a lot of brands has disappeared/changed hands over the past couple years and just wondering how you guys feel about buying a car that's no longer made. I know a lot of vehicles share platforms but would you guys buy a pontiac, saab,saturn etc?

2/6/2012 7:59:55 PM

I would never buy any of those brands anyway.

That said, you can't go wrong with a Duesenberg. Buy American, I always say.

Seriously though, any of those cars will last as long as any other American car sold in 2012...about ten years tops. GM will still honor their pathetic warranties, I'm told.

[Edited on February 6, 2012 at 8:26 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2012 8:18:13 PM

Could you give a specific example? Some extinct vehicles are rebadged versions of other mass produced ones. That's why they're extinct in the first place. A good example of that is basically any Mercury of the past 20+ years. Some entire lines were essentially killed off though, like the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky but their engines were used in other vehicles.

[Edited on February 6, 2012 at 8:24 PM. Reason : .]

2/6/2012 8:23:37 PM

There are a handful of Saabs I'd consider, but only if the price/performance ratio was insanely good. A 9-3 Viggen Hatch would be great fun and I wouldn't turn it down if the right deal came along! You could probably be driving a 4 cyl Accord for the same money, so why not? Of course, the e36 M3s come into play in that price range, but you'd be dealing with a older car with more miles for the same price.

Pontiac? The late model GTO was a great car, but it was pretty fugly IMO. The G8 GT looks nicer, but finding a 6 speed is damn near impossible and I don't know why anyone would pick it over a CTS-V unless there was a massive discount to make it worthwhile.

Saturn doesn't really make anything that would be on my radar. The Acura MDX engine powered Vue was a good value vehicle, but the likelihood that I'd ever search for one is next to nil.

I used to work with a turbo Peugeot fanboy about 10 years ago. I wonder how that's working out for him these days.

I'm less worried about parts availability or finding mechanics to work on them than I am about selling the damn thing when I get tired of it. I don't want to own a vehicle that drops in value significantly more than comparable vehicles because I rarely own one long enough to justify it.

[Edited on February 6, 2012 at 9:03 PM. Reason : ll]

2/6/2012 8:59:45 PM

Quote :

"Seriously though, any of those cars will last as long as any other American car sold in 2012...about ten years tops"

With basic maintenance any car sold today in America should last 20 years easily

[Edited on February 6, 2012 at 9:53 PM. Reason : k]

2/6/2012 9:53:08 PM

The mechanicals have never been better. The electronics have never been more locked down and proprietary.

2/6/2012 10:25:27 PM

agreed, but unless you introduce them to water you should be fine.

2/7/2012 10:46:09 AM

buy an AMC

/thread

2/7/2012 12:10:05 PM

buy a Delorean. Apparently they're still building original ones.

2/7/2012 12:39:48 PM

Quote :

"The G8 GT looks nicer, but finding a 6 speed is damn near impossible and I don't know why anyone would pick it over a CTS-V unless there was a massive discount to make it worthwhile."

One would think that, for the same money, you could get 2-3 years newer G8 GT than CTS-V. If you're planning to DD and/or put a lot of miles on it, that's something to think about.

2/7/2012 12:54:00 PM

I would never buy any of those brands anyway.

2/7/2012 1:51:35 PM

Pontiac good, might even own a Plymouth, but forget a Saab or a Saturn.

2/7/2012 2:26:14 PM

^^^I'm pretty sure the G8 GT was never available as a manual 6 speed. Only the GXP model was.

2/7/2012 2:44:43 PM

Quote :

"^^^I'm pretty sure the G8 GT was never available as a manual 6 speed. Only the GXP model was."

Yeah, you're right. I forgot about the distinction between the GXP and the GT models. My post should have read G8 GT/GXP.

[Edited on February 7, 2012 at 3:02 PM. Reason : s]

2/7/2012 3:02:32 PM

yea it was really the g8 that got thinking about it. for about how long are parts still readily available/ affordable for vehicles after they stop making them?

2/10/2012 9:20:14 PM

I just bought a car that is no longer made, parts are cheap, it is dependable, and soooo easy to maintain!

2/13/2012 11:21:27 AM

Quote :

"yea it was really the g8 that got thinking about it. for about how long are parts still readily available/ affordable for vehicles after they stop making them?"

The Holden version of this car is still sold in Australia. And the current Chevy Lumina police car is just a rebadged Pontiac G8 GT. Given this information and the fact that most owners are enthusiastic leads me to believe part availability will not be an issue for this car. Especially for drivetrain components, as plenty of current vehicles use the same.

2/13/2012 12:26:13 PM

Quote :

""Seriously though, any of those cars will last as long as any other American car sold in 2012...about ten years tops""

Quote :

"With basic maintenance any car sold today in America should last 20 years easily"

Agree. Our two daily drivers are 17 and 15 years old and hanging on just fine.

^The Pontiac G8 GT/GXP is the next car I would like to have. Wife can't drive stick and sometimes I don't want to deal with that when in town, but my truck is a stick and I get around with it just fine, so I think I could deal. Either way I want to own a G8 next.

2/13/2012 3:35:38 PM

Quote :

"The G8 GT looks nicer, but finding a 6 speed is damn near impossible and I don't know why anyone would pick it over a CTS-V unless there was a massive discount to make it worthwhile."

I got my G8 GT for significantly less than a CTS-V, though if for close to the same price I wouldn't even consider not getting the CTS-V.

2/13/2012 5:35:57 PM