1996 Saturn SC SC2 from North America - Comments

My engine completely seized up at 95,000 miles. My mechanic was unable to explain it or fix it. However, he said he has had several Saturns come through where the engine died at 80,000 miles.

The car interior began rattling a lot at about 70,000 miles.

The power window motor died. It cost $450 to replace because they had to take the door apart from the outside due to the way Saturn's doors are made.

I basically can't open the trunk because it won't close again. It isn't the lock, it is the cheap metal that the lock is bound to. The only way to fix this is to replace the entire trunk hood.

The pop up headlights don't go up and down any more, although you can crank them by hand. I just leave them up.

I never had a mechanical problem with the car the entire time I owned it until it died. However, 95,000 miles is awfully early for your car to completely die for no reason. I will definitely never buy another Saturn.

The "auxiliary" problems I listed above have been extremely inconvenient and expensive. It is ridiculous to have a car where you can only use the trunk by folding down the seats. Not to mention the problems greatly reduce the chances that I could have resold the car even if it hadn't died. To fix the auxiliary problems would have been so pricey that the money I would get for selling it would barely cover the expense.

Well I personally think its how the owner treats their car because my Saturn sc2 is at 130,000+ miles and still running strong, and I abuse the car to. the only major thing I had to change is the rack and pinion because of the hard canyon racing I do which caused my rack and pinion to just give up. I had other friends with Saturn sc2 that still run, we give it regular oil changes fluid changes and maintain it very well!

Two years ago I bought a 93 Saturn SC2, with 76,000 miles on it. I drove the car for two years without a problem.

I only have to change the heating fan and radiator and do the regular oil changes, but the third year was a nightmare, it seems that all the parts when bad at the same time. In less than three months I paid like a $1,000 in parts and labors, then the transmission start slipping, so I decided to sell it before it dies on me. Good thing that the car still looked like new inside and out, and I sold it for the same price I bought it $2,500.

I personally won't buy a Saturn again, parts and labor are to expensive even for an old car, I don't want to imagine for a new one.

I have a 96 Saturn SC and it has been very dependable so far.

It has 86000 miles on it, and has needed only the windshield washer motor replaced. There is a whine in the trans, but that's normal for this car. The door panel pocket snaps are coming off, which is a very cheap system to hold any kind of tray on the door. It uses oil, so check the level accordingly.

The coolant level goes down, so I suspect some leakage, probably in the head gasket, but it's very very minor.

Considering all the problems people have with their cars on this site, it would be rated GOOD; not excellent, but still a fairly good car, even though it is built cheap. And I suppose that's really the exercise of this Saturn I guess!