I'm a Saturn guy... ;]

[FightingChance]

... not in particular, but they seem to represent a solid value. I think I did alright (unless the car breaks, to which I'll curse it's existence)

[mgescuro]

Saturns are bulletproof cars. They're probably the best things to come out of GM... ever.

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Saturns are bulletproof cars. They're probably the best things to come out of GM... ever.

omg that's so funny , the S-Series is extremely reliable don't get me wrong, it's the models that came after the S-Series like the VUE being a POS, the L300 isn't bad, but it's nothing special either, the ION is a good car though.

[tosil]

There are those who say Saturn died with the S series cars... VUE was pritty unique to saturn, but it was never powered by a unique Saturn engine, and now that it shares a platform with other GM crossovers and has Honda power on the V6 model.... Lseries was never all unique to saturn, shared with Opel... ION is not a real Saturn IMO. S-series does not die, people kill them.

[griswold44]

I liked the S-series when it came out, and I think they ruined the formula with the ION.

[ElmerMCR]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

omg that's so funny , the S-Series is extremely reliable don't get me wrong, it's the models that came after the S-Series like the VUE being a POS, the L300 isn't bad, but it's nothing special either, the ION is a good car though.

How is the VUE a POS but the ION a good car?

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by ElmerMCR

How is the VUE a POS but the ION a good car?

Perhaps not the new Vue, but most Vue's from around 2002-2004 weren't very reliable according to customer reviews and with our Vue that we had. The ION's are a lot more reliable but suffered some of the same issues we had with our Vue (i.e. VTi Transmission).

[atomicshark]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Saturns are bulletproof cars. They're probably the best things to come out of GM... ever.

Tell that to my wife and mother-in-law.

We had a great experience with a 1998 SL2, but not so great with our 2000 LS2 which basically felt like it was about to die when the lease was up after 3 years and 44,000+ miles...At least we fell within the allocated mileage so it was an easy trade-in.

My mother-in-law loved her 2001 SC2 enough to want to buy it after her lease was up. I talked her into buying an Ion Quad Coupe...big mistake.

The CVT sucked and the car had other driveability issues. She basically felt unsafe driving it. Luckily Saturn did the right thing and bought it back and now she drive's an '05 Ion QC with the 4 speed Auto. So far it is trouble free and she likes it, but not as much as her SC2.

It's going to take a little more convincing to get my wife back into a Saturn over other brands. At least I have a couple of years to try.

I hate getting egg on my face when I recommend a car to someone. I hope Saturn has gotten things straightened out for good, we really need Saturn to be a shining beacon for GM.

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by atomicshark

Tell that to my wife and mother-in-law.

We had a great experience with a 1998 SL2, but not so great with our 2000 LS2 which basically felt like it was about to die when the lease was up after 3 years and 44,000+ miles...At least we fell within the allocated mileage so it was an easy trade-in.

My mother-in-law loved her 2001 SC2 enough to want to buy it after her lease was up. I talked her into buying an Ion Quad Coupe...big mistake.

The CVT sucked and the car had other driveability issues. She basically felt unsafe driving it. Luckily Saturn did the right thing and bought it back and now she drive's an '05 Ion QC with the 4 speed Auto. So far it is trouble free and she likes it, but not as much as her SC2.

It's going to take a little more convincing to get my wife back into a Saturn over other brands. At least I have a couple of years to try.

I hate getting egg on my face when I recommend a car to someone. I hope Saturn has gotten things straightened out for good, we really need Saturn to be a shining beacon for GM.

That's why I won't be buying a Saturn anytime soon. It seems that anything after the S-Series is or was crap. The L-Series at that time was a nice car and when you look at the overall package it was one of GM's best midsizers however the 3.0L V6 doesn't give me a confident feel for reliability and it didn't seem to sell too well in its last 3 years. The ION without the VTi seems to be pretty reliable but you couldn't even pay me to consider a Vue. I'll wait for the new Opel version thanks.

[atomicshark]

Originally Posted by IAMCANADIAN

That's why I won't be buying a Saturn anytime soon. It seems that anything after the S-Series is or was crap. The L-Series at that time was a nice car and when you look at the overall package it was one of GM's best midsizers however the 3.0L V6 doesn't give me a confident feel for reliability and it didn't seem to sell too well in its last 3 years. The ION without the VTi seems to be pretty reliable but you couldn't even pay me to consider a Vue. I'll wait for the new Opel version thanks.

