2003 Saturn L200 from North America

Summary:

Don't waste your money on a Saturn

Faults:

While running the air, hot air would blast on my feet.

Leaked oil.

Rims on tires bent with normal usage due to the rims being so wide. Apparently is a common problem, but Saturn is not fixing it.

Air kicked on in the middle of winter.

Timing belt went out.

Rack and pinion had to be replaced after 30000 and NOT under warranty.

Gas guzzler.

General Comments:

Awful!!! Will never own another Saturn again. No quality in American made cars anymore.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th November, 2007

16th Nov 2007, 08:14

The rims are too wide, causing them to bend? Huh?

And FYI, the L200 doesn't have a timing belt.

The Saturn has a 3 year / 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty, so your rack should have been covered at 30k.

Get your facts straight.

6th Apr 2008, 13:31

The l200 is an amazing car!!! I don't think this guy owns the l200.

9th Jun 2008, 11:33

We've owned our Saturn L200 2003 for 5 years now, and I will admit we LOVED it for the first 3 years... since then we've had nothing but problems!!!

We've had to replace brakes & transmission with less than 60K miles!!!

We've had issues with lights, locks, & squeaking front end parts!? (still nobody can fix those!) and now we just found out we have to replace the A/C pump... the part alone will cost us $600!!!

I wish we would have spent a little more money and bought a Honda!!! We've owned 3 Hondas and have never had 1 single issue with ANY of them... and we owned them until they were over 100K miles!!! No wonder the US car industry is failing!!! :(

Boo hoo on Saturn... not impressed! Now I know why we got such an AMAZING deal on the car!!!

22nd Apr 2010, 06:29

I know he doesn't own one... LOL... the L200 has a timing chain.

2003 Saturn L200 2.4L from North America

Summary:

Great commuter car due to safety, gas mileage, comfort, and room

Faults:

At 64,000 miles it needs a new power steering pump and rear brakes. The "groaning" when turning around corners just a couple of weeks ago. Cost to replace today is about $400. Ouch! Saturn dealer is higher, but is this normal? $535 to replace the rear brake shoes and drums! Again Saturn dealer was about $100 higher. The grinding started suddenly this week. Can't understand how or why the brake shoe wear was so much above normal between the last inspection and the one due next month.

Having the transmission fluid changed today, too. Manual states 50k for this service. Had brake fluid changed once already; again today. Have changed oil every 3,000 to 3,500 miles since the beginning.

Was rear-ended by an illegal alien traveling >25MPH while stopped at a light in 2005. $5k damage to my L200, but the car came through fine and so did I.

General Comments:

Gas mileage driving back and forth to work in mixed 55mpg and stop-and-go driving has been about 26~26 MPG. On trips low 30's is the norm. Of note is that using the 10% ethanol mix they sell in my area, as opposed to 100% gasoline, mileage decreases about 10%. When filling up outside of my area with 100% gasoline, AC off, windows up, and driving back at a steady 65 (with the old Firestone tires) I once got 39MPG. For the size and weight of the car, this is phenomenal.

New tires at 59,000 miles. The original Firestones lasted a reasonable number of miles. I maintained alignment about annually. Replaced with Goodyear assurance tripletred. The original Firestones had far less traction than the new Goodyears. So much so that the ABS used to engage frequently in traffic and almost never does now. Noted a small drop in gas mileage, however. Maybe about 5%, so it is hard to pin it down except for saying a small decrease. Small price to pay for safety!

Replaced Front pads the first time at 42,000 miles. Cost $157 at the local Goodyear. No problems since.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th October, 2007

3rd Jun 2008, 10:26

Was rear-ended by an "illegal alien". How is that relevant to the vehicle review??

4th Oct 2009, 07:07

$157 to change your front pads!!!???

You realize you can go into any auto parts store, and simply buy the front brake pads, all four or them for about 30$ at the most. Then you take off the tire, snap off the pad and put the new one on. In total, this is including driving to get the parts and putting on the pads, it should cost about $30, and take up about 20 minutes of your time.

I have had 3 Saturns, and that is why I buy them, because they are like matchbox cars, the parts are very easy to work on, very cheap and in general anyone can do it.

For example, my old '98 SL2, the oxygen/fuel sensor went, so I was going to have a garage do it, simply cuz I had no tools at the time. They wanted $350...

No way, not a chance. I went to the nearest auto zone, picked up a $25 sensor, went out into the parking lot, asked the guy behind the counter to borrow a few tools and bam, 5 minutes, done. You basically open the hood, and the O2 sensor is staring you in the face.. $350, unbelievable...

But that is the reason I got a Saturn, to work on it myself, unless, I don't have the tools to do the job. In that case it will probably not be worth fixing.

Anyway, I guess my point is, brake pads for a Saturn are approx. $20-$30, depending what auto parts store you go to, if you are going to change your brake pads, why not save yourself $140??

Once you take the tire off, which I'm sure you can do, you literally pull off the old pads with your hands and replace them into the shoe, then snap them back on.. it is soooo easy. I'm certainly not putting you down, maybe you're just too busy, but I'm just making you aware of how easy Saturns are to work on. I've had 3 and that is the reason why, cheap parts, easy to work on. Good luck with yours.

Unfortunately, I just got the third one, it was used, great shape, but it is the much maligned 2002 L-200 2.2l 4 cylinder engine. The one where apparently the timing "chain", not belt, but chain is going to snap any mile now, and cause horrible valve and engine damage. So I guess we'll see. So far, so good. It runs beautifully just as I thought it would.

Again, good luck in the future with yours, and save yourself some money, even if it's just buying the pads at an auto parts store and having the mechanics use those.. that will save you at least 60 bucks. They triple most parts.

Good day to you.

AJ.