1998 Saturn SL review from North America

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.

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.