I purchased my used, 1997, SC1 in March 3, 2000, from Saturn of Brunswick, North Brunswick, New Jersey. I was informed by Saturn of Brunswick that the car had a number of maintenance services performed on it before I purchased it and paperwork was shown to me to back up the sales man's statements.
When I test drove the car, it pulled to the right and I mentioned this to the salesman. He stated it was the road that made the car feel like it was out of alignment because there is a high volume of tractor trailers on the road and the trucks indent the asphalt. Plus, the paperwork he showed me, stated that the car was aligned. Soon after I purchased my SC1, the front tires wore down to the wires, a very dangerous situation. I then had to purchase all new tires and have the car aligned.
In April 2000, I noticed that there was a sticker inside the front spoiler of my car with the delivery date of 1999. My car is a 1997, so it was evident the front spoiler was replaced. It was also noticed by my mechanic that the driver's side front fender was replaced and the back bumper was repainted. It was later confirmed by Saturn of Freehold (Freehold, New Jersey) that my car was in for body work before I purchased the car which leads me to believe the car was in an accident. This is something that either would have prevented me from buying the car or would have prompted me to take it to a body shop to ensure the frame was not damaged. The hood also has to be tightened every 6 months or so because it becomes looser and rattles.
The steering on my SC1 never felt right. Whenever I would turn (left) into a parking spot, the wheel would spin quickly and it felt like the front of the car was sliding. I just assumed that's the way the car was, but I now recently come to find out that the left, front, ball joint needed to be replaced, which could have been the result of an accident. I had the ball joint replaced.
In March 2001, my temperature light was coming on every time I drove the car, which of course caused great panic and I had to keep pulling off the road and putting the heat on in an attempt to cool off the car which I thought might overheat. I took the car to a mechanic who stated that the anti-freeze was brown and he flushed and refilled the system. A few weeks later, the light started coming on again, every two minutes. The temperature needle never goes any higher when the light comes on and I knew the coolant was full, so I was not alarmed. I was informed on October 31, 2001, by Saturn of Freehold, that the coolant temperature sensor and connector need to be replaced.
June 30, 2001, my SC1 would not start and left me stranded in a parking lot on a 90 degree day. I had to have the car towed. I took the car to Sears on July 3, 2001. Sears stated that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced, which I did have replaced. At this point, the car only had 58,000 miles on it. Immediately after the alternator replacement, the tensioner belt was screeching when the car started and screeched intermittently when the car was driven. I was told it could just be a squeaky belt and there was nothing wrong with the car. I got tired of listening to the screeching and took it back to Sears on October 23, 2001. Sears stated that it was probably the tensioner that needed to be replaced and they told me to take it to the dealer. That same day, I took my car to Saturn of Brunswick. The Saturn mechanic stated that the screeching sound was the tensioner, which they then replaced. On the morning of October 24, 2001, after I started my car, the screeching sound was still there. I asked a friend of mine, who is a mechanical engineer, to look at the car. He realized that the wrong pulley was on the alternator, causing the belt to be pushed the right of the pulley which was causing the noise and causing the belt to become frayed on one side. I then took the car back to Sears who then realized that in fact, it was the wrong pulley on the altenator they installed and they replaced the pulley and belt. My concern here is that I took my car to Saturn of Brunswick and their Saturn trained technician did not find nor fix the problem, yet, I walked out of the dealership minus $213.05. I also missed a half a day of work.
While my tensioner was being repaired at Saturn of Brunswick, I informed the Service Manager that I was having trouble starting the car and it had horrendous gas mileage. He stated that it could be the fuel pump as per Bulletin 00-P-01. I took my SC1 to Saturn of Freehold on October 31, 2001 since I no longer trusted the competency of Saturn of Brunswick. It was determined that my fuel pump was not holding pressure. This was replaced free of charge, but I did miss another half a day of work. The car was put through diagnostic testing and it was determined that the following items need replacement:
- Water Pump
- Power Steering Pump
- Coolant Temperature Sensor and Connector.
