sluggopyle
Champion Author
North Carolina
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Message Posted: Mar 24, 2012 9:23:47 PM
Epilogue to previous post: my friend found a VTi (rebuilt) transmission for $2600 from a place near Knoxville. They sell it with a 3-year 100,000 mile warranty, good at any Chevy dealer. A lot of Vue owners dealt with a lot worse outcomes.
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sluggopyle
Champion Author
North Carolina
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Message Posted: Mar 21, 2012 9:34:18 AM
=> With reasonable care, Saturns seem to be a very reliable car ........ <=
Aye, but with at least one notable exception. A friend of mine has (had?) a 2004 Vue and just lost her transmission. Come to find out this A/T called the "VTi" is a notorious crapper, eventually fails for every owner, and was the subject of a class action suit for selling this crapper transmission to the public. My friend is entertaining thoughts that this class action suit (which Saturn lost) was such a burden on the company that that's why they went out of business.
I believe the VTi was sold in the 2003 through 2006 models, but don't quote me, could be off by a year.
I appear to have misstated the year of my SW2 in a previous post: it's a 1993. I got dyslexic thinking of its age (19). She's at about 397,000 miles now and still reliable but burning oil from the worn piston rings. That, along with the little things (rotting muffler, dash lights going out, window crank handles breaking off) may be the beginning of the end :-(
but I'm going to nurse her to 400,000. It's been an unforgettable ride.
[Edited by: sluggopyle at 3/21/2012 12:36:06 PM EST]
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OceanArcher
Champion Author
Mississippi
Posts:5,693
Points:1,325,450
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Message Posted: Mar 21, 2012 6:43:52 AM
With reasonable care, Saturns seem to be a very reliable car ........
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Artie79
Rookie Author
El Paso
Posts:2
Points:1,890
Joined:Feb 2012
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Message Posted: Feb 19, 2012 8:11:58 AM
Get A Qualified ASE Tech to inspect the car before you buy it. It will be money well spent.
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Feb 16, 2012 10:57:52 PM
That is amazing, sluggopyle!
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sluggopyle
Champion Author
North Carolina
Posts:23,608
Points:1,075,890
Joined:Dec 2005
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Message Posted: Feb 16, 2012 10:27:10 PM
=> I have a '92 Saturn SL2 w/ DOHC and get 22 mpg in heavy stop and start traffic. <=
My '91 SW2 with the same engine is still running great, going on 395,000 miles. It gave me 47 mpg today (that was highway; I avoid city driving)
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Oct 27, 2011 11:00:23 AM
@fsufan11,
And I would have, but it was already sold!
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fsufan11
Veteran Author
Jacksonville
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Message Posted: Oct 27, 2011 8:55:28 AM
I would buy the car!
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Jul 7, 2011 7:09:24 PM
@deadbrunette,
No offense intended; your asking price of $4,500 seems high for a '97 SL. I can't speak to your area, but they're going for about $2-3000 here. Or less.
But, if you can get that much for it, then kudos.
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deadbrunette
Rookie Author
Maine
Posts:65
Points:15,350
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Message Posted: Jul 7, 2011 10:25:24 AM
I HAVE A 97 SATURN FOR SALE NEW ENGINE BUT NEEDS TRANSMISSION BUT IT IS STICKERED TILL NEXT YEAR AND IS REGISTERED AND RUNS DOWN THE ROAD, $4,500.
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OceanArcher
Champion Author
Mississippi
Posts:5,693
Points:1,325,450
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Message Posted: Jul 2, 2011 5:36:39 AM
Sorry you missed out on your Saturn. Don't give up on them, however, they are really nice cars - even used.
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Jun 23, 2011 11:22:31 PM
My long-time attempt to buy the '95 Saturn has finally resolved itself in an unfortunate way. It was finally sold for $1,500 to another buyer.
It's just as well, since the arrangement with my friend was for $800. At least he got a better price for it.
I see my original posting was Feb. 9th. It's been over four months!
At least this will force me to look at "newer" used vehicles. But, I'll spend more money, too.
Thanks, everyone, for your helpful input.
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Jun 1, 2011 5:37:56 PM
@pemack0,
Thanks for the input. A '92 still running? That's amazing! I'm curious - what does your odometer read?
I have a '97 Toyota w/ manual that has over 225k so far.
Believe it or not, after four months, I'm still waiting on it. The seller has been slow about getting it registered and smog checked.
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pemack0
Rookie Author
Lexington
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Message Posted: May 16, 2011 9:05:44 PM
If you can still get the '95 Saturn, grab it! I have a '92 Saturn SL2 w/ DOHC and get 22 mpg in heavy stop and start traffic. Mine has a manual transmission, but the automatic transmission gets almos the same mpg.
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Mar 16, 2011 9:21:28 PM
@OceanArcher,
Thanks for the info. I'll take the extra 15 horses if that's the case. :)
The sale is still pending after all this time. Why? Long story short: three's a crowd. If all goes well, we'll effect transfer of title next Tuesday.
Hoping to buy it for $800 … times are still tough for some.
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OceanArcher
Champion Author
Mississippi
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Message Posted: Mar 14, 2011 8:20:06 PM
Originally there were two available trim levels. The SL1 trim level featured a SOHC 1.9 L I4 LK0 engine that was rated at 85 hp (63 kW), which was upgraded to the 100 hp (70 kW) L24 engine for the 1995 model year. The two engines were mechanically identical, save for the upgrade from TBI to sequential MPFI. The SL2 trim level featured a DOHC 1.9 L I4 LL0 engine that was rated at 124 hp (92 kW). Both the SL1 and SL2 got 29 mpg-US (8.1 L/100 km; 35 mpg-imp) city, 35 mpg-US (6.7 L/100 km; 42 mpg-imp) Highway.
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GocartMozart
Champion Author
Los Angeles
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Message Posted: Feb 14, 2011 2:17:42 PM
@sienko
Thanks much for your informative reply.
You're right about the rust. Last time I looked at the car, I did notice some rust coming through the paint along the tops of all four doors. I'll look out for other rusty areas next time, for sure.
Unfortunately, the seller now seems unwilling to part with it, but I'm still game to pull the trigger on this one depending on how negotiations go. Won't pay more than $1000, that's for sure.
To be continued…
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sienko
Champion Author
New Hampshire
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Message Posted: Feb 14, 2011 5:46:54 AM
As long as it checks out with the mechanic, I would heartily recommend this car--mine lasted 335,469 miles ('95 SL, 5-speed manual) and even though it'll probably burn oil, it should get great mileage for you too. Although I wouldn't pay much more than $1-1.5 K for it...after all, it's 17 years old.
What you need to look out for with a car that old is rust, and availability of parts, especially now that Saturn is defunct. But I don't think that will be a big problem until a few more years from now.
This website is (was) a great source of info about Saturns: SaturnFans.com
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sienko
Champion Author
New Hampshire
Posts:9,159
Points:1,596,170
Joined:Feb 2006
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Message Posted: Feb 14, 2011 5:46:54 AM
As long as it checks out with the mechanic, I would heartily recommend this car--mine lasted 335,469 miles ('95 SL, 5-speed manual) and even though it'll probably burn oil, it should get great mileage for you too. Although I wouldn't pay much more than $1-1.5 K for it...after all, it's 17 years old.
What you need to look out for with a car that old is rust, and availability of parts, especially now that Saturn is defunct. But I don't think that will be a big problem until a few more years from now.
This website is (was) a great source of info about Saturns: SaturnFans.com
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