BOULDER ? Car shopping, like car repair, is clouded with skepticism. Even for those who think they got a good deal, the feeling that they were taken for a ride remains.

A decade ago, Saturn set out to change that.

Billing itself as “a different kind of car, a different kind of company,” the General Motors subsidiary set out to create an atmosphere where prices were clearly posted, no haggling was to take place and no salesman was to hound you.

Ten years after the first Saturn rolled off the assembly line in Spring Hill, Tenn., Boulder will have a chance to see how the firm operates up close. The Courtesy Automotive Group plans to open a Saturn showroom at the corner of Foothills Parkway and Valmont Road by Jan. 1.

Roger Dickson, part owner of Courtesy, says the Boulder Saturn retailer (Saturn shies away from calling them “dealerships”) will employ about 50 people and cost about $6 million to complete. He says Courtesy, which also owns Saturn North and Saturn of Aurora, is excited and wants to bring Saturn’s sales philosophy to the city.

While many dealers claim to have adopted Saturn’s approach to selling, Dickson says, “They didn’t match it because they couldn’t. They may have one price on the windshield, but that’s not the end of the story.”

Dickson explains that dealerships that have done business the traditional way, with customers squaring off against salesmen and managers to get their best deal, can’t switch to Saturn’s no-haggle approach because customers have come to expect to haggle at those dealerships.

With Saturn starting with no-haggle from its very beginning, it can succeed. Even Courtesy’s other dealerships, which sell the Acura and Isuzu brands, don’t and won’t follow the Saturn philosophy.

Many car shoppers have looked to the Web for help in their search, often visiting sites like Autobytel and Greenlight.com to find the best price. But Dickson says whether you’re shopping in person or online, your price at Saturn will be the same. “We will sell to auto brokers,” Dickson says, “but they’ve got to pay the full list, just like anybody else.” Since Web dealers have to go to Saturn to get the car, Dickson says they will be quoted the same price as a walk-in customer.

Anders Gronstedt, a management consultant who lives in Superior, writes extensively and enthusiastically about Saturn in his book, “The Customer Century.” In the book, he notes that, “Ten years after its launch, Saturn is still the only auto company that has managed to make the sticker price non-negotiable.”

And so, while the Internet won’t get you a better price than your neighbor for a Saturn, it does make it faster and easier to shop for one, according to Bill Betts, a spokesman for the company. “Saturn got into the Web very early. There were a significant number of people in our demographic that were technologically oriented.” Betts says shoppers can go to Saturn’s site, select the color, trim and accessories that they want, and then submit that configuration to their local Saturn dealer. The dealer then comes back with a price, and they’re done.

Betts emphasizes that the company does not set prices for dealers because that would violate federal law. But, he says, Saturn does suggest prices to dealers, and most of them set prices at or close to that level.

Betts says most Saturn dealers aren’t likely to add premiums to popular models, which has happened when Volkswagen introduced its new Beetle and Dodge came out with the popular, retro-style PT Cruiser.

Over the years, customers have responded well to Saturn’s no-pressure selling philosophy. For five of the last six years, Betts says Saturn has come in No. 1 in the J.D. Powers Sales Satisfaction index, which measures customer satisfaction with the car-buying experience. Saturn even beat much pricier brands. “We’re better than Lexus and Mercedes,” Betts says.

Dickson says the no-haggle policy extends to the used car lot at Saturn, as well. The Boulder store will sell “pre-owned” vehicles, but only ones that have passed a 150-point inspection will sit on the used lot.

The service area for the Saturn retailer is not expected to open until March 1 because it’s separate from the sales area, unlike most Saturn stores, Dickson adds. An irrigation ditch runs through the middle of the property, so Courtesy agreed to build around it, and that required separating the service building from the sales facility.

Dickson says the Saturn retailer will have a kinder, gentler feel to it. “We’ll have an area with a fireplace, TV and café,” he says. There also will be a children’s area and a library with computer stations. “It looks nothing like any other automobile retail showroom,” Dickson says.