OT - 1999 Saturn SC2 purchase [Archive]

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KurtM

07-26-2007, 10:22 AM

brosher

07-26-2007, 10:36 AM

Only advise is to not overpay. Those things are worth dirt after a year or two. Great cheap cars that tend to run for ever. I guess everything is optional on them to. A guy I work with bought one only to later found out rear speakers were not standard. ;)

J.DeFeo

07-26-2007, 10:37 AM

Any input on Saturns. Looking at '99 SC2 coupe 105k, original owner with maintence records. Full power, automatic, leather. Very clean car.
This is for my soon to be 16 yr old daughter.
Mechanic friend of ex's mentioned problems with the DOHC motors and needing major service at 135k or so. Looked on net and found nothing in regards to motor problem mentioned. Nothing on the Saturn Forum either.

Thanks,
Kurt
95 525ia

One of my roommates last year had a '97 SC2 with the 1.9L inline 4. Not a bad little car, especially if you can get it cheap. It was reasonably quick and got good gas mileage. I don't know about the safety of it (I assume this is important since it's for your daughter), . The ride quality was really bad but that may have been because he beat it to absolute ****. It had just under 200k miles and was still going strong, in spite of e-brake drifts, FWD burnouts, jumping speed bumps, and other stupid stuff we did in that car. I think it burned oil and had some kind of cooling problem (headgasket issue) but he drove that thing into the ground and as far as I know still driving it.

repenttokyo

07-26-2007, 11:03 AM

it's not my place to comment, but I would buy your daughter the largest car you can afford. Larger cars are much safer, especially for a first time driver, and the higher costs of running the car in terms of gas means she won't be driving all over the place all the time.

KurtM

07-26-2007, 11:06 AM

I looked at a lot of cars that people said excellent condition, few minor scratches, yeah right. Beat up, torn up junk. Everything out there has a salvaged title. They replaced the door so it has a salvage title. Sure, right.

Read they have a good safety record.
This one feels good, got a good impression from the seller. Daughter likes it.

Kurt
95 525ia

ryan roopnarine

07-26-2007, 08:01 PM

i'm not billiam jefferson rickard, but i'll try to play him for the time being. i would think that by saying 135k mile or so, your mechanic might be referring to the tendency of these cars to develop stuck piston rings and start burning oil. there are one or two procedures for rectifying this situation, but i don't think that there is a guaranteed "surefire" way of fixing it. i would take my finger and wipe it around the inside of the tailpipe, or smell the exhaust to evaluate it (if you know how to do such) to see if the car has begun to develop a non-trivial oil consumption issue.

Sam-Son

07-26-2007, 08:18 PM

repenttokyo

07-26-2007, 08:38 PM

the saturn skye is pretty sweet, dude, epsilon platform.

Sam-Son

07-26-2007, 08:56 PM

the saturn skye is pretty sweet, dude, epsilon platform.
Terrible to drive awful driving position and quality like they went out of their way to make it bad

repenttokyo

07-26-2007, 09:40 PM

Terrible to drive awful driving position and quality like they went out of their way to make it bad

really...that's not what every review I've read says, and the driving position seemed great to me when I was in one. The Redline version is also really fast.

Sam-Son

07-26-2007, 10:08 PM

Differing opinions for different people. The part about the quality can't be argued though Saturns have the worst quality interiors of any car on the market today

repenttokyo

07-26-2007, 10:22 PM

it seems to be the vogue on this site to hate on any car made in the US. Can't say that I understand that - honestly, I love cars too much to carry any kind of regionalistic prejudice.

Sam-Son

07-26-2007, 10:29 PM

it seems to be the vogue on this site to hate on any car made in the US. Can't say that I understand that - honestly, I love cars too much to carry any kind of regionalistic prejudice.
Drive an american car then you'll understand. American trucks on the other hand I quite like. Oh and I'm not being particular to american cars only I'm not too fond of japanese or korean cars but as with everything there are exceptions- S2000

Macv

07-26-2007, 10:56 PM

it seems to be the vogue on this site to hate on any car made in the US. Can't say that I understand that - honestly, I love cars too much to carry any kind of regionalistic prejudice.

