Well, let me start out by saying how glad I am that I found this site. I’m not the only one!
I bought a 1995 SW1 in 2002 with approximately 200k kilometers and from day one I started having oil burning/leaking problems.
It got to the point where I was putting in a quart of oil every time I gassed-up and changing the spark plugs every 6 months.
Like others, my experiences with the dealership were costly and a complete waste of time.
For some reason I thought the later models did not have the engine issues, and was seriously contemplating purchasing a more recent Saturn, but after reading these reviews I definitely will not!
It all depends on how well it was maintained prior to your ownership. If it was babied and just started to give you problems, then OK, but if it changed hands a few times, you know there is a reason and could be a lemon.
Your oil leaking problem is most likely related to a simple cam cover gasket leaking. If you replace the Gasket then the oil will stop leaking, at least for the most part. In turn, this will stop oil from contacting the bottoms of the spark plug boots and causing them to corrode. The parts to do this job cost less than thirty dollars.
BTW, any car over 200000 miles is pretty impressive.
Oops you said Kilometers, My bad.
Still - they person bought a used car that had 200,000 kms on it. What did they expect - new? Instead of complaining, they should have taken it to a trusted mechanic to check it out. If there is no symptoms of burning oil in the exhaust, then the valve cover is the culprit. Same with using 5w30 in a 200,000 km engine...
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