BUFFALO, N.Y. — Though General Motors has eliminated the Saturn brand, a western New York dealership group is making significant efforts to service customers who purchased those vehicles as well as retain as much personnel as possible.

West Herr plans to consolidate the resources of two Saturn dealerships and create a new Saturn service center in Orchard Park, N.Y. Group executives explained that ongoing service, parts and maintenance of Saturn vehicles now can be found at a facility at West Herr Chevrolet of Orchard Park.

The new center is located near the group's original Saturn building. West Herr anticipates that renovations for the new facility will be completed by Feb. 1.

"Our Saturn customers deserve an amazing customer experience, and we intend to ensure that they receive it," stressed William Loecher, vice president of West Herr.

As a result of creating this new center, West Herr indicated that it was able to keep all of its current Saturn factory-trained service technicians and parts personnel.

"They know the ins and outs of Saturn cars like no other technician in Buffalo, so it was wonderful that they all were able to make the move," noted Brad Coon, service director for West Herr.

"Some of our techs have written parts of the service manual for Saturn, and will bring a new level of experience to the Chevrolet location as well," Coon added.

West Herr also pointed out that it has moved Saturn's sales teams to other dealerships within the group. West Herr was apparently one of the manufacturer's original dealerships when Saturn launched.

Executives also noted that West Herr was the top Saturn retailer in the nation several times during the past 10 years. That level of sales volume was another reason the group opted to create this new service center.

"We hope that the decision by GM to phase out Saturn has no impact on our Saturn customers, and we are doing everything in our power to ensure that they know we care for them and their decision to buy from West Herr," said Mark Carrow, director of sales for the group that retails 19 different brands.

Group executives indicated that the roll out of this new service center does not affect any of the operations at West Herr's North Town location or Saturn of Clarence/Resale North. They said each of those operations will continue to provide sales, parts and service for the foreseeable future.

West Herr represents 19 new vehicle brands and is the 21st largest automobile group in the United States. It has been in business for 60 years.