Do Saturns Actually WORK?

Ive been scanning these messages and im getting the overall impression
that saturns break alot.

 

That's because people here are looking for help with problems. No one
posts just to tell us that everything is A-OK. That would be dumb.
<Smart-aleck comment deleted> You'd probably get similar impressions at
rec.autos.makers.pickanythingyouwanttoread.

 

Now read any other auto-manufacturer newsgroup and compare.

 

In the twelve years my wife has had her '92 SL1, we've spent about $400 in
maintenance (filters, oil, ATF, antifreeze, brakes, battery, spark plugs)
and about $200 on repair parts (an alternator, emission solenoid, and a
motor mount). Total time the car was "out of service" was about 3 hours
for the alternator and another 3 hours to replace leaky gasket on the
transmission. By my calculations, that's 99.994% reliability.

Tim.

 

Ive been scanning these messages and im getting the overall impression

Now go to a doctor's office and ask the people who are waiting how well they
feel.

 

I am just posting to advise that I love my 1997 Saturn SL-1 , and that
everything with it is A-OK!

How is that, Ratbert?

Stan

{Delete nospam for email}

 

Well maybe except in the Toyota newsgroup, they all just congratulate
themselves on owning the best cars on the planet - even if they are all in
the shop.

Ed

 

I did and the one group (KIA) had no new posts in the last week
regarding things breaking. Considering that people have said their
cars are questionable I would think it would be a daily flood of
reports and questions.

 

Consider this, the number of posts in a newsgroups depends on the
intersection of several sets - the number of people who own a particular
vehicle, the number of people who have problem with the vehicle, and the
number of people who have internet access, and the number of people who
actually post to newsgroups. One of the most active automotive
newsgroups is the Ford Explorer Group. There are lots of Ford Explorer
Owners. Some percentage of those owners have problems with their
Explorers. Some percentage of the people that have problems with their
Explorers have internet access. And some percentage of those people
actually use newsgroups. In the case of the Explorer you start out with
millions of Explorer owners, so the chances of a significant portion
posting to newsgroups is pretty high. In the case of KIAs, the numbers
are still pretty low, but increasing. Even then, most KIAs on the road
are relatively new cars. As the number and average age of KIAs increase,
I'd expect the number of posts to the newsgroup to increase as well.
Other factors also affect newsgroup traffic. I would guess that people
who are attracted to technologically advanced vehicles (or in some case
gimmick loaded vehicles) would be more likely to use newsgroups. This
might result in more traffic in the Toyota newsgroup because of people
who own or are interested in the Pirus. Also anything that attracts
media attention (like the Firestone tire fiasco) might increase traffic
in certain newsgroups. Once a group becomes popular, a lot of additional
traffic is generated by unrelated posts (like the global warming debate,
or the evil SUV debate, or the I hate some politician debate).

Ed

 

thats because the ppl that own kia's are stuck at the dealer STILL
waitin on there cars to be fixed.
a friend of mine HAD a kia best thing that happened to it was the guy
who ran the stop sign and hit her, thank god she wasnt hurt BUT THANK
GOD her car was a total loss.
it spent more time in the shop then on the road.

 

Note: all non flamable bits removed

You mean the Ford tire pressure recommendation on the Explorer fiasco.

Steve

 

$400 sounds like you've been getting a heck of a deal in maintenance
supplies,
if the battery was $30 and the brakes parts were $20, that leaves $350 for
mostly fluids.
12 years times every 4 months = 36 oil changes. Oil and filters must be $7
on sale, that makes $252 and leaves not more than $98 for ATF, antifreeze,
and spark plugs. That's if you follow a normal, low-miles-per-year
maintenance schedule. If, on the other hand, you changed the oil once a
year, once only for the ATF and antifreeze, and only put 4k-5k miles per
year on the car, then it sounds about right.

Steve

 

I can't speak for everyone on the planet, but my '96 SL2 has just passed
it's eighth anniversary and I'm still happy with it.

