1999 Saturn SL SL2 from North America - Comments

Wind and Road noise loud at high speeds. I adjusted the doors on the car so that they would press better against the weatherstripping using nothing more than a ratchet and a T30 star socket. Now it's quiet in there.

That's it for my baby!

The Engine on this car is great quality. It's a 124 bhp in-line 4 cylinder SPFI (Sequential Port Fuel Injection) with a Timing Chain (not a belt like Civics) and counterweights on the engine crankshaft to minimize vibrations. It also has computer controlled ignition (not a distributor, also on my 1997 civic). All this adds up to some real quality for a domestic vehicle.

Amazingly, for a big 1.9L engine it gets around 35-40mpg on the highway and about 26-32mpg in the city.

It's no rocket, but if you learn how to drive the tight 5-speed then you can take off faster than most sedans, not to mention you get better gas mileage.

I was disappointed by the sound, but my car only came with a radio (not even a tape deck). I spent about $120 dollars on a nice Clarion Deck (was $299) and installed it myself. Now I absolutely spend most of my day in the car as much as possible.

Servicing these vehicles is easy with the service manual (Haynes). I just do oil changes every 3,000, just finished with changing the spark plugs, and I might change the coolant at 36,000 miles even though I believe it is DEX-COOL 100,000 mile coolant in my car.

If you want to do some of your own work on the vehicle, you can pickup the "special" star sockets at Walmart for about $6 dollars. You can find a Haynes manual at either Checkers or Autozone. Do not substitute for another manual unless you can get the Saturn shop manual (usually $50-$200).

It's sad to hear that reliable cars do every once in a while have lemons, Even Honda's. My timing belt broke off the Civic after being serviced two months earlier between Phoenix and Yuma in July, how sad is that. My engine was gone, and I had to fight about it just to get it fixed under warranty. Of course, you won't hear these stories from Honda. The 1992 Saturn my parents have is still running. Granted I had to change both power window units because someone tried to break into the car, and the odometer stopped working at 88,903 two years ago, but it still drives as smooth as the day it was bought. The only thing I complain about is the dashboard on the old car since it tends to rattle.

I bought this car at about $6000 dollars off the lot, it was going for about $9000 in the ad. I practically got it for trade-in value and the car had been on the lot for about a month.

It's brand spanking new, and the day I got it I put nearly 1,500 miles on it driving to Portland. It drives great and handles well, and no up-shifting to get up any of the hills on I-5. Driving in Phoenix is a blast, and although I can't race a 5.1L T-Bird at the stop light I can squeal my tires in third gear which is more than I can say about the civic.

You were bragging about having a timing chain instead of a belt - just wait until the timing chain breaks in the Saturn, the damage will be worse than if it were a belt! That's why the majority of cars use belts instead of chains!

Not only that, it's easy to spin tires in a car that's chassis is made of mostly plastic! Honda cars are heavy for the size of engine they put in them. Saturns usually weigh about 400+ pounds less than other cars the same size! Not only that, if you look into the new Saturn sport series such as the Vue and the Ion with the big 3.5 V6 engines in them, guess who makes the engines for them. HONDA!!! That's right, they put 3.5L V6 Pilot engines to make the Vue and the Ion more sporty!

Not so my friend. While it's true that the VUE has a Honda engine in it (why? I don't know) the ION has the GM ECOTEC engine in it. And while you may be right about the timing chain being likely to cause more damage if it goes, the timing chain will last way longer than a belt, and we know that those are expensive and difficult to replace by ordinary folk. I'd much rather go once to the dealership, pay for a new timing chain, than go every 30000 miles to change an inexpensive belt and be gouged by the dealer prices (or even at independant shops) I'm lucky to be a do-it-yourselfer, but I guess I can speak for people like my mother, who wouldn't even touch the engine opening hatch.. and the timing chain is something I would much rather pay for and have some sort of guarantee on the job performed.

Timing belts are common today, not because of superior design, but because they are cheaper to make, require no lubrication and are quicker to install. This translates into simple engineering, and lower manufacturing costs. To the consumer though this means lower initial purchase price, but at much higher maintenance costs. Chains last longer with lower total cost of ownership and are in my view preferable.