Faults:

The EGR valve has gone twice, and it needs to be cleaned or replaced again - a common problem among Saturns. Costs about $150.

The rubber seal at the bottom of the window has gone. $60, but just cosmetic.

General Comments:

I got the car new, it's now eight and still going strong. It's never left me stranded, still gets great mileage and is fine for commuting. Cheap + dependable.

Minus sides:

Not that comfortable to sit in. I wouldn't buy this car now because I'm getting too old to sit so low :)

Legroom is terrible if you have more than 2 people in the car, or one has long legs.

Cargo room is laughable.

Saturns are LOUD - wind noise and rattles, and being so close to the road doesn't help.

When driving up a hill, you can hear the car say "I think I can... I think I can..." as it huffs and puffs and you are passed by old Plymouth Volares.

Starts eating oil after about 70K or so.

Poor turning radius.

Conclusion: what do you want? If you are looking for something to get you to work and back every day, without fail, and you're not six feet tall or very fat, it's a fine car. If you want to get a fairly cheap starter car for your teenager that he won't race in (because it's impossible), you can't miss. If you want sex and luxury, look somewhere else.

Faults:

I don't remember the exact dates or mileage for the following problems that I have had with my Saturn, but it has all been within last 50K miles and the car is still under 100K miles. It is at about 90K miles to be exact.

Coolant temp sensor gave out first.

Replaced both of the front wheel bearings twice (that's a total of 4 wheel bearings in two years)

Valve cover gasket blew and filled the area around the spark plug with oil.

The car has had constant electrical problems related to the inside fuse panel (under the dash and radio). The car has refused to start many, many times due to this, but eventually did after wiggling a wire or unmounting the entire fuse panel. However, there are no charred or burn or pitted contacts, no cracks in the panel itself, and everything seems to come in contact with its respective wire and fuse.

The seats tend to recline or slide back when any pressure is put on them. I have recently heard that there is a recall on the seat guides for 95 and 96 SC series Saturns. You'll have to check with Saturn on that.

The transmission gasket has just started leaking, and a service member told me that it tends to happen on Saturns around 50K miles or so.

When I am not fixing parts on my Saturn, it runs great.

General Comments:

I have gathered that half of the Saturns out there are dream cars that never quit and the other half are headaches.

Saturns burn a lot of oil. So, you have to check it often. And if you change your own oil, you will notice that the filter is in an awful spot. It is almost impossible to not get oil on some part of the car.

If you aren't mechanically inclined or at least willing to work on your cars, I don't recommend a Saturn. It may just cost you more money than the car is worth.