I just read in foreword of one of the Lemon Aide books about how Chrysler
put aside 1 billion dollars for warranty claims. And then consider the Ford
Fuc-us with 12 safety recalls. Many Japanese cars are probably better made
but you pay for it up front. So it's pay me now or pay me later.

 

I suggest you don't repeat the meida crap. Even Firestone admitted that
26 psi was at leat 4 psi higher than the minimum safe pressure for an
Explorer. The whole Explorer fiasco was a lawyer inspred media driven
fiasco.

Why not read - http://www.ford-trucks.com/news/newsd3.html and
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/press/2001/pressdisplay.cfm?year=2001&filename=pr51-01.html

Ed

 

I own 3 cars
95 honda...oil change, spark plugs, brake pads only, 120.k., 90 regal 170 k
same as honda + weel bearings + oil pan + galipers + rotors +mufflers +
odometer + transmission oil seal.
98 sl2 saturn.......automatic transmision valve body...temperature
sensor...brake rotor and galipers...oxigen sensor...egr selenoid...
muffer...cataliser...and many things i tried to forget....no rust ( outside)
doors frame are so rusted --polimer panel are olding the doors together
!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Heh, I like that analogy.

Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]

 

Nice! Mine's running just fine, too.

 

That's fine, I won't repeat the media crap if you don't repeat the Ford crap
or anything the government has to say about something between Ford,
Firestone, and the consumer. I have worked for only 5 years in the tire
business, but have been surrounded by over 170 years of combined experienced
by the salesmen, owners, and long time auto and tire techs here.

Steve

 

Saturns may be more likely to attract people who are interested in
fixing their own cars. The original Saturn enjoyed a fairly long
production run with relatively few design changes, they are
straightforward to work on, and you can find other Saturn owners with
whom to swap advice. Sort of a cult following.

 

Don't forget the important facts (you don't have to trust Ford or the
Government for these facts):

- Explorers with Goodyear tires of the same size inflated to the same
pressures did not experience an unusual number of thread separations.

- Despite all the problems with Firestone tires, Explorers have one of
the lowest rollover rates of any mid-szed SUVs. The only similar size
SUV from the late 90's with a lower rollover rate is the Jeep Grand
Cherokee

- Firestone continually changed their story, tried to shift blame, and
finally in congressional testimony admitted they had approved the Ford
recommended pressures. They even admitted that the tires should have
been safe on the Explorer if inflated to only 20 psi

- Other SUVs sold at the same time as the Explorer recommended similar
tire pressures for similar size tires (Nissan Pathfinder for one).

I can understand why someone who works at a tire store might try to
shift the blame to the vehicle manufacturer. However, if you look beyond
all the media driven hype, it is clear that Firestone was responsible
for the Explorer tire problems. Trying to shift the blame to Ford was a
cowardly act. I don't think Ford got the credit they deserved for
offering to replace all the defective tires. However, I do blame Ford
for installing third rate tires on new vehicles. I have owned 3 Fords
and 1 Audi that came with Firestone tires ('78 Fairmont, '81 Audi Coupe,
'92 F150, '99 Ranger) and they were all crappy tires. The 721's on the
Fairmont bumped like heck and I had to replace them in less than 10,000
miles. The Audi developed a huge bubble in the sidewall of one tire and
it had to be replaced. Although Firestone offered me a new replacement,
I decided they weren't worth the risk and bought Michelins instead. The
tires on the F150 picked up every nail in the road but they are still in
use - as gauge wheels on a piece of farm equipment (with tubes
installed). Ford paid to replace the tires on the Ranger, although two
of them had already failed because the thread split in the middle (not a
separation, just a split).

Amazingly I am very happy with the Bridgestone tires on my Saturn Vue. I
have no idea where they were made, but so far they have been great.
Hopefully Bridgestone/Firestone has learned their lesson (after the
Radial 500, 721, and the Explorer fiasco you would think they'd get the
message). My previous experience was Bridgestone tires was not a
success. I installed a set on a Mazda I owned and was not happy with
then (although I did not think they were dangerous). If the tires on the
Vue continue to perform as well as they have so far, I'd definitely
consider buying another set from Bridgestone.

Regards,

Ed White