Saturn dealership in Niles closes; Pace to handle service

The Boardman Saturn dealership remains open.

STAFF REPORT

NILES — Effective immediately, Saturn of Route 422, 420 Youngstown-Warren Road, is closed.

All warranty and service work previously handled at the Saturn of Route 422 location will be performed next door at Jim Pace Pontiac’s expanded GM Service Center, 430 Youngstown-Warren Road.

GM and Jim Pace guarantee that all service work will be done by certified Saturn technicians using genuine Saturn parts, a company spokesman said.

To that end, Jim Stevenson, Saturn of Route 422’s service manager, has joined Dan Howell, Jim Pace Pontiac’s service manager, at the Pontiac facility.

Owner Pace said retail operations will continue at Saturn of Boardman at 7554 Market St.

Anyone with questions may call Jim Pace Pontiac at (330) 652-5855.

The closing comes in the wake of GM’s announcement that it will discontinue the Saturn brand by October of next year.

Saturn is one of four brands that G.M., which spent about six weeks in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year, plans to eliminate in the United States.

It is shutting down Pontiac by the end of the year, is selling Saab to a company in Sweden and has a deal to sell Hummer to a Chinese manufacturer.

GM also has agreed to sell a majority of its European brand, Opel, to a group led by Magna International, a parts maker, and the Russian bank Sberbank