Saturns as used vehicles?

Question for the group here...

Honestly, would most of you buy a Saturn as a used vehicle? Lots of
the threads here seem to be repair questions.

I've been looking, and Saturns seem to be a good mix of features,
vehicle size, and low mileage when it comes to used vehicles. I can
find 98 or newer SL2's with 70,000 miles, sometimes less for $5000 to
$6000...

Seems like a good deal if they're good vehilces. People I've talked to
have mixed opinions so I figured I'd ask here.

 

My 98 SL2 is worth more than that to me. In other words, I'd buy it for
that price. I probably won't sell it for a while, since no one will pay
me what I think its worth. It's been a relatively trouble-free car for me.

Any auto newsgroup is going to have discussion of problems and failures.
Don't let that discourage you from getting any particular car. If you
buy a Saturn, read posts here and you'll learn a lot of useful stuff.

 

I bought a '99 SL1 in February with 48,000 miles for $5800. Now, at 61,000,
I've had zero problems. I'm very happy so far!

-Alan L.

 

Same here. Bought a 99 SL1 basic car for around 6k that had 33k miles
on it summer of 02. No problems so far and have about 51k miles on it
now.
Best of luck,
MR

 

Me, too!

My first was a 92 SL1 with 36K -- I ran it to ~75K trouble-free miles.
I'd planned on keeping it until it ran into the ground, but, alas, a
drunk driver in a pick-up truck totaled it. (I had no injuries.)

My second was a replacement for that car -- a 96 SL1 with 24K. It was
at about 105K when I sold it. Other than maintenance, no problems. The
last repairs were to replace an EGR valve, spark plug wires, brake
work, and a couple of odds and ends. I'd still have the car except
that my father and sweetie were concerned about my making long trips
with that many miles on the car. I couldn't convince them that at
100K, a Saturn's just getting broken in

My latest is a 2002 SL2 -- I bought it in July with 24K. I've noticed
a little drop in quality from the earlier cars, but not significant.

I still miss the 96 -- generic, cheap to run, cheap to repair, cheap
to insure, great on gas mileage, the body still looking good,
comfortable on long drives.

I'd definitely recommend a used Saturn. Maybe it's something about
Saturn drivers, too -- I think as a group we're pretty good about
maintenance and treating our cars well.

--Nan

 

They are probably a better used vehicle than a new one! I've had about a
dozen things that have needed to be fixed on my 2002 LW300 in the 34K miles
since I got it new. However, if you purchase a used one, you will typically
only have to fix things that wear out, rather than fixing all of the stupid
production line crap that a Japanese manufacturer would likely catch before
it shipped. Of course, everything has been covered by warranty, but when you
live an hour plus two ferry rides from the only dealership in a 150 mile
radius, not to mention my time wasted in the waiting room, trips to the shop
get tired fast! The cars are great, just poor production line quality, IMO.

 

It's not really a Saturn unless it's an S-Series... (wink)

 

hi
we bought a used 92 sl-1,probably the most reliable car we have ever owned.
160000mi/burned no oil and only had to pay for regular stuff(tires brakes
etc.)
we recently bought a 1995 sw2 and it seems fine except it has the oil
consumpion problem.
hopefully the wagon will be as good as the sl1 was.
my wife loves these cars thats why we bought the wagon.
regards,jeff

 

ditto