Another car like the Saturn

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sirgerman

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I need another car , mostly to go to college and get back (about 50 miles away), my ideal car for that purpose is another Saturn sl2 for some reason i cant find one with a reasonable amount of miles, either to many miles or price is not right , is there another car beside the Saturn, out there with pretty much the same characteristics ? (cheap to fix , easy on gas, reliable ) ?
list so far
escort
Pontiac sun fire , reliable ?
civic
tracer
what else i am missing ?
 
Out of that list, Escort/Tracer with 1.9L would be at the top. Besides broken springs and tierods/balljoints they aren't that bad of a car. If you can find a 5 speed one that would be even better.

Second I would say a Civic, about the only thing they go through is exhaust systems.
 
If you want it simple, it's gotta be older..
I love the Saturn for that as well. They are great for DIY'ers. I plan on driving S-series as long as I possibly can.

As for what else is like it .. I really can't say I have a clue!
 
If you're wanting something like the Saturn, I'd suggest a 2004-2007 Malibu with the 2.4 liter engine.

The one that I had was surprisingly well built, and could easily get over 30 mpg.

Or even a late model Cavalier. Yeah, it isn't going to be very exciting... but it sounds like your goal is a commuter car.
 
You could go even older on the Malibu, with the same (sized) engine.

Ours is at 200k with less maintenenace than our old Saturn SL1.

And it burns a LOT less oil, is more comfortable, etc.
 
I was looking a 2000 escort just 45k , but if you do Internet search about reliability , is really bad , I just want something cheap on gas and mechanical strong.
civic is to expensive
geo no way I can find a decent one
corolla that a yes
sentra that a yes (to expensive)
protege that a yes
cavalier ?
sunfire ?
focus ?
mirage ?
 
It actually has a 2.2L engine. It has served me well for three years now, and everything is really easy to get to in the engine compartment.
 
25 is pretty low for the 4-cylinder Malibu. I get 28-29 in mine and my commute is very hilly. On normal terrian I would get low..maybe mid 30's.

Upper 30's you're looking for a car smaller than the Malibu. I still think it would be an okay choice for you.
 
Hyundai accents are okay and the 13 inch tires are often in newspaper sales at 4 for $100.

Like the S series you can get accents with AC and manual steering, an odd but sensible combo. However my accent hatchback did not hold the road that well, may have been wonky suspension and probably the tiny skinny tires. I've had lots of SOHC s-series and your SL2 has better sway bars so the hyundai would really feel different to you.

The only wierd thing I noticed with my sisters and my accents is they like to stick a steel bolt in an aluminum engine without proper protection against galvanic corrosion, so a lot of stuff is tough to get apart years later.

Cavaliers and sunfires take abuse pretty well but are odd in the engine compartment; why did some years have this 2 foot long metal tube from the passenger side of the motor over to the driver's side radiator? It's like the powertrain people did not talk to the radiator supplier. And the bizzare bracing from engine to transmission near the starter says, "we were planning on a different engine but made this one fit." They are good for 36-37 mpg with the stick shift and have lots of torque.
 
I just want something to last at least 150k with out any parts to be replace , brakes and maintenance is ok I don't have problem w that , that why I love the sl2 it burn oil but I can live with that
 
I like the Accent okay. I really prefer the Kia Spectra5. It's shifter is a little vague, many Korean cars suffer from that. But I like the rest of the car. It's related to the Hyundai Elantra so it should be similar in reliability. I've seen several well over 100,000 miles and given the condition of the tires and overall condition of the car, I'd say they've seen little appreciable maintenance.

Plus, Kias depreciate worse than most cars. You should be able to pick up a reasonably new, well equipped Spectra for the cost of a much older/higher mileage Civic or Corolla.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Hyundai accents are okay and the 13 inch tires are often in newspaper sales at 4 for $100.

Like the S series you can get accents with AC and manual steering, an odd but sensible combo. However my accent hatchback did not hold the road that well, may have been wonky suspension and probably the tiny skinny tires. I've had lots of SOHC s-series and your SL2 has better sway bars so the hyundai would really feel different to you.

The only wierd thing I noticed with my sisters and my accents is they like to stick a steel bolt in an aluminum engine without proper protection against galvanic corrosion, so a lot of stuff is tough to get apart years later.

Cavaliers and sunfires take abuse pretty well but are odd in the engine compartment; why did some years have this 2 foot long metal tube from the passenger side of the motor over to the driver's side radiator? It's like the powertrain people did not talk to the radiator supplier. And the bizzare bracing from engine to transmission near the starter says, "we were planning on a different engine but made this one fit." They are good for 36-37 mpg with the stick shift and have lots of torque.


HAH I know EXACTLY what metal tube you are talking about, and yes it is baffling. The design of some things under that hood made me scratch my head.
 
How about the Focus? My father has driven his wagon to around 137,000 with no major repairs needed so far (knocking on wood). Relatively roomy, good handling, tons of them on the road to choose from, decent economy. My father gets about 32 mpg in the wagon.
 
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