No, You Don't Have to be Afraid of a Discontinued Car Brand

"As Du Volant" (skuhnphoto) 11/19/2014 at 14:05 • Filed to: car buying

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What do the following car brands have in common: Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn, Saab, Mercury, and Suzuki? They're all brands that have been recently discontinued in the U.S. market for various reasons.

It's a subject that seems to come up often in the car buying discussion. You'll say, "I think I'm going to buy this used Pontiac I test drove the other day," and next thing you know, everyone in earshot with an opinion to give is screaming "DON'T BUY A PONTIAC! DON'T YOU KNOW THEY DON'T MAKE THOSE ANYMORE?"

Well, I'm here to tell you just go ahead and buy that Pontiac, as long as you're aware of what you're getting into owning a pre-bankruptcy GM vehicle. No, your discontinued-brand car isn't going to immediately self destruct. Unless it's a Saab, because they tend to do that.

This thought was sparked by a discussion I witnessed between a car shopper and an acquaintance wishing to give advice. Mr. Car Buyer was trying to decide between a 2006 Pontiac Vibe and a 2005 Mazda 3. Besides being a year newer, the Vibe also had less miles and a lower price. Car Buyer knew the Vibe was covered by GM's parts and service network as well as the fact that it's a rebadged Toyota Matrix. Advice Giver told them not to buy it anyway because "they don't make Pontiacs anymore." Guess what? They don't make 2005 Mazda 3's anymore either, but nobody is worried about buying those.

Here's the reason for all this: Car manufacturers (or their post-bankruptcy remnants) are required by law to supply parts for their cars for a set number of years after production stops. They're also required by law to honor any warranties supplied with the car at time of purchase. (Paging Steve Lehto- a little help here with the citations?) And what's the owner of a dead brand to do when the manufacturer stops making parts for the car? Just buy the parts somewhere else.

Typically before parts production stops for any given model the car is old enough to have decent support among the aftermarket brands. If all else fails there's always the junkyard. Point being, by the time the car is old enough for parts to not be made anymore most owners aren't going to want to spend the extra money for dealer parts and service anyway. For what it's worth, manufacturers often don't always make new parts for their older models unless it's an item in high demand. Even a car that's common as dirt, a ten year old Corolla for example, will have dozens of parts on it that aren't available at the dealership anymore.

And what about repair under warranty? With Pontiac, Hummer, and Saturn it's a no-brainer. Since these were GM brands any GM dealer can repair them (and sell parts). Similar story for Mercury; just visit your Ford dealer. And the others? !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Most of the repair centers are dealerships that formerly sold the brands, and every one of them listed on the websites above is qualified for parts sales and warranty service.

Of course, all of this is primarily in reference to later-model cars. I can't help you find parts for your LaForza.

All this dead brand anxiety has made its way into the resale values for these cars, so buying one of them is a great way to get a hell of a deal. That's what my girlfriend and I did. Last year we bought a used Suzuki SX-4 for a whole truckload of money less than any other small AWD hatchback would've cost us. It's been a great car so far and I'm not the slightest bit worried about getting it fixed if and when it breaks.

So have fun and enjoy your Saab! Just be sure to save your truckload of money for the repairs.

RaymondStantz > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 14:07

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I have a Talbot.
A freakin' Talbot.
Rummaging the French countryside for parts is only part of the joy.

GhostZ > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 14:09

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Buying a common car from a dead brand is 100x better than buying an uncommon obscure car (with obscure parts) from a very popular brand.

As Du Volant > GhostZ 11/19/2014 at 14:13

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Totally. Thought of mentioning this but the article was already getting long.

If I get a parts clerk under the age of 30 you should see the confused look on his face when I ask for parts for my Nissan Pulsar.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 14:29

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What a lot of people don't understand is that most Pontiacs and Saturns are really Chevys under the skin. My mom's '08 Vue is basically a nicer Equinox (and yes, it really is a billion times nicer.) That's why when Saturn closed and everyone told my mom to get rid of he two year old car, we kept it. Because my parents actually understood that it was serviceable at any GM dealer. Hell, Saturn even sent multiple letters saying that you can take it to your local GM dealer for service.

Then again, people's misunderstanding of cars is the reason I could pick up a really nice, low mileage Saturn Aura for less than $9k, so lets keep them in the dark as long as possible.

Bandit > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 14:29

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Most of those have had their brands ruined by GM haha.... *cries in corner.

Brickman > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 14:53

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Do want!

LumberJunk > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 15:07

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Ummm, Have you ever owned a Saab? Not expensive to maintain at all. I have both serviced them at a shop as well as myself and they have been less problematic than both my old Toyota and my old Chev.

While it is true that some of those specialty shops will rip you off, but you really don't need a specialty shop for these cars. They're quite straight forward. If maintained at the proper intervals they last forever.

As Du Volant > LumberJunk 11/19/2014 at 16:07

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My Saab comments weren't totally serious. But you hit the nail right on the head with your last bit- if maintained at the proper intervals. It kills me when I see so many European cars falling apart because people don't bother to maintain them.

LumberJunk > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 16:27

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Haha! Sometimes I have a hard time differentiating the Saab jokes from the Saab hate! But yes, people who neglect their cars and then complain about them make me mental!

Jedidiah > As Du Volant 11/19/2014 at 16:59

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Every Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and AMC we've ever owned has been a great car.

samsmith > LumberJunk 11/20/2014 at 10:38

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I'm glad someone already came to the defense of SAAB. We all know that car longevity depends on how well you maintain it, my 9-5 is just about to hit 247K miles, not bad for something they don't make anymore.

Mattbob > As Du Volant 11/20/2014 at 11:47

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shhhh, I want prices on Skys and Solstices to drop!

tlb > As Du Volant 12/02/2014 at 14:36

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Two summers ago I was visiting my old workplace and one of my ex-coworker had just purchased a three-year-old Suzuki hatchback with very low miles for like three grand from one of her brothers-in-law. His reasoning for selling a car for less than half of its worth? "They quit selling these in the US so he didn't want it anymore."

It didn't make sense to me then and still doesn't today.

Joe C. > As Du Volant 02/01/2016 at 09:57

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Buyers should definitely consider buying a discontinued car, as long as they do their research. This article lists top picks for best and worst buys on discontinued cars: https://www.carchex.com/research-cente…