The LS2 saving grace to me was the V6. It felt really strong. Stronger than the 200 HP V6 in my old Accord. In my opinion the L-series was worthless without the V6.

You are right about not feeling confident about reliability. It was pretty good until 40,000 miles.

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by atomicshark

The LS2 saving grace to me was the V6. It felt really strong. Stronger than the 200 HP V6 in my old Accord. In my opinion the L-series was worthless without the V6.

You are right about not feeling confident about reliability. It was pretty good until 40,000 miles.

The V6 in the 2004 that we test drove had okay power but was really noisy at anything higher than 2500 rpm and sounded like an old 3.1L V6 at lower RPM. It was really nice inside, the materials were top notch compared to most GM's at that time but sadly the person who drove it, i guess it was a manager's demo smoked in it and it reeked like hell.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by atomicshark

Tell that to my wife and mother-in-law.

We had a great experience with a 1998 SL2, but not so great with our 2000 LS2 which basically felt like it was about to die when the lease was up after 3 years and 44,000+ miles...At least we fell within the allocated mileage so it was an easy trade-in.

That is really a first for me. I've never heard of Saturn's doing that. A former co-worker of mine got an L300(?) something liek that... and she's never had a problem with it. She had a commute of about 60 miles 1 way. It ran like a dream for her.
My '90 SL2 ran forever. Only problem it had was the alternator going out after I replace the battery. My aunt's 95SL2 has never had a problem. Ever. Only in the shop for regular maintenance. Never had to call for a jump start, a tow... nothing.

Originally Posted by atomicshark

My mother-in-law loved her 2001 SC2 enough to want to buy it after her lease was up. I talked her into buying an Ion Quad Coupe...big mistake.

The CVT sucked and the car had other driveability issues. She basically felt unsafe driving it. Luckily Saturn did the right thing and bought it back and now she drive's an '05 Ion QC with the 4 speed Auto. So far it is trouble free and she likes it, but not as much as her SC2.

Well... the CVT's were a problem. And Saturn wasn't hte only manufacturer with that issue. You can always count on Saturn to do the right thing as well. They'll go the extra mile for a customer. But now her ION is treating her well... so it ain't so bad, right?

Originally Posted by atomicshark

It's going to take a little more convincing to get my wife back into a Saturn over other brands. At least I have a couple of years to try.

I hate getting egg on my face when I recommend a car to someone. I hope Saturn has gotten things straightened out for good, we really need Saturn to be a shining beacon for GM.

I'll never recommend a car unless I'm absolutely sure of the quality and reliability and service.
I do recommend Saturn and Saab. I won't recommend the G6, unless I know that this is the type of car someone is looking for. I won't recommend a Mercedes... especially for their service. (I got a few mechanics fired because of their incompetence.) And I can name 6 friends off the top of my head that will never ever ever recommend a Mercedes to anyone. I'll recommend Jaguars... so long as they know what you're getting into.

Cars like Audi and BMW.... from what I understand from my friends, their service leaves a LOT to be desired. Even their prices fluctuate overnight. And it's high priced. And I haven't ever received a glowing recommendation to "Go buy and Audi/BMW because of.... etc." It's more like a "Go buy the car.. you'll love it, but make sure you have the cash to maintain it and alot of patience."

[surferdude00711]

I like Saturns cuz they will be Opel, but I can't say I'm a Saturn fan now cuz they make the Relay and Vue lol. Right now Opel is my favorite brand; and I've never even sat in one!

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by surferdude00711

I like Saturns cuz they will be Opel, but I can't say I'm a Saturn fan now cuz they make the Relay and Vue lol. Right now Opel is my favorite brand; and I've never even sat in one!

What's wrong with the VUE?? it's one of the best selling small SUV's on the market. And don't say it's because of the Honda engine. It still cranks out more power than teh 'Nox/Torrent twins. AND it's got a better interior than either of them.

Relay? Yeah... it's crap.

[surferdude00711]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

What's wrong with the VUE?? it's one of the best selling small SUV's on the market. And don't say it's because of the Honda engine. It still cranks out more power than teh 'Nox/Torrent twins. AND it's got a better interior than either of them.

Relay? Yeah... it's crap.

The Vue might be the ugliest GM car made today, if not the ugliest for what something could be. EG The Uplander isn't such a bad looking van even though its a van.