I’ll come right out of the gate and say it. This one has a strong bias and may have an air of that car guy you know trying to justify their purchase to themselves and you. Hang in there.

Three years ago I had bought my Mazda Protege5. It was a great car, what with its independent rear suspension, decent engine and yellow exterior that screamed “Look at me!”. However, three years later things weren’t going so well. I had a laundry list of things that I’d replaced that was looking like the grocery list of someone who couldn’t make up their minds and just wrote down every stray thought. The worst of it? The RUST. Mazda had HUGE rust issues with the Protege, among others, and mine was so bad that when I tried to jack up the car the jack went through the frame and the floor.

Since things were looking rather dire and my city may as well have “Winter is Coming” as their slogan for how often the roads need rust-enhancing salt I started looking casually for a new vehicle.

I went to a dealership to look at a Mazda6 that was advertised for a relatively low price. Sure I’d have to give up the sunroof, but at least it was sporty and a bit less prone to the rot that forced me to give up my first manual car. As I pulled up I saw it in all its glory...with plates on. The universal sign of “You’re too late, someone else bought it before you did”. Distraught, I popped into the dealership and it was confirmed - no Mazda6 for me. I asked what else they had in stock hoping to at least have some meaningful experience come from this endeavor across the city.

Then the salesman asked me, “Did you see the Saturn Astra?”

Now, there aren’t many cars on the road that I can’t shout out the name, approximate year and three facts about on command. I knew about the Astra. GM had brought them in to fix the damage the plastic fantastic Ion had done to the brand. They couldn’t, and after two years and a bankruptcy there were only 20,000-30,000 of these things on the road in Canada and the US. Their parent brand didn’t survive the bailout talks and had passed on.

There are a lot of thoughts about dead brands, which are becoming more and more of a thing as time goes on. Pontiac, Hummer, Suzuki, Mitsubishi (Ok, they aren’t dead yet, but they’re certainly looking like they’re circling the drain) and many others have kicked the bucket in the last decade for a plethora of reasons and the question becomes is it smart to buy a car from a dead brand?

Lets tackle this issue by issue.

The Brand Died Because Of Cars Like This

Not always. The Astra didn’t sell well because it had a high asking price for the class, had an interior that wasn’t what most North American buyers were used to (I have to admit the lack of cupholders is annoying) and of course, the Ion. There were tons of unsold Ions, why buy a brand new car and take a depreciation hit when you can buy a used Ion with incentives? The car wasn’t horrible, it was reliable aside from some early VVT teething issues and had been in production in Europe since 2004. Each car will be different in this regard but you shouldn’t throw out blanket statements, they often ring untrue.

The Parts Will Be Expensive and/or Unavailable

Possibly. When the car breaks down, and every car breaks down, replacement parts may not be as readily available as they would be for something like a Civic. They may cost more. However, manufacturers are required to make parts for a number of years after a brand dies. So for 10 years from 2009 (According to what I’ve read) I will be able to get parts without too much of a hassle. Used parts are always going to exist for non-mechanical items like door trim and electronics, and if you’re feeling brave you can go that route for mechanical parts as well. In the case of the Astra, the base Chevrolet Cruze and Sonic still use the Astra’s engine (Called the LUW instead of the Z18XER) and the majority of the parts from what I see are interchangeable. Not all dead branded cars can claim this, but it’s worth investigating instead of writing the car off as unfixable when broken.

It’ll Be A Terrible Investment

Yes. Of course it will be. But Cars inherently aren’t investments and should not be treated as such if you aren’t a fan of massive disappointment. While the Astra has depreciated additionally due to the status of the brand as deceased it still offers a decent amount of stuff for your money. The base price reflected the amount of stuff they packed into this thing before the brand passed on. Sure it may not be worth as much in an accident, or when you go to trade it in down the line but the benefits of having a well equipped car CAN and MAY outweigh the risks associated.

Which brings me to the other half of this argument. The part where my bias shines through unfortunately.

They’re Cheap but not Cheap

My Astra has a panoramic sunroof, 3 stage heated seats, 7 speakers (Eh, for stock in 09 it’s pretty decent), 6 airbags, an EVIC that looks retro as heck but works, and power everything. It had 48,000 km’s on it. It was manual. I could go on, but that defeats the purpose. What did this set me back? Less than the Mazda6 which was nowhere near as well equipped. Granted I went in at the end of the month (Who knew that actually worked?) and negotiated them down from what was already a huge discount by saying I didn’t wanna buy something on the spot, but the fact still stands this car had no business being this cheap. Nothing else I looked at in the coming week before the deal was finalized came CLOSE to touching it.

What that means for other cars is that it’s easier not to be upside down on your loan if the car does get totaled in an accident which is a very real fear for people who buy cars and the reason that gap insurance is there. It means you can get a lot of car for not a lot of money. Use the fact these cars have a stigma to your advantage.

They Encourage Proper Car Ownership

Knowing that your Suzuki SX4 is part of a breed that will only get smaller as the years go on can instill a certain motivation in people. Where some might let their car fall into disrepair knowing they can always fix the problem later, people who have cars made by a discontinued brand know that the collective part pool isn’t infinate. Sure, this won’t motivate everyone, but at least for some it can instill a sense of pride and a better connection to the vehicle. Partly because.

They Make For Great Stories

When I bought the Astra, I thought of how few they had made in North America and how it would be relatively unique. I like that. I like that the brand’s discontinuation gives me another story to tell, as did the purchase price. The super-euro interior can confuse and annoy, but it can also make the experience unique from other cars you own. I almost never see another Astra, and that’s something that’s going to happen more and more as the years go on. I like that.