2003 Saturn Ion, looking at purchasing one.

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Rat407

Rat407

Joined
Dec 13, 2002
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North Carolina
I'm now looking at getting an 03 Ion, at least that is what I take it to be since it doesn't say anything on the vehicle stating it is an Ion. It is silver and a standard shift. Has 140k miles on it and the only thing wrong with it that I can see, since I have not driven it yet, is the windshield needs to be replaced. The owner said the AC works great and there isn't any thing wrong with it. He lost the key and needs to have one made. Going to do that tomorrow. He is asking $1,000 for it. Paint is in good shape and no other body issues. Tires are good as well.

What to look for? I know the usual stuff, just not sure what else on this model.

Thanks
smile.gif
 
Sounds like the owner picked up the car from salvage...
Well, they had head gasket issues but, IDK whatelse. Also, get a carfax as this may(MAY)tell you if the car was in an accident, providing the damage was reported. And if there are any open recalls.
 
i bought a 2003 ion for my teeneger for under $1000 at an auction a couple of years ago. so, i'm well qualified to answer this question. While 140,000 miles is considered to be low for a 2003 car, you have to be aware that a lot of things break in ions at about 100,000 miles. front suspension with tons of clattering noise, clearance in steering, wheel bearings, alternator, starter, timing chain, etc.

you have to do a careful test drive to rule out the above. in the auction car i bought (no test driving) @135,000 miles, the front suspension was a mess, and i had to replace both alternator and starter shortly after in addition to tires and some miscellaneous hardware including oxygen sensor. a couple of wheel bearings were replaced by a previous owner already. fortunately, the parts can be found very cheaply for this car if you DIY. if i had to pay for those repairs, it would be many thousands of dollars (and this why it was traded in and sold at auction).

BTW, the 5-speed AT tranny in 03 sedan is japan made and very reliable, unlike the CVT option made in Italy in the redline models. Don't know much about the MT reliability in this.

i bought it as a low cost "disposable" first car. my son still drives it fine 2 years and 20,000 miles later.

BTW, AC is very strong, but fan is very noisy and hard to replace. it does consume oil and the MPG is worse than i thought.
 
Not sure how titling works in NC, but definitely would make sure the "owner" actually owned the car for a while. The 2.2L Ecotec is pretty sturdy and yes, there is an outside chance of a headgasket issue but check coolant to make sure it's full and the oil as well...
 
Thanks for the info. I'll keep this all in mind. I'll know more tomorrow when I get to drive it. The cost to replace the windshield is $198 through Safelite. So not to bad.
 
If u were closer, I would sell u my beater for less, and it doesn't need a thing because I already did them. Oh well, it'll go on Craigslist
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Werent these saturns oil burners with stuck and coked up rings?



The older ones were but the Ecotech isn't, but I could be wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: Rat407
Originally Posted By: Chris142
safelite glass is junk

Just curious as to why it is junk?
Safelite uses the cheapest thinnest windshields. All of the ones I've had done by Safelite pit really bad and crack easily.
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Werent these saturns oil burners with stuck and coked up rings?



You're talking about the SL series using the 1.9L DOHC or SOHC. They were done by 2001...
 
I have a 2004 Ion, 144,000 or thereabouts. Nothing has worn out on it. The only things I've had to replace are things I've broken myself.
 
I had a 2003 saturn ion level 1, manual trans.

It is stripped totally, no options but AC.

Car ran perfect up to 95k miles when I traded it. Original clutch felt fine as well when I traded it in at 95k miles.

Did not burn a drop of oil. Nice car to have up north because they are plastic bodies.

I did have to replace the ignition switch on the car twice, they didn't have the electronic key thing figured out in 2003, and there was a high failure rate for that on the ion. It left me stranded twice because of the security system not liking my factory key.

Other than that it required nothing but standard upkeep.
 
IF the clutch goes out you have to pull the whole powertrain to split it to fix it, $$$.

03s have timing chain issues but you *might* be able to save them preventatively by changing a tensioner, accessible externally.

They are very uninspiring cars, but for $1k, meh?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Rat407
Originally Posted By: Chris142
safelite glass is junk

Just curious as to why it is junk?
Safelite uses the cheapest thinnest windshields. All of the ones I've had done by Safelite pit really bad and crack easily.
yep
 
These were actually good cars, minus the CVT but this one is a manual. Not crazy about the center mount instrument cluster, but otherwise they are solid, easy to work on and parts are cheap and plentiful.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
The ion never got the following that the s-series did.


i think this was due the poor MPG of ion compared to S-series, and fuel prices did go up exponentially in 2000's as everyone remembers i'm sure. the short time i drove that thing before giving it to my son, it was doing only 21-25mpg compared to 28-30mpg in corolla (both automatic, city driving).

if you check saturn forums poeple complain about oil burning in ion too, but it's usually not as bad and happens with high miles.
 
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