pick it up there were already three splits in the driver's seat. I was livid. I'll be filing with BBB and taking them to small claims. I had to lower the value $200 because they are morons. And I TOLD them the seats were leather.
I'm not sure it is a coincedence reading this thread.
I'm a former Saturn owner too. 1996 Saturn SC2 coupe. I bought the Anniversary limited edition in black with leather seats. The car was only 9 years old with less than 50,000 miles on it. No major problems. I could have kept the car another 10 years. The mileage was still in the 20s.
But...I'd have to replace the car eventually. And if I waited the value would go down, the cost of a new car go up, I'd miss the $2,000 tax break...and loan rates would probably go up too. I got 4.74% at my credit union. I took a test drive. They had one on the lot at MSRP. I didn't figure I could do worse than that so....I bought it. Been very happy with the decision.
Kearny Mesa Toyota is very close to Saturn of Kearny Mesa. Looks like the service there is going to be very close to what I got at Saturn. The dealership was sure a LOT nicer than Toyota of San Diego (never go there.)
The auction for my Saturn ends Saturday night on eBay. 3 people have bookmarked it. If it doesn't sell my nephew may get it. The only down side was that when I had it detailed prior to taking pictures to sell....the Kwik and Kleen on Genesee Ave in San Diego, CA got the leather seats soaking wet right down into the foam. When I went to pick it up there were already three splits in the driver's seat. I was livid. I'll be filing with BBB and taking them to small claims. I had to lower the value $200 because they are morons. And I TOLD them the seats were leather.
Back to prices, they just dropped 7 cents in Mass. Futures dropped over five dollars a barrel last week and are forcast lower so we may be over "the hump." Hopefully some intelligent heads will prevail and we should be getting a little more than our share of Iraqui oil in the future.
hyperion said:
Well, they're still high in San Diego. Always higher than national average.
As for future drops, I wouldn't count on it. The price is being blamed now on lack of supply due to not enough refineries, not on the price per barrel. As to the recent drop...that may or may not be a result of that wonderful "let's keep them begging" speech made by an Oil Representative, caught on tape and released by one of our watchdog senators. You go girl!
In my opinion the Oil Industry has never sufficiently explained any of their pricing policies. They are not only a cartel, they operate as a monopoly even if they are not a monopoly by legal definition. I think that tape is pretty damning. Diamonds and oil. Well....I don't need diamonds.
Add us to Saturn/Prius owners. Though in our area the Toyota service department has a better reputation than the Saturn. I'll see when I take mine in for its first service. It seems Saturn/Prius owners appreciate quality and choose to be well informed on issues in general.
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