I am extremely concerned that so many major problems are occurring in a car that has received regular maintenance (oil changes/tune up) and that only has 63,300 miles on it. It is also a concern that all these major parts are breaking down at the same time. To date, my SC1 has cost me $1,200+ in repairs, towing and tires (tires have had to be replaced twice in a year and a half) and it still needs another $600+ in repairs.
I bought a Saturn because I heard nothing but good things about the product and I wanted to buy an American car this time. But I have to say, I am extremely disappointed in Saturn. I am terrified to think of what is going to break down next and how much it will cost me. As I stated, the SC is a beautiful car, but I have to question its quality. Could this particular vehicle be a lemon or is the problem more widespread? I do not know. I do know that I cannot afford to keep putting money into this vehicle.
Perhaps if I had a new Saturn, I might have a different opinion of your product, but all I have is a vehicle that I still owe $4,500 for, a vehicle that I am extremely unhappy with and frankly, afraid to drive long distances in. I have only owned this car for a year and a half and I've had so many problems with it and there are still many major problems that need to be fixed. My SC1 has been the cause of a lot of undue stress and financial strain for me. I foresee nothing but more part failures in this car and I do not know what to do since I do not feel it is appropriate to make this car some other person's problem by selling it.
I will never buy another Saturn!
I bought this same exact car brand new and haven't had ANY trouble with it with 78k miles... this person bought one that wasn't taken care of and misrepresented. Ignorance of the buyer and driver's maintenance habit has everything to do with how long a car lasts.
I bought a 96 SC1 brand new. In fact, I ordered it. I've had very similar problems with my Saturn and had been wondering if it was just a lemon, or a common thing (this is what led me to this web site). Here is what I've experienced, despite taking good care of my vehicle. Warning: this has a sad ending!
Brakes had to be completely replaced in less than a year. Dealer tried to say it was normal wear and tear and charge me, but after much arguing, fixed it for free.
Starter had to be replaced after 1 1/2 years, after about 20,000 miles.
Have gone through 3 batteries in 5 years, all through Saturn.
Temperature light also stayed on ALL the time, although temp. gauge stayed normal. Saturn charged $70 to tell me I simply needed a new cap for coolant, $10 for new cap. Two days later, light came on again.
Clutch parts fixed several times. Not remembering exact parts needed for these repairs.
Constant oil problems. Oil burned up almost completely after 1000 miles. Saturn could not find any leak, but offered to look even closer throughout entire engine for 2000 dollars. Later learned of recall for oil leaking into coolant. Had this fixed for free.
Finally, last week while driving on the interstate, my 96 Saturn's engine blew. Apparently there was some sort of "oil leak" somehow which caused this. I'm kindly offered a new Saturn engine (the car is un-driveable) by people I should now know very well with the constant visits, for almost $6000. NO THANKS. I may have just gotten a bad one of the bunch, but I will never buy a Saturn again. It is now worth $50-100 to the junk yard and I am buying a Honda.
So, in conclusion, be careful driving long distances. I was lucky not to lose control on the interstate at 75mph when my engine stopped working and the back of my car was pouring out smoke.
I was not at all surprised by your comments, regarding your Saturn experience. We also had the misfortune to own one of these vehicles for three years and it was a constant battle of wits to keep the damn heap running. These cars are Junkers, they consume so much oil that I often wished I had an oil tanker in tow. One other quirk is the way that the automatic seat restraints sometimes try to strangle you. We warn anyone at every given oportunity to stay away from a saturn.Luckily our car had an electrical fault and managed to catch fire and then explode a few times.I now buy Toyota only.
I have a 1997 Saturn SC2 and have had even more problems with it than the gentleman who wrote this article. The warranty work the dealership has done over the past two years since I have had the car has added up to nearly as much as I paid for it. They could have actually given me a new car for less than they spent to fix it. I can't even list all of the things wrong with it, and I currently have the 6th oil leak the car has had right now and am going through a quart every other week. I am going through tires like no one's business (I am about to have to invest in the fourth set). I have had to replace the timing belt, fuel pump, the engine had to be rebuilt because a rod in my fourth cylinder basically cracked in half and they replaced all of the bearings and everything, and the car still doesn't work. My cradle is bent because someone hit me in a parking lot and drove off and couldn't have been going more than 10 miles an hour and Saturn says that since their cars are made to crumble, this is not that uncommon. The rear suspension had to be replaced, the torque axle mount, the engine cover, my seat belt holders broke, my stereo is blown, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. This car is terrible, and I bought it for the same reason this guy did, b/c he heard it was reliable. Well, we heard wrong. Don't buy a Saturn. My next car will be a Toyota or Honda, but no more American made cars. I wouldn't take another Saturn if the company tried to give me one, which is doubtful since they can't even respond to complaints (I know because I sent several). Don't waste your money on one.
