purchasing a used '97 Saturn SC2

hi all,
I am looking to buy a '97 SC2 coupe mainly for city transportation
plus any weekend trips under 300-400 miles. The car has 155k miles on
it and is in reasonably good (exterior) condition. I test drove the
car and found that it handled ok. Sharp turns handled especially well.
Can anyone offer tips regarding the long term reliability of the
engine/tranny/other components of '97 Saturn SC2 ?
thanks,
draka

 

Make sure you check the oil AFTER you test drive it; If it goes from looking
like oil to looking like burnt oil, one or more piston rings a stuck (very
common) or a valve seal is blown. Another way to check is to pull the intake
off the manifold and check the throttle body for severe "gunking"

Steve

 

hi all,

At this point you are looking for maintenance records. A car that
was well taken care of probably still has more miles left in it but
something with a mixed maintenance history could well be "used up".
Personally if I was spending my money I wouldn't look at anything with
that kind of mileage on it unless they were practically giving it
away. You should be able to pick up a newer Saturn with half that
many miles on it for 3k.

Steve B.

 

Thanks to Steve and SteveB. for their suggestions. I offered a couple
of grand for the car. Will have to rethink my offer now. Will
definitely ask for the maintenance history.

 

I would agree that it is important to get an idea of the maintenance
history through the records.
I would also agree that ANY car, not just a Saturn, that is 10 years
old with over 150,000 miles on it is not worth all that much money.
$1500 tops if it is in really nice shape and doesn't have any major
problems. $1000 is probably a fair offer if it's not in perfect
shape.

The engine and transmission may go for a long while yet, but you need
to check a lot of things, like brakes, tires, whether the coolant and
transmission fluid have been changed (in addition to the oil). Does
the a/c work on it. I assume since you say the car handles well, that
the struts must have been replaced on it. Are there any noises from
the wheel bearings? Does the belt squeal when you start the car or
when the a/c is turned on? If it does it may need a new tensioner.
This would be true of any car of this age/mileage.

I would also look at things like the condition of the fluids, the
drive belt, the radiator hoses, and the tires. These things you can
check yourself. You can also bring the car to a shop and have them do
an overall inspection so you know what the car may need.

If things have been replaced like the alternator or belt tensioner,
that is good. That will be less for you to do later on.

You have to expect that the car is going to need repairs of some kind
between 150,000 and 200,000 miles, even if the engine and transmission
are in decent shape. It is anticipating what it will need that is the
hard part.

The good part about older Saturns is that they won't have rust like
other cars of their age, and that they have a timing chain, not a
belt, so you don't have to worry about replacing one.

Whether the car lasts 1000 more miles or 100,000 more miles depends on
the care it has been given thus far and whether you also take good
care of it.