2001 Saturn L300 from North America - Comments

In the last seven months, as we hit 100K, we have:

had the transmission serviced.

Replaced: spark plugs, two oxygen sensors, the temperature sensor, the coolant bottle, the serpentine belt, the timing belt, the water pump, the fuel filter, the fuel pump, the battery, the windshield wipers, the tires and bulbs in the back lights.

The failures were:

Oxygen Sensors (2)

Temperature Sensor

Coolant Bottle (leak)

Serpentine belt - obvious wear and cracking, close to failure.

Timing Belt - obvious wear and cracking, close to failure.

Water Pump - failure obvious by the SOUND it was making, as well as engine problems.

Fuel Filter - failure obvious due to difficulty in flow.

Fuel Pump - continued flow difficulties after filter replaced, then unable to start, etc.

Battery - noted failure and when checked, battery was close to death (original battery replaced at 35K, this one at 105K)

Wipers, light bulbs and tires were simple wear, not an issue.

Every part necessary, when purchased from Saturn, was priced astronomically. For example: Fuel filter was $10 at Pep Boys, $95 from Saturn, and when examined, were IDENTICAL DOWN TO THE MANUFACTURER. That is a 950% mark-up. The fuel pump, which should have been $50, was $350. The water pump, which we got for $35 online, was $135 from Saturn. Comparison to the one pulled out of the engine? They were IDENTICAL. Exactly. Every single sensor is about $130 from Saturn, and they fail continually. Oh, and that is $130 AFTER they charge you for reading the code and telling you what is wrong (see below).

Every failure causes the Service Engine light to come on, which is $90 per check for Saturn to tell you what is wrong. THEN they start adding up the cost to repair it, ON TOP of the first $90. Which by the way could go over $90, before they start to repair it, and would still be added on top of the cost of repair. However, the Service Engine light goes on for EVERY SINGLE FAILURE, from a light bulb going out to the water pump failing.

Service Engine light codes can be read by a device available on Ebay at $20. BUT when you get the codes, and you call Saturn to ask what is wrong, they say, "Well, we don't know what those codes mean!" I am not kidding, and that was at many of the places around here (this is LA, we have a million Saturn dealers). What good is it to have codes to say what is wrong if they DON'T MEAN ANYTHING!!!???

Basically, the car runs great when it runs, but any failure, any tiny little problem up through the very large problems are going to cost you time, an extremely large amount of money, and a lot of headaches. Find a mechanic that knows Saturns, but doesn't WORK for them, and you will be MUCH better off. But that is only if you already have one. If you don't, DO NOT BUY A SATURN. You will regret it from the moment you drive off the lot.

Here we go again--another imbecile who thinks cars are magic machines that never need maintenance, and gets upset when it does.

Read your manual, chief--the timing belt requires replacement at 100k, and that's when the water pump should be replaced, too. No good mechanic would replace just the belt. The trans should be serviced every 50k, your battery lasted 70k, and the fuel filter should also be replaced as a maintenance item. The serpentine belt it a maintenance item, too.

In fact, the only items that AREN'T maintenance items are the coolant reservoir (which was cheap), the fuel pump, and the temp sensor. Not bad for over 100k of driving.

But, I bet you'll dump the car and buy a Honda, and then complain about that when it needs maintenance, too.

Yep, I agree. People need to do regular maintenance on cars to avoid doing a major maintenance overhaul at once or worse, reapiring damage to a car from a lack of maintenance.

All of the problems the car owner stated are normal procedures on every car.

Every car dealer will sell you marked up car parts and car repairs. Find yourself a good mechanic or a trusted repair shop like Firestone, Sears, etc.