1998 Saturn SL 1.9 from North America

Summary:

Very reliable

Faults:

1st brakes and rotors at 85k miles (FRONT)

Second brake-job with full rebuilt at 150k rotors, pads, calliper. No problems since. (FRONT)

Radiator cracked at 175k.

A/C and condenser blown at 190K.

Head gasket blown at 205K.

Dome light malfunction at 5K; dealer fixed, no problem since.

All struts and springs for the first time at 205K. Replaced with KYB GR-2 and HR Sports springs.

General Comments:

This car has been a work horse and extremely dependable.

With an average MPG of 40 highway and city about 32, and my average about 36 (even with a blown head gasket).

This car has been back and forth across the USA 4 times; 3 times during the hottest summers and some of the coldest winters.

The biggest fault that I have with this car is that the suspension and handling are not the greatest, with lots of roll and sway. This is was easily fixed for about $475.00 with custom upgrades including: H&R Sport springs, KYB-GR2 struts (Get rid of those ***** stock suspension parts) All I can say is that it handles like a dream now!!!

The only other repairs that I have done are the standard tune-up every 20K with NGK plugs, MSD / NOLOGY Hot Wires, Mobil1 oil and synthetic oil filter, Mobil1 synthetic ATF transmission oil, Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer, Lucas Fuel Injector Cleaner, Oil change every 7500 miles or before as needed, and SeaFoam engine cleaner (watch that smoke!!! :-) )

I drive this car very aggressively and very hard, averaging 21k miles a year, with one year as high as 30K; through the Colorado Rockies, Utah and Death Valley desert's, and freezing New England winters.

All in all, with average annual repairs about $250 over 11 years, all I can say that this is a VERY RELIABLE car.

No sports car for sure, but reliable and with a few tweaks gets remarkably better. My mechanic says that this car will run for another 200K with no problem.

What can I say; an American car that can go at least 220K and most likely 400k. Not bad for an American car called Saturn.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th October, 2007

1998 Saturn SL SL2 from North America

Summary:

Great on gas

Faults:

Brakes squeal and seem to need to be replaced often. Temp module blew during really cold winter.

General Comments:

Has been a reliable, gas efficient car for 10 yrs.

Dealer in NH is excellent. Never gave me hard time.

General maintenance & oil changes are key to keeping vehicle performing well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th July, 2007

1998 Saturn SL SL2 1.9L DOHC from North America

Summary:

I have no major problems with the car and I like it!

Faults:

Car over heats when sitting in traffic, so I was running the AC and this will allow the fan to come on and cool the engine! I just installed a seperate toggle switch for the fan and it works great, I turn it on when ever my temp gauge starts to go higher than I like, and it cools the engine down very quickly!

My heater core just went and I'm in the process of replacing it myself. The car had 99,998 miles on it when I got it two months ago and I put over 15,000 miles on it while using it as an escort/flag car! It seems to be very reliable other than the above over heating which I resolved with the toggle switch!

It has a lot of noise due to vibration which may be a motor mount which I will check, but it still gets great gas mileage, (35-43 mpg/hwy)!

I like it and would buy another one, it's easy to work on and most parts seem fairly cheap to buy!

General Comments:

I think it's a great car, I've owned quite a few cars and this is my first Saturn. It has high miles and I plan to add at least another 100,000 within the nest 6 months or less! You just need to due the basic oil changes and know a little about how to fix basic stuff and you'll save a lot of money by doing it your self. It will last a while and pay for it self over and over!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th July, 2007