Faults:

Very little has gone wrong with the car bar a wheel bearing (warranty covered).

Alternator belt broke. Ignition switch. All repairs under $90. And all after 200 000 km.

The transmission stopped at 326 000 km, so unplugged the transmission lines and it was WAY past due for a timing chain, so changed that too at same time; $900 bucks for both.

The radio works intermittently after 320 000 km and the CD player stopped playing at same time. All OEM equipment and I'm the first owner.

The struts were changed twice; they only last 100 000 km or 62 000 miles.

This is my work car; I drive 521 km one way from Edmonton to Ft McMurray and the trip is around $26 to 30 bucks in fuel, depending on gas prices... as long as I don't hit a moose I'm safe.

Overall very cheap to operate. A plus is it doesn't rust.

General Comments:

Mechanic told me this was a disposable car. But I'll get 500 000 out of it by time I'm done; one of the longest lasting cars I've had.

Too bad they don't make these any more... plus they don't rust. Changed oil every 6000 to 8000 km once or twice every 10 000 km plus... so it's amazing how long it went.

Faults:

Mechanically (engine and transmission) the car has been great, knock on wood. I have had to replace the usual wear and tear items, brakes, oil change, tires etc. It's all not roses and sunshine however.

The quality of this car is overall poor. The vehicle rattles profusely, the electrics of the car are a nightmare (window motor wires broke at the door jamb, power locks work intermittently, and the gauges go haywire occasionally). The seats stain easily, even water leaves stain marks.

General Comments:

Overall this is an affordable commuter car. It has an extremely cheap interior and shoddy build quality. But where it counts, reliability and cost to run, it has been there for me... knock on wood!

Overall, if you need a car to get you from point A to B, the Ion is an affordable ride. There have been serious quality issues that some owners have reported that I have not personally experienced. Just make sure to do research first. Also the resale value is horrible.

Faults:

I have had the following problems with the 2004 Saturn ION 3:

- The notorious starting problem. I did the wire modification in 2010 and it has started reliably ever since, in all weathers.

- This car has very simple brakes, which makes doing a good brake job inexpensive. However, torque the lug nuts to factory specifications or the rotors will immediately warp. Also, emergency application of the brakes will cause rotor warping.

- Starting around 175000 miles, the power steering would, on rare occasion, malfunction when biasing to a left turn, particularly when stopped and pressure was applied to the wheel.

- The wiper transmission cracked and left my wipers disabled. The fix is an easy do-it-yourself job. $120.

General Comments:

I enjoy owning this car. It is a very easy car to own. It does have a few quirks, but I have put it to the test, and it is better than average for an American economy car.

All cars require a budgeted maintenance plan. I use the "13th month" rule, where I set aside enough money every year to make a monthly payment on a 36 month loan for the model of car I purchased. This car asked $224 dollars a year. Fortunately, I have only exceeded this by a few hundred dollars. This is an easy car to maintain, so I saved a lot of money using my own garage.

Number one suggestion for this car (or any car, for that matter) is to put the best tires on that you can find. You will have to spend the money, no argument. Expect $500 - $700 for excellent tires. This car has cheap, sealed wheel bearings. The transmission is a non-serviceable component. The engine is not particularly rugged, either. In order to reduce stress on these components, thus reducing maintenance costs, the tires have to roll like silk. The strategy has worked excellently on this car, as I have had zero powertrain issues. If mismatched or used tires are installed, expect life expectancy to drop dramatically.

Oil changes are a dream. If it takes me 15 minutes to change my oil, I wasted 7 minutes, somewhere. The filter is a paper element mounted in the engine block. Very easy and very fast, without a mess.

Brakes are fantastically easy to service on this car. Life expectancy is about average, so I go about 2 years between brake jobs. I do my own for $110.

The engine uses Dexcool coolant. I have only had it flushed and filled once in 170K+ miles. DO NOT mix coolant types ever, and there will likely not be a problem.

The fit and finish of this car is average. Though I do find it to be considerably better than many 2013+ economy models I have looked at.

Ultimately, an owner of a 2004 Saturn ION 3 gets no free ride. Cheap cars are cheap cars. If the maintenance budget of a cheap car is out of reach, then lifestyle changes may be in order. That's not necessarily the fault of the car/manufacturer. My banked budget should be around $1200/5 years for maintenance. My actual costs have been about $1900. Not too bad.

The 2004 Saturn ION 3 is not tolerant of neglect, so do not buy one with the expectation that no care will have to go into it. However, with great tires, a good mechanic and proper maintenance intervals, the life expectancy of the 2004 Saturn ION 3 is an easy 250000+ miles.