I am so relieved to find this comments page on Saturns. I have a 1997 Saturn SL2, that I ordered new from the dealership. It now has about 89,000 miles on it and a completely blown engine. My engine continually burned massive amounts of oil, and obviously had other issues as well. I should have trusted my gut-level buyers remorse while the car was on within it's 3 day return period. I now have an older BMW that I love and a very dead Saturn that I still owe money on. Does anyone know of someplace that offers replacement engines?
I have a 97 Saturn SL2
I have had the car for 2.5 years, bought it with 42K miles on it.
To date I have had to replace the following:
- Water Pump
- Power Steering Pump
- Coolant Temperature Sensor and Connector
- Battery
- $860 in transmission repair.
And that's all I can think of right now...
I wish I had bought a Honda or Toyota...
I have a `95 Saturn SL, it has just over 100K miles and I have had nothing go wrong with my car, except normal wear & tear. Only replacements (besides oil changes every 3K) - tires (once), battery (once), belts at 50K & just recently at 100K, and a ball joint on the right side. Maybe after a certain year the workmanship went down - but I love my Saturn and have never once been left stranded on the road!
98 SC1
At about 45K miles my daughter's car had a mysterious loss of coolant. She took it to the Saturn dealer and they told her that there were hairline cracks in her transmission case and that it would cost around $2K to replace it.
I advised her to take the car somewhere else. Once the coolant was filled back up there wasn't any further problem until it hit 52K miles. Then, the engine overheated and oil appeared in the coolant reservoir. I had never seen this before, but knew this was serious. Due to the previous bad experience with the Saturn dealer I tried to have the problem fixed by a local mechanic who was recommended by a friend.
First he sent the head to be pressure tested and found 4 cracks, so he recommended that we get a used head to fix the problem. We also replaced the water pump since the oil had mixed with the coolant so heavily. This repair cost about $1,600 and wasn't guaranteed since the mechanic wasn't sure that the overheating may have cracked another part of the engine. After driving the car for two days it was clear that the problem remained since oil was still mixing in with the coolant.
The next step was to get a used engine to fix the problem. The mechanic said that when he installed the used engine it overheated so he had to replace the head gasket. This repair cost us another $1,500 and the car overheated again after 40 miles on the used engine. The mechanic promised to get my money back on the used engine, but he won't waste any further time on it and recommended selling the car at auction.
Saturns are junk they all need waterpumps transmissions and they burn oil. The new ones are way over priced check the used car book and see how much value you have lost in one year on a L300 half the value.
OK folks, as a general rule of thumb... Buyer beware on a used car, That's #1!! A used car is just that... a used car, not NEW! Ever heard rode hard and put away wet? Well that applies. The owner before you sold the car for a reason, and more times its for a good reason.
#2 it seems that a lot of you people jump from person to person for service, try staying with the same people and form a relationship with them as a repeat customer, not a nagging customer! Cheaper is NOT always better. Trust me, I get to explain this often to my customers. A cheap battery is cheap for a reason... because it is cheaply made, for $30 your going to get $30 of use, not $60 of use like your wishing!
#3 Change your OIL! And change it again. Clean things work better than dirty things. Way too many people don't change their oil like they should, then wonder why rings are sticking, engine is burning oil, or engine has a rod hanging out of the engine block "BLOWN UP"!!! People who don't brush there teeth, lose there teeth... people who don't change there oil, loose engines.
