20th Jun 2001, 11:21
Chevy cars are just as bad. We have a 1993 Chevy Lumina APV Van. We have put 3 engines in this piece of CRAP!!! Everything has been replaced at least twice.
My 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera I have owned for a little over a year. I have replaced the radiator, alternator, tires, battery, and given it a complete tune-up. I love it even though it rattles and is ugly. It eats gas like crazy, so I have been thinking about selling it for a 1992 Saturn SL2 Twin Cam. The Saturn is $2300, and looks great. I am so glad I read this before I bought it. Saved me a bunch of time and money!
27th Jun 2001, 00:21
My 1992 SL2 uses lots of oil. It holds 4 quarts and uses 6 quarts between regular 3000 mile oil changes. I had to put in a new alternator recently and then the battery went dead. The windows go down but you have to pull them back up. The speakers are all blown. The cassette player went out. Changing the belt is a nightmare. One of the automatic seat belts has gone completely out and the other one will soon. The plastic interior rattles and the car is LOUD going down the road. Don't buy one. They aren't any good. They're cheap and not enough testing went into these early models.
28th Aug 2001, 18:50
There is nothing wrong with the car, it is the customer that is (not) taking care of it from the start. I own a 1993 with 123,000 miles on it and it runs perfect.
16th Oct 2001, 18:46
My mother owns a 1993 Saturn SL2, which she bought brand new. She has never had a single problem with it and it runs awesome. The fastest 4 cylinder that I have used.
Also it is excellent on gas and has never ever ever consumed any oil. Other people should consider how they maintain their vehicles before they start griping. Boom shaka laka boom.
24th Jan 2002, 14:48
There are always exceptions to every rule. Looks like the lucky are the exceptions in this case. Bought my '93 with 75K and it's used oil since day one with me. I have to add at least a quart every 750 to 1,000 miles. The noise on the interior is bad, the driver side window rolls up if I pull on it and hold the switch at the same time, the brakes lose pressure on start up at first movement, but the mileage is good.
11th Jun 2003, 06:14
New head at 16000 on my 93 sl2. Blower motor went. Car has a terrible knock at 135,000 miles. Consuming oil at 1 quart per week. Window does not go up or down easily. Can't get into or out of driver seat easily. New alternator at 100,000 miles. Very disappointed in this car over the long term. Lucky I am handy and know my way around junk yards. Tom T.
9th Jul 2003, 09:23
One day while driving our 92 Saturn, a man in a Camry pulled out in front of us and we hit him. The car stood up well except the hood actually came off of the car, smashing the windshield and landed about 40 ft away. The body shop that fixed the car said it was a safety issue. I can relate to the oil consumption problem, rattles and alternators, we traded it in for a Cavalier and we love it.
17th Jun 2004, 08:03
I have a 1993 Saturn SL2. It has 196K miles on it and is still running strong, I have had to set a new goal of 300K. It does use a little more oil than I would like. But nowhere near what some others are claiming. It uses about a quart and a half between oil changes. That's not bad for a high-mileage 13 year old car. It's still passing New Jersey's emissions tests. I had a major accident in it about 8 years ago and it held up great, kept me in once piece which is the most important thing. I'm sorry others have had such bad experiences. I must say that there is something to be said for maintenance. I've maintained my car very well, and I have been rewarded with a reliable car that is fun to drive.
23rd Sep 2004, 21:25
To the guy that said he beat the Golf turbo...
No you didn't. stop your stories. your SL2 has a whopping 124hp... whereas golfs have 150 (newer golfs run on 11psi and push 180hp) golfs pull low to mid 15's in the quarter mile. your saturn pulls what, 17's?
The only way you 'beat' this guy is either A) he was a bad driver B) he didn't know you were trying to race him. or C) both.
1st Dec 2007, 01:14
So how I have made this SL 1993 Saturn last this long. Now it's almost time to say good bye to poor ole Goldie locks. My dad bought her in Dec 1993 and had her made. She was handed down to me 2.5years ago after my 93 SC died in a hurricane.
The problems with my 1993 Saturn in 2007 are these: the fuel gauge is broken (about a year ago), the odometer stopped at 122,000 (3years ago). Now the latest, the control panel light fuse number 15 keeps on blowing. I wouldn't care that much except the tail lights go out which becomes dangerous. I ran the car for about a hour without turning her off tonight and then all of a sudden the fuse blew for the second time in a week or so. It's a 10amp fuse.
All her life she had had tons of interior rattles, but nothing big.
She has had her speakers blown once, and not possibly one speaker is out.
I guess it's just time to give her up since I am A. not a mechanic B. she is almost 15 years old. You want to talk about getting a good deal!
What do I do with an old Saturn that still actually runs?
13th Jan 2008, 16:24
I agree with a lot of the issues most people have had. But, I know that I drive my 1993 Saturn SL2 hard. I drive it much harder than a Saturn should be driven. These cars are not performance cars whatsoever. I can almost guarantee your problems begin with fast driving. The reason the Saturn is slow and an I4 is because it is made for good gas mileage and getting from point A to point B. Now, if you want a car you can run hard that isn't very expensive, by all means do not choose Saturn. Your oil will be consumed quicker, my ETM went bad, your tranny will be shot etc. etc. These cars were made to go slow, drive them that way and you will not have these problems.
20th Jun 2009, 13:58
I just bought a 94 SL2. Love it. It has the original engine, and the trans does not use oil.
The odometer doesn't work; it stopped at 205k miles, that's how I bought it.
I think these are real good cars, they do have their problems, but you have to look at the age too; they aren't new.
And all you people hating on domestics, I'm a mechanic and you wanna talk about problems, let's talk about Japanese crap! Or euro junk. Wanna talk about rattles - ride in a older Vdub. And for those hating on Cavys, why did Toyota sell a Cavy in Japan with their name on it?
28th May 2001, 23:40
I wouldn't go as far as to say I would never buy another American car.
There are plenty of import cars that are just as bad if not worse.
Chrysler (which includes Dodge and Plymouth) are good cars. Plymouth went out of production so your left with Dodge and Chrysler if you only buy new cars, but they are still good cars and if anything goes wrong they fix it and stand behind their product. I would buy one without hesitation.
You could also go with the Ford family of cars, which also includes Mercury and Lincoln (Lincoln being the luxury division). I own a Mercury with 75,000 miles and it still runs and looks like new. I can't afford a Lincoln, but I'd recommend them to those who can for the reliability Ford motors offers. And if there are problems they will also take care of them. Although I have no problems with my car since I have bought it.
GM cars are good except for the Chevy Cavalier. If your buying a Chevy, get a higher end one like an Impala, a Venture (minivan), Camaro, Lumina, Suburban (SUV), Tahoe (SUV), or Corvette. Their trucks are very reliable too. I've heard about reliability problems with the Chevy Cavalier and I've driven one too, if you don't maintain them, they fall apart.
I'm not saying import cars are bad, I'm just saying don't abandon American cars because of one bad model.