Saturn Question

[Johnny]

Need some Saturn help!

I am in the market for an used car for myself. Lady down the street has a 2000 Saturn wagon with 35,000 miles, all leather and loaded. It looks and drives very nice and has been well maintained.

My question is this: It has a V6 engine. I did not know that Saturns had V6 engines. Does anyone know anything about these V6 engines. All info appreciated.

At this time I do not need any other input on other brands as Honda, Toyota, etc. I am also looking at some of these, but this Saturn is extremely nice.

 

[kingrob]

Johnny, the V6 is a 3.0 English designed Opel engine; I'm told it is an extremely durable engine from friends and family who own one. I've heard from more than a couple of folks that they don't like synth, stick with 4k dino changes. The car itself handles/rides very nice for a smaller, FWD car. It's got some decent hp (I think 180) and it seems like a good deal compared to the other cars in its class, even though the leather interior helps jack the price up considerably.

 

[Johnny]

kingrob, thanks for the information.

 

[Mystic]

Johnny, I have owned several Saturns, mostly SL2s but now I have a Saturn Ion. They are nice cars but if I was more wealthy I think I would drive Toyota, Nissan or Honda. When I bought my first Saturn the dealership was incredibly nice-and it is one price, depending on options, with no baloney games. I don't think Saturn dealerships are quite as nice as they used to be, however.

Several people have claimed that Saturns build up sludge around the rings. I don't know if that is true or not. If it is true I think it was true of the SL1s and the SL2s and the SC1s and SC2s. Saturn does indeed have V6 engines in some of their vehicles, and they now have a van that is really nice (you can get it all-wheel-drive) and they have all-wheel-drive vehicles (the Vue) that are kind of like SUVs. They are coming out with an open air vehicle-I have not seen it yet except on TV.

The Ion has different engines then in the old SCs and SLs. Personally I liked the appearance of the older Saturns but I like the engine in the Ion better. It has a strange cannister like oil filter which at first I thought I was going to like and now I wish they had a standard can like oil filter.

Saturns are cheap and decent transportation. If I could I would be driving a Corolla, Camry, Civic, or Sentra but a Saturn is okay. I don't think Saturns are at the quality level of the Japanese designed cars but Saturns are okay little cars.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Good to see Mystic back on GAOT.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks a lot. At least somebody missed me. For various reasons I was not online for quite a while and for quite a while I was just reading the posts and not contributing any posts. Heck, I missed all this talk anout some supplement that Molecule apparently markets-SX-UP? I didn't realize I was off line that long.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

It just seems like you missed a lot. The big news is that Pablo sold his house, yada, yada , yada.

 

[rjundi]

This particular car makes Consumer Reports used cars to avoid list due to reliability issues. These are the only ratings I put weight into with Consumer Reports. Remember this does not mean you will necessarily have issues, its more that you your chances are greater of this occuring.

 

[The_Jeff]

Apparantly electrical issues haunt this car. Funky body control modules that control everything and undersized alternator/headlight wiring that make the headlights "blink" (my bet, dim) when the rad fan or other sizeable load kicks on.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mystic:
It has a strange cannister like oil filter which at first I thought I was going to like and now I wish they had a standard can like oil filter.

---

I like that filter. It can be removed without making a mess and there's no need to punch a hole in it to drain the oil out of it before disposal.

 

[The Critic]

Johnny,
There are better cars for the money. I'd look into a new Korean car or an ex-rental Cobalt, Malibu, or Taurus from Hertz.

Saturn has sub-standard build quality. Look for pictures of the 96 Saturn SL2 in my family here: http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=005997#000000

The car has about 85,000 miles on it, and drives like it has 850,000 miles on it because of the rattles and vibrations. The plastic door panels do resist dents quite well, but it severely hurts the fit/finish as the doors show their age very quickly.

Also, after a minor collision, it was difficult to get the the door panel to line up properly after the repair. (Left Rear door)

Lastly, Saturn is going down the toilet. Their sales are suffering, and they discontinued the L-Series. I fear that the Saturn line-up will disappear within the next 10 years or so, which can really make parts difficult to obtain.

Michael

 

[Beast of Busco]

I do not know much about the V-6 in the Saturns, but I do know MANY people that are satisfied Saturn owners, myself included.

While I do agree with Micheal Wan about questioning Saturn as a company today (seems like they are becoming just another GM brand), I think that they've built some good economical cars.

I feel the biggest thing is how it's been maintained, how it fits your family and lifestyle, and the price. You will have some people tell you this about ANY car you buy:
"My 3rd cousin's neighbor's roomate had a buddy whose sister's niece had a Saturn that was a piece of $%^@!"

For me, I'd have to get a 4 cylinder with the price of gas not likely to go down!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Johnny,

The V-6 equipped Saturns are in the L-series "mid-size" Saturn. This 3.0L seems to work wonderfully. However, the rest of the car isn't as reliable. The 2000-2002 MY's aren't all too reliable from what I've read on Saturnfans.com. Several mechanical issues and lots of electrical frustrations. The 2003-2005 MY's are allegedly more reliable.

This same 3.0L V6 sits in the 2002-2003 Saturn Vue. The 2004-present V-6 powerplant is a Honda 3.5L 250HP SOHC engine, the same as in the Honda Odyssey. I own this one, LOTS of fun to drive!