Keep the car vs Sell the Car- What to do?

I've got a 2006 Saturn Ion that has been turning up with little problems since day one. The latest was the failure of virtually every component of the sunroof (motor, track, gearing) which kept it in the shop for 3 days for repairs, and would have cost me about 350 bucks had it not been under the (extended) warranty, which will be up in August.

So, I added up the receipts for what I WOULD have paid for all of the little problems (not counting maintenance, and not counting the hours of my time spent dealing with the problems) and it totals about $1500 in the 2 and a half years I've had it. I've never had a car with that many problems so early on.

For the record, I take very good care of the car- all of its oil changes and other maintenance items have been done in a timely manner. The mileage is a bit above average (about 16,000 per year of ownership, currently about 42,000) and at least half are interstate miles.

So I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this vehicle, but neither do I really like the idea of having to dump a car that's fairly new and almost paid for. Otherwise, no complaints- it has enough room and power for me, and it gets good mileage (I routinely get between 27 and 30 mpg per tank).

What say you, DUers? Keep it and hope, like a fine wine, it mellows with age? Or get out while the gettin's good?

Why is the warranty up only after 2 years?

It's a 2006 that I purchased in August of 2005.

On Edit... The bumper to bumper is 3 years/36,000 miles, but I bought into a plan for extended mileage given my long commute.

the one that was a model year 2000, as it approached the 7 year extended warranty expiration date, the company sent me information about extending it.

Is that something you could look into? Might be worth it, especially if the car is almost paid for.

Depending on what it covers... Really, I can certainly live without a sunroof, but not a sunroof that's stuck OPEN! :ROFL:

So far, it's been nothing major- no engine or tranny issues. But it's a manual transmisson, so there isn't too much to go wrong there.

Avg the cost of keeping this car v getting something else over the next 5 years. Consider the predicted reliability of the car you'd be replacing it with and factor that in as well.

Saturn offers no loaner program for the times when it's in the shop, and getting a rental covered through them is not exactly hassle-free. Among the replacement options I'm considering is a vehicle through a dealership that offers loaners for routine maintenance and repairs, so I can go on with my day when the car's in the shop.

1. What's the current blue book value of your car?
2. How much have you spent on the little problems over the last few years?
3. What type of car would you consider as a replacement (if that's the route you go)?

I don't know that your Saturn will mellow with age if it has a track record of things going wrong with it. You're basically spending $500 in maintenance beyond typical oil changes/tire rotations/etc a year. You might be better off selling it or trading in before the warranty is up and acquiring a car with less upkeep and equivalent or better gas mileage. I've had my 1999 Corolla since about 2004, and (knock on wood) only had to put it in the shop once for a fender bender. I've put about 10,000 miles a year on it since I bought it.

1. I think it's somewhere around $9000 for a direct sell
2. In 2.5 years, I would have spent about $1500 bucks on the various problems (which included the mentioned sunroof failure, power windows (twice), bad reverse light switch, passlock system (twice, but only replaced the more recent occurrence) and some miscellaneous interior latches breaking)
3. My eye is on a Volvo C30, but I'm not set on whether I'm even selling the Saturn yet, so....

As long as it's not transmission or engine - I'll fix the car and keep it. If you haven't paid off the Saturn yet those payments are going to roll into your next car payment ESPECIALLY if the car isn't worth what the payoff amount is.

And a 2006 will still have a warranty of some sort at least for the powertrain

And that's exactly why this is such a hard decision for me. I'm distinctly in the "drive it 'till the wheels fall off" camp. But I'm scared that's going to be sooner rather than later! And though the problems are nothing "major," they are things that HAVE to be fixed for the most part (sunroof, windows, passlock system).

As for the value vs payoff, I'm WAY on the top end of that- I've been making extra payments left and right, so it's very close to being paid off (if I keep it, It'll be paid for by the end of the year).

Edit- and yes, the powertrain warranty is 5 years, I think.