Saturn L300

thcri · Jan 15, 2004

I know this post doesn't belong on TBN but I am not about to go looking for a car discussion group. Besides I have come to trust the majority of you here anyway. My son, broke, going to college, thinking about getting married and wants to buy a ring is looking at a used Saturn L300 with 44,000 miles on it. I don't know much about Saturn other than I had a friend that had one and he was very dissapointed in it. He had trouble after trouble, but that is only one story. Does anyone else have experience with Saturn or the L300 that could shed some light on the product for me?

Murph

Docsknotinn · Jan 15, 2004

I am not a car person but I have known many people who owned them and were pleased with them for the money. Dave

tc35dforme · Jan 15, 2004

Murph, I ran a 1997 Saturn SC2 for 5 years and 97,000 miles. Never, repeat never needed a service repair. Did the brakes, changed tires, and changed oil once /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, but it was the single best car I ever owned. Wasn't all that impressive in terms of luxury or performance, but cheap to run, cheap to insure, and just plain cheap to own. I'd get another in a minute, 'cept for the need for a mini-van /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif.

I used to describe that car like a stupid dog...you beat it and it just keeps coming back for more !!!!

I wouldn't be scared !

rh1346 · Jan 15, 2004

I have a 2001 Saturn SC1 with 96k, have averaged 40MPG, easy to service, dealership easy to deal with, American owned company, built in Tennessee. You can't go wrong.

jfh230 · Jan 17, 2004

I owned a saturn and was fine until 50,000 miles then the disk brakes warped. Bad metal. Major $$$ to replace. At 65,000 it was the steering rack. I've never had to replace a rack in all the cars I have owned. Again major $$$. At 85,000 the head cracked meaning a 4 year old car is now worthless. Couldn't even trade it in. Gave it to charity to part out. My brothers experience with his saturn was similar. Fine until 50k and then the major repairs started. Fortunately for him he got rid of his before it became worthless. I would never consider another saturn new or used.

Jack

TresCrows · Jan 18, 2004

A mechanic friend of mine has a Saturn with over 100,000 relatively trouble free miles. My neighbor has a Saturn and it must be getting over a 100,000 as well, trouble free it seems.
Frankly, a clean used Toyota Camary or Corolla would be my choice but other than a touch of crudeness and lack of sophistication/slickness, the Saturn seems to be a decent machine /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif. Why, may I ask, a Saturn in particular? Why not, instead, seek the cleanest, lowest mile car for the dollar.
On another note, Saturn is giving up on the tupaware/plastic panels. Despite their decent service, the undulating and unstable plastic surfaces and large uneven panel gaps that result from plastic panels that expand and contract more than metal are seen by consumers accustomed to looking at the laser like cuts of a Toyota or Nissan as indicating poor quality. That is unfortunate because I kinda liked the plastic idea and hoped they would continue to refine it. Oh well.
I wish your son good luck, seems like he has a lot of work and challenges ahead. J

livincountry · Jan 18, 2004

I have had two Saturns. A 1993 4 door and a 2001 4 door. The 2001 has almost 100k miles. I have replaced the two fron tires and replaced the front brake pads. Regular oil changes over its life is a given. The 1993 was a beauty but we sold it for a van when we entered foster care. Great cars.

Odd how different people have such vast experiences with vehicles.

I'd buy a new L300 but I need a larger car than that.