Every dealer I've been to has them coming out of their ears. SL2s, SL1s, LS1s, ranging from year model 1996 and up. The prices have been in the $2600 to $5000 range.

How good a car is a Saturn? I don't know know anything about them as far as reliability goes. How well do they hold up? Are there any common problems to look out for?

I can tell you that they are excellent cars. Very reliable and run just as long as any import will. Seen several with 200k plus miles on them.

I drive the wife's 97 SL which she bought new. At 10 years old it's not bad although it only has 60K on it. Over the years it's had a few things fixed and has generally cost more than my Excort did, and had more things go wrong, but I would certainly trust it to go anywhere. I think Kelley's lists it at around $3500 - certainly an excellent deal if you can indeed find one at that price, although I would prefer a 5-spd. That OHC engine screams for a manual trans.

The wife's '97 Saturn SL2 was a great little car. 89,000 miles when we sold it a couple of months back. Sold the car to my niece and her husband, if I thought the car wouldn't easily last another 100,000, I sure wouldn't have sold it to a family member.

During ownership, I replaced 2 water pumps and a one valve cover gasket. (Other than regularly scheduled maintenance.)

The only other problem was a coolant temp sensor that went bad, I pulled my hair out for days tracking that problem down. When a coolant temp sensor goes bad, it also ruins the wire connectors that plug into it, corroded and contaminated by seeping coolant.

Fuel filters are expensive as heck for them, as I remember about $45, and that was the "good guy" price.

My wife's Saturn is almost at 194K and runs pretty good still.

The replacement list so far is:

2 alternators,
waterpump,
upper engine mount,
belt tensioner,
o2 sensor about every 70K,
the catylitic convertor and rear o2 sensor.

Maintance is pretty easy, I change plugs & pcv valve every 30K (cheap and easy to do), belt and fuel filter every 60K. tranny fluid & filter @ 100K.

Every oil change, I would try to clean out the throttle body blade. Check out this saturn forum

http://www.saturnfans.com/

Randy,
I bought my daughter a new '97 SC1 soon after she graduated HS. When the car was approx 6 months old, she and my son were T-boned one night by a woman running a stop sign. The Saturn got hit right in the pass door at approx 40 mph, causing $8200 damage.
Both kids walked away from this wreck. :)
What amazed me was the integrity of that car. Although the complete pass side got hammered, we were still able to open the trunk.
Plus, I guess partly because the way these car are built-Allstate choose to repair this car.

I like them.... and $45 for a fuel filter is cheap compared to what I work with every day.
I preferred the early models, before they started looking like big eggs on wheels. They had a really nice look to them, and they had thier own engines and tranmissions then too. Now its shared components, where previously they shared a little, but nothing like today. I really like the looks of the saturn sky though.

The wife and I bought a brand new one in 95 and then traded that in with another brand new in 2001. Unfortunately sold it off to buy her a chevy venture van which is easier to travel with, with the two kids.

We had very few problems ever with either of our saturns. I really like them. I would buy another today.

Jeff

GREAT CHEAP CARS!!!

Need I say more? I have been driving them for 13 years! And they are made by GM! :thumbsup:

My oldest one has 175,000 miles on it and still running strong!

Excellent car. I sold my 93 SL2 a few years ago with 235k miles on it.

Or '94 5 speed Saturn wagon gave about 43 mpg (Imperial). It now has about 350K kilometers on it and still runs fine. Other than lower ball joints and brake jobs, the car has been problem free.

Have had 2 a 92 SL2 and a 2002 el cheapo SL. The SL2 was a much better car but it cost more. I would still have it but someone stole it when it had 185,000 mi and killed it. They are definately very good cars.

I've had two Saturns. One was a '92 SL1 four door with 5 speed and the other is an SC2 Coupe I bought for my daughter. The 92 had over 200K miles on it and running good until I got in a wreck on the interstate and the car was totaled. The officer who was on the scene told me he was impressed with the Saturns as he was at a wreck scene the previous week in which a Saturn had gone into a ditch and then fliped with a couple of teenagers. They both walked away unharmed bascially according tohim. I wan't hurt when mine was wrecked.

The only maintenance items I did to the 92 Saturn was have a CV joint and some front wheel bearing replaced along with the upper motor mount. It used a quart of oil every 3500 miles which I considered reasonable with the miles. The 99 SC2 coupe has over 125k and going strong. No major problems other than it currently needs the front end aligned (probably needs struts too). Only complaint is they are noisy after some mileage due to the front wheel drive