As a 8 year Saturn service tech I have seen a lot of wild and weird things with these cars, most of which are explainable. Might I add most times failures could have been avoided by simple maintenance. I feel these cars are good cars for the money spent. A person cannot compare these cars to bmw's, Volvo's, and other high dollar cars. That is simply comparing apples to oranges! Overall I stand behind Saturns firmly. I have seen a customer of mine that payed $15K new for his car, and last visit had 363K miles on the original engine and trans!! I don't think I need to say any more.
8 year Saturn Tech.
All cars can have expensive problems, and all cars can have unbelievable stories of long life and dependability. I have had only good experiences with Saturns. My wife and I have owned 5 so far, trading them in for newer models, not for repair issues. I just recently bought a '94 SC2 for $1000. It has 168,000 miles, so I am putting a few hundred dollars into it up front, having service updated and inspections made before I drive it. That is common sense when you buy a used car. Don't trust a used car salesman and his "paperwork." If they were covering up a wreck, they probably rolled back the odometer too.
In terms of water pump and alternator replacement, I believe this may be a consistant issue for the S-series cars. A good aftermarket replacement is the best. I learned how to replace an alternator as a young man, and have saved myself hundreds of dollars. I have used this simple skill on Fords, Chevys, and Saturns.
In terms of the original author's problem with tires and alignment, get real! How can you buy the salesman's alignment explanation? I mean, gees! Want to buy a bridge? Get the car aligned, then buy good tires!
Anyway, take car of your car. Use caution when buying used. Don't trust used car salesmen -- ever. And feel free to believe people when they have good things to say about Saturns. Why would they make things up?
May 11, 2003. Hey everybody. If you have any ideas to go buy a used Saturn, do not do it. Here are my reasons why (from personal experience with my 1995 SC2).
Replace alternator almost yearly.
A coil pack shorted causing my spark plug wires to fry out in less than a year for about 3 years until I finally found a competent mechanic (after taking it to Saturn and not finding anything) that could diagnose the problem correctly (the corroded connections from the spark plug wires caused my car to jerk around upon acceleration).
Replaced moon roof tracks about 4th year (cheap plastic little nubs are all that make the track open and close! Also it is expensive to replace!)
Just today I had a mechanic check out my leaky transmission (Saturn misdiagnosed it again... this is what Saturn did: pressure tested my valve body, replaced the top pan gasket because it is a common place for the Saturn transmission to leak and took $300+) he pulled out my transmission and he found a factory defect and pointed out a nice crack where the driver and passenger side shafts meet as well as many other cracks that were evident to be coming (many $$$ later this will be fixed by buying a new transmission; possibly a lot of Saturn owners have this problem and do not know it because they take it to Saturn to misdiagnose it and fix it incorrectly).
Had a brake line go out on me one time on my way back from a long trip from the Bay area (good thing I pulled into my town about 2 minutes before this happened and was 1 mile from home as I coasted around a corner at a red light because I couldn't stop completely!).
So if you are in the market to buy a new or used car, do not purchase a Saturn. Do yourself a favor and buy a Honda like I'm planning on doing after I fix my car and sell it...
I don't know what all you people who are ripping on saturn are talking about, I bought mine used and it is just fine. it starts, drives, stops and all of the other things a car is supposed to do. all cars have problems, get used to it. saturns are cheaply made, that's why they are sold cheap. make sure and have the car checked out before you buy it. if I have any problems, i'll re-post a comment, but don't let these peoples stories and comments stop you from getting a car if you like it.
Yes.To the guy who is scared of putting 10W-30 Oil into his Saturn. I have put this grade in my Saturn since 120k Miles and am now at 274k Miles. In fact I believe this is why I have NEVER had any engine work done. The car still runs strong, even though it is coming to the end of it's economic life.
I bought a SCI 1994 and this vehicle has never given me any problems other than regular wear and tear. I bought the vehicle when the car had 78K miles and right now it is up to 130K miles and running great. I even had an accident with it. I ran a red light and slammed straight into a Mazda 626. I left the vehicle completely unusable, my car received only a scratch on the front bumper. Don't worry the guy was OK. But anyways, it seems most of the problems people are having are with the models 96 and newer from the entries I was able to read. Maybe someone should look into that.