are Saturn's reliable or whats up with them? everyone seems to hate

[2strokeNorthstar]

I had an SL-1. Slow and uncomfortable but reliable and great MPG. Floor rusted out before the engine died. Burned an alarming amount of oil

 

[mattwithcats]

On the S Series Saturns, if you start burning oil, use Rotella T6 in either 0W-40 or 5W-40...

I have a manual SL2 as a highway car...
5th gear was an easy change from performance .730 gear to Economy .605 from an SL/SL1...
Dropped RPM’s by 1000, getting 44 MPG...

 

[350Rocket]

Take the 3.4 Liter Impala off the list. When the miles get up there with them they are unbelievable money pits. Especially in areas where there is a lot of salt used in the winters (read that as parking break cables, gas lines, and brake lines) that will cost way more than you think they should to get fixed. And the EGR and EVAP system problems and intermittent wire connections, bad ignition coils, bad harmonic balancer / drive pulley, alternator, windshield leaks, and several other things. They really do become money pits with the high miles.

I've seen them with a ton of miles too at the taxi company across the street when I worked at Goodyear. One went 540,000kms before the transmission failed, engine blew up and was replaced at 470,000kms). These guys did zero maintenance, oil changes every year or 2, drivers were abusive. Another one went 675,000kms, I remember that car constantly bouncing up and down, the rear struts were so bad.

The other taxi company in that town ran 95% nothing but impalas. Most were the 3800 which was the better engine but the 3400 could last also.

 

[CincyDavid]

I bought a 2003 Saturn L200 from the 92 year old I bought my Florida home from...109k miles, 2.2L ecotec, auto. Frosty a/c, doesn't burn oil, paid $750. Has a few old lady parking dings but nothing major. Kind of a turd but runs well and always starts in the morning. I suspect if an older car is still running it's probably a pretty good example...the ones that were lemons were killed off years ago.

 

[350Rocket]

I bought a 2003 Saturn L200 from the 92 year old I bought my Florida home from...109k miles, 2.2L ecotec, auto. Frosty a/c, doesn't burn oil, paid $750. Has a few old lady parking dings but nothing major. Kind of a turd but runs well and always starts in the morning. I suspect if an older car is still running it's probably a pretty good example...the ones that were lemons were killed off years ago.

Kinda funny, while reading this thread last night, waiting for my girlfriend to come out of the liquor store someone pulled up next to me in an old L series wagon with the ecotec. It had broken exhaust and didn't look well maintained but the engine was quiet and sounded smooth. They were too new to see high mileage ones when I worked at Saturn. We did see a lot of fuel pump failures (expensive at the time) and some other weird specific issues but didn't seem to be a terrible car.

 

[CincyDavid]

Kinda funny, while reading this thread last night, waiting for my girlfriend to come out of the liquor store someone pulled up next to me in an old L series wagon with the ecotec. It had broken exhaust and didn't look well maintained but the engine was quiet and sounded smooth. They were too new to see high mileage ones when I worked at Saturn. We did see a lot of fuel pump failures (expensive at the time) and some other weird specific issues but didn't seem to be a terrible car.

Wouldn't be my first choice, wouldn't have sought it out, but it seems like an OK little generic compact sedan. Some idiot lights pop up periodically on the dash, but they don't seem to hurt anything.

 

[jalikaria24]

Take the 3.4 Liter Impala off the list. When the miles get up there with them they are unbelievable money pits. Especially in areas where there is a lot of salt used in the winters (read that as parking break cables, gas lines, and brake lines) that will cost way more than you think they should to get fixed. And the EGR and EVAP system problems and intermittent wire connections, bad ignition coils, bad harmonic balancer / drive pulley, alternator, windshield leaks, and several other things. They really do become money pits with the high miles.

i had another question about the 3.4l impala's, i found some with km as low as 150,000km which is about 94,000 miles. would you still avoid it with this low of mileage? my friend wants the car to be reliable for 2-3 years and i dont think he will put more then 10,000 km a year cuz all he does is light city driving



thx

 

[350Rocket]

i had another question about the 3.4l impala's, i found some with km as low as 150,000km which is about 94,000 miles. would you still avoid it with this low of mileage? my friend wants the car to be reliable for 2-3 years and i dont think he will put more then 10,000 km a year cuz all he does is light city driving



thx

With the number of 3800 impalas available I would be trying to get one of them...that said as I posted before they got 400k miles out of one and almost 300k out of another (before a cheap used engine swap) and my mom had a 99 alero with the same engine and it was running perfect and quiet at about 215k miles when it blew a brake line and was too rusty to be worth fixing. It had intake gaskets replaced under warranty and other than that nothing major.
If you find a good price on a rust free 3400 Impala there is no good reason to pass on it. Even if head gaskets failed (an occasional issue with them) it's probably cheaper than a lot of repairs on newer vehicles that are just out of warranty.

