1999 Saturn SL SL1 review from North America

First of all I would like to say that I beat the hell out of this car. Everyday I drove it like a race car. So most of the problems were because of the way I drove the car.

The first problem with this car was that the factory brakes were bad. I had them replaced twice under the 30,000-mile warranty.

The other minor problem was that the side air vents would break easily. This was also replaced twice under warranty.

I didn't have any more major problems until about 70,000 miles when I was driving down the highway and the transmission went out. Turned out that it was from spinning the tires so much in a front wheel drive car. A pin in the tranny shot out and blew a 2 1/2" hole through the transmission case. Somehow it still drove OK, but leaked transmission fluid on the cat so it smoked really badly. So I had a new tranny and clutch put in.

Next I had a crack in the radiator. I think it was about 90,000 miles.

At 103,000 miles, driving down the highway again the motor threw a rod. I was expecting it to happen, but I just wish it could have gone another 2 miles to my house. $75 tow truck fee. I picked up a used engine with 7k on it for $400. Paid $500 labor to have the new engine put in. I know a few mechanics and can do most of this stuff myself. So I didn't spend money on labor except for the engine and tranny.

At about 120,000 miles the radiator went out again. Just lucky it had a lifetime warranty. The only problem is that you have to take the front end off the car just to get to two bolts on the radiator. I think it was a poor design.

127,000 miles. The end of my car. RIP. I was hit head on and the car was totaled out.

Overall I thought that it was a great car. For the hell I put this car through it took a beating and kept on ticking. Since I had the 5 speed it was very peppy for a 1.9L 4 cylinder. I have drove the automatic and it was not nearly as fast. The car came with cloth interior that I didn't think was that comfortable. I upgraded to leather seats and could not have been happier. I would recommend this car for someone that needs a cheap reliable car.