1998 Saturn SL from North America - Comments

(In order of severity)

Shifter bushing broke.

Switch for rear defroster broke.

I have found the car to be very reliable so far. Everything works fine except the rear defroster, which needs a switch replaced.

Excellent gas mileage (I have averaged between 35-40 mpg highway/city mix). On a road trip I managed a little over 50 mpg!

Performance is adequate (at least with manual transmission).

The only problem worth mentioning is a broken shifter bushing, which is a 20 dollar part but makes the car undriveable when it goes. It is a known problem with the car, but in my case I had over 5000 miles of warning that it was going bad. However, it is not a major issue, changing it takes about 45 minutes.

Car is comfortable and roomy for its size.

I am surprised at how well the exterior and interior hold up, the car has no dents or rust at all, thanks to plastic body panels, and the cloth interior is in good condition.

One gripe is that the heat takes a while to warm the car in the cold.

I have heard of problems with the head cracking, but this seems the happen more in the older models. My car appears to have the original head and I have had no issues yet.

I think some of these reviews are biased because people tend to beat on cheap cars like this. For instance, several reviews mention the sound system going in months. My car is 11 years old and it still sounds fine. Even my car, which was owned by a middle aged lady, has scratches on the roof from things being put on top of the car, and the radiator was filled with water not antifreeze. So my caution to someone buying one of these, make sure the previous owner treated it like a car, not like a moped.

You mentioned the shifter bushing was a $20 part. I wish you had mentioned where to find it at for this price. All the parts places I have called say you have to buy the entire shift cable assembly. Price: $213.00 and up.