There were no problems at all until the VUE reached about 5,000 miles. At that time we began to hear a strange noise on the driver's side front of the chassis. The dealer said that the factory failed to put the grease in the strut area properly and corrected it.
It took two trips to the only dealer in the Oklahoma City metro area to get it fixed.
The next problem ocurred shortly thereafter when the windshield seemed to rattle going down the road. This time the dealership corrected the noise in one trip; they installed some padding between the "A" pillars and the windshield. Primitive, but, its worked fine.
After being "burned" by a Chrysler product 21-years ago I had sworn off new cars, especially domestic ones. Thus far I am very satisfied with this Saturn.
We bought this VUE without haggling and with a lot of options (I've had a harder time buying a television set).
Yes, I checked out Honda, Nissan, Geo, KIA, Suzuki, Mazda and Ford vehicles similar to the VUE. When you added on the more luxurious items the competition usually soared over the $18,000 mark. We paid $16,500 for our VUE loaded with creature comforts.
This "SUV" averages between 20 - 30 mpg in a variety of driving conditions.
It doesn't accelerate like an old Trans Am, but it handles better than they did, and you don't feel like your depleting the earth of natural resources when you drive it.
Frankly, I like unusual cars and I am glad no one else has discovered how much of a bargain the Saturn VUE really is!
I am considering buying a used 2001 Vue with 46,000 miles on it thus far for a decent offer... however, I am wary about all of the negative comments read thus far. Your review seems unbiased and pretty trustworthy... what is your personal opinion?
You can basically expect to have to replace the wheel bearings and sway bar link bushings by the 50,000 mile mark. If you're looking at a car of this age, maybe the previous owner has already done it. The good news is that GM apparently cut corners on the factory parts, but once they wear out by 35,000 miles, the aftermarket replacements actually seem to be durable.
You can also expect the hazard flasher button to fall into the dashboard, unless the original owner had it fixed under the recall, and most likely the sun visor will fall off at around 100,000 miles.
Your alternator will probably also need replacing by 85,000 miles.
And the big one --- the CVT transmission is a gamble. The complaints are all true. Be gentle with it, and get all the manufacturer's recommended maintenance done religiously, and you might be okay, but it will always be hanging over you: Is this the day it goes?
My wife bought one before we were married -- she babied it, drove it carefully, had it serviced on time, kept records, and had all those problems except thankfully the transmission is okay as yet. She has managed to put 117,000 miles on it, which makes her far luckier than most. However, getting to that point has made this thing a money pit that makes her swear no Saturn ever again.
Bottom line: no matter if you are being offered a marginally good deal (a couple thousand off Kelley Blue Book), this will not be an inexpensive, cheap to run daily driver.
"soared over the $18,000"...
Wow! $18,000 was a lot for an SUV just six years ago?
What can you buy today for that?
"Wow! $18,000 was a lot for an SUV just six years ago?
What can you buy today for that?"
A fully loaded Honda Civic. SUV prices have sky rocketed. You won't find a good SUV for anything less than $25,000 unless you're buying used.
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