 

[jalikaria24]

sorry to keep adding onto the posts but it seems like i might be able to find a 2005 ish mazda 3 gt or hatchback etc etc for around 190,000 km.
just from the mazda name, i believe this car should be a priority of mine compared to the other cars that i stated in this post or am i wrong?

basically its either going to be a 150k km impala/focus/caliber or somehting like that or a 190k mazda 3 for the same price

which would u take to last 2-3 years and then be sold ?

thx

 

[350Rocket]

sorry to keep adding onto the posts but it seems like i might be able to find a 2005 ish mazda 3 gt or hatchback etc etc for around 190,000 km.
just from the mazda name, i believe this car should be a priority of mine compared to the other cars that i stated in this post or am i wrong?

basically its either going to be a 150k km impala/focus/caliber or somehting like that or a 190k mazda 3 for the same price

which would u take to last 2-3 years and then be sold ?

thx

Check for major rust, the biggest issue with those era Mazda's. At this price point, as others mentioned, pay zero attention to mileage and only look at condition/rust. You can find well maintained vehicles with 300k miles that have lots of new parts and can be reliable for a couple years.

 

[jalikaria24]

Check for major rust, the biggest issue with those era Mazda's. At this price point, as others mentioned, pay zero attention to mileage and only look at condition/rust. You can find well maintained vehicles with 300k miles that have lots of new parts and can be reliable for a couple years.

yeah all the vehicles i look at are comparable in condition - as in low rust. i found some other vehicles with worse rust and similar km's but i didnt include those in my search

thx

 

[350Rocket]

yeah all the vehicles i look at are comparable in condition - as in low rust. i found some other vehicles with worse rust and similar km's but i didnt include those in my search

thx

In that case I'd see if maintenance history was available or evident (look at condition of all fluids, belts etc) the condition is more important than mileage. For example, my 05 Silverado has 200k miles but I have just recently changed all fluids, sanded, primed and painted most of the frame before oil spraying it. There are lots of them with lower mileage that could be in a lot worse shape.

 

[atikovi]

The only Saturn to stay away from are the Vues with CVT transmissions. Otherwise all Saturns are pretty reliable but underrated so can be good deals for cheap transportation. As for Mazda, I'd stay away just because the parts prices are very high, especially for dealer only parts. If looking at Impala, start with the new bodystyle in 2006. Not much more money but much nicer car. For Cavaliers and other GM J bodies like Pontiac Surfire, they are pretty good mechanically but are likely pretty rusty by that age. Post what city you are in and we can check Craigslist.

 

[jalikaria24]

The only Saturn to stay away from are the Vues with CVT transmissions. Otherwise all Saturns are pretty reliable but underrated so can be good deals for cheap transportation. As for Mazda, I'd stay away just because the parts prices are very high, especially for dealer only parts. If looking at Impala, start with the new bodystyle in 2006. Not much more money but much nicer car. For Cavaliers and other GM J bodies like Pontiac Surfire, they are pretty good mechanically but are likely pretty rusty by that age. Post what city you are in and we can check Craigslist.

sounds good thanks a ton! we usually use kijiji here and it seemed like a lot of the cars i looked at 1-2 days ago are sold but its all good because new ones pop up all the time, we are looking to make the purchase mid next week so whatever cars are available at that time is what we will go with.
city we are looking at is edmonton alberta

thx!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

sounds good thanks a ton! we usually use kijiji here and it seemed like a lot of the cars i looked at 1-2 days ago are sold but its all good because new ones pop up all the time, we are looking to make the purchase mid next week so whatever cars are available at that time is what we will go with.
city we are looking at is edmonton alberta

thx!

great!

I found this Yaris. Although it is slightly above your budget, they do accept credit cards, so you can charge the difference and make payments. You're lucky to have gotten the 4-door hatchback so early (it wasn't available in the US until 2009, and we never got the Echo hatch)

There is also this Aerio SX, listed at $2500 but says price is negotiable, so possible to get in your budget

 

[atikovi]

2008 Pontiac G5
CA$2,200

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

2001 Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Intrigue
CA$1,800

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

2002 Pontiac Grand Prix
CA$1,400

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

2007 Hyundai Sonata
CA$1,260

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[jalikaria24]

thanks for all your help!!! great community around here
just for peace of mind i want to keep the km's as low as possible
i know the consensus is that i should look for the best condition car and that sometimes higher km car's are maintained way better then a low km car but ive had some bad experience with high km cars in the past so that is why.

i will for sure check out that suzuki next week when my friend comes into town and when we actually decude to buy! thx for all the help so far

 

[jalikaria24]

example:

Kijiji - Buy, Sell & Save with Canada's #1 Local Classifieds

Visit Kijiji Classifieds to buy, sell, or trade almost anything! New and used items, cars, real estate, jobs, services, vacation rentals and more virtually anywhere.

www.kijiji.ca

i don't know much about cars but nissan makes good cars as far as i remember, seems to have low km, and in good enough shape!i would pounce on this rn but my friend wants to see and drive the car so we will have to wait and see till next week.

 

[PimTac]

i had another question about the 3.4l impala's, i found some with km as low as 150,000km which is about 94,000 miles. would you still avoid it with this low of mileage? my friend wants the car to be reliable for 2-3 years and i dont think he will put more then 10,000 km a year cuz all he does is light city driving



thx

Would you rather have a higher mileage car so it will be more dependable?

 

[addyguy]

Not to be repetitive, but in the year range you are looking at, rust is going to be your biggest issue. Be sure to look at the underside of the cars - they may look great up top, and there be nothing good left underneath. Seen it sooooo many times.