1997 Saturn SC 1 1.9 liter 4 cylinder
Summary:
This is a durable, reliable, and economical vehicle
Faults:
Nothing so far for me.
When I bought it, it had:
Torn headliner.
Stereo failed.
Rust spots on hood.
Window column's black paint is chipping.
No mechanical problems.
General Comments:
This is my first car. I bought it for $1200 from my uncle. He was the first owner, and he bought it new. When he purchased this car, he got free oil changes for the entire life of the car every 3,000 miles. I live in Northern Indiana, around the Notre Dame campus. In my area, we have very harsh winters on cars. I got it from St. Louis. My stepdad is a mechanic, and he said he had never seen a car in that good of shape mechanically in correlation to its age. The car gets great fuel economy. I am averaging 27-30 MPG in the city. Do not use the performance button; it wastes gas!
My headliner is ripped, because my uncle was moving with the car, and some of his furniture ripped the headliner and the felt on the sun visor. The black paint on the window column's (the part that connects the body to the roof) paint is chipping (this is pretty common on GM cars, especially the Pontiac Sunfire). I also have some minor rust spots on my hood from extensive highway driving and the rock chips that go with it. The factory stereo failed, and my aunt replaced it with a Kenwood aftermarket stereo for my uncle's birthday.
The car has never had mechanical problems. It has gotten an oil change and tune up every 3,000 miles. The people who complain about mechanical problems on this car are the ones that abuse it. If taken care of, it can last forever. Thanks for reading!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 10th March, 2013
13th Jun 2021, 13:34
You purchased the car with 168,000 miles — most of the parts you mentioned are expected to wear out on any car by that point. It sounds like the previous owner deferred a lot of maintenance, hoping to dump it on the next one.