Very true. My Aunt just got her '08 Redline Skye and its a blast to drive. It's kinda lame when people are ignorant towards other cars because they're not "what they drive." Not aiming this at anyone on here. I have friends that seriously think their civics are the most well made cars ever.

repenttokyo

07-26-2007, 11:06 PM

Drive an american car then you'll understand. American trucks on the other hand I quite like. Oh and I'm not being particular to american cars only I'm not too fond of japanese or korean cars but as with everything there are exceptions- S2000

It's funny that you say "drive an american car then i'll understand"....That's a pretty condescending thing to say, and quite an assumption to make. I've driven many many american cars AND trucks (including 4 generations of f150's, hehe), owned many as well, from the 60's up until now...I've also owned different german cars, swedish cars...To have the attitude that you do, I really don't understand....l'm sorry you've narrowed your field of driving experience to such a degree.

*edit - don't want to turn this into a pissing contest.

Sam-Son

07-26-2007, 11:30 PM

It's funny that you say "drive an american car then i'll understand"....That's a pretty condescending thing to say, and quite an assumption to make. I've driven many many american cars AND trucks (including 4 generations of f150's, hehe), owned many as well, from the 60's up until now...I've also owned different german cars, swedish cars...To have the attitude that you do, I really don't understand....l'm sorry you've narrowed your field of driving experience to such a degree.

*edit - don't want to turn this into a pissing contest.
appreciated but like I said differing opinions for different people. I'm not much for pissing contests either:)

nirvana19

07-26-2007, 11:37 PM

I always heard saturns were good cheap little cars. Weren't they ranked as having the highest customer satisfaction (when bought new) at some point? Also, the new ones seem to be of much higher quality. I'm not that much older than your daughter... hmm maybe give her the e34 :). No, just kidding, the saturn sounds like good choice.

bahnstormer

07-27-2007, 01:11 AM

my first car was a 95 sc1
reliable little bugger =]
i could pull up on E and say fill it kind sir and get change on my $10 bill !!!!

very slow car, cheap interior, but economical and great to learn stick on =]

never once failed me, unlike the e34 =P

Zeuk in Oz

07-27-2007, 02:34 AM

Being in Oz I don't really know what a Saturn is, however I would ask the question : Why not an E34 ? You know how to maintain one, they are cheap and safe.

It was as a car for my oldest son when he was 16, 4 years ago, that I chose an E34 for lots of reasons - manual, rear wheel drive, quality manufacture, exceptional ride and handling, cheap purchase price, safety ......... the list goes on.

I now own 3 BMWs, 2 E34s and an E39 and think they are wonderful cars. I also appreciate that they are engineered to be worked on.

3 of my sons now drive them and they complain bitterly if they draw the short straw and have to drive our Merc ML 270 CDI. It is actually a good vehicle but it certainly doesn't handle like a bimmer. :)

Mitch90535im

07-27-2007, 12:44 PM

I recently bought my daughter a '94 SW1. It was a single owner, 110K, dealer maintained little old lady's car. The car was like new and I think we got a pretty good deal for $2,500. My daughter loves the convience of a wagon with her 18 month-old. She is getting great gas mileage and it doesn't appear to be burning oil yet.

BMWDriver

07-27-2007, 01:08 PM

Mustangs are fun to drive. Voyager is a sleepy ride, but good for family and space. Saturn I heard is just about as reliable as a Toyota, but that the ergonomics were somewhat left to desire. I did drive one once, a friend's, and it was quite all right.

My e34 is really fun to drive, and comfortable. Plus there's this great forum to share or get info from. If I feel like burning a bit of rubber or do some cornering, I can. That's me: it goes well with who I am, what I believe in and what holds dear to me. And I love to tinker on it.

But not everyone is for BMW, and surely if she feels comfortable with a nice Saturn, she should go for it.

If American cars were that horrible, surely there would be none on the market. Difference and tolerence, people.

mzarifkar

07-27-2007, 01:09 PM

my gf has a saturn and i make fun of it every now and then, BUT it is that little bugger that keeps boosting my ass when my battery is dead due to some electrical issue that i am working on right now. Seems like an alright car, its simple and economical.

Not sure how the passive safety would compare, being that they are very plasticky