2003 Saturn ION review from North America

Key gets stuck in ignition.

Brought my 2003 Ion in because the key kept getting stuck in the ignition. I only had so much money so when they told me 2 days later that they couldn't find the problem I went to pick up the car after authorizing a transmission flush and a new key. When I got to the dealership they said the key was stuck now and they really hadn't looked at it because they weren't sure what the problem was (I was EXTREMELY specific) Now the trans flush was done and I had no money to fix the ignition which the mechanic himself told me was a sticky "actuator" in the shifter and the service guy said it would be another $200 so I took the car home. I felt like they hadn't taken my ignition problem seriously and I would have never authorized a trans flush over the ignition problem so I called Saturn headquarters. They got the service manager Larry on the phone and he said he wanted to keep me as a customer so he would split the difference on the ignition cost, but that the repair would now cost $100 more. Some deal. Called a reliable local mechanic to see how much he would charge and when he called a Saturn dealership for the part he was told there was no such part as an "actuator". Go figure. I then looked up all the problems with Saturn's on the web and found hundreds upon hundreds of the same complaints. Instead of recalling these cars GM must have decided that they could make more money by having them brought in for repair numerous times. And if you look at my keys (both old and new) you can easily see how soft the metal is so I believe they are actually making bad keys to make a bundle on repairs. GM should be forced to recall these cars and stop these "bait and switch" repair tactics. I will never buy another Saturn and make a point to tell everyone I can to never buy one either. Besides all this the value of the car dropped 50% on Kelly blue book and I've owned it less than a year.