Faults:

The clutch failed a little after 100,000 miles and had to be replaced, along with the gear box which together cost 1500 dollars.

General Comments:

I had been driving a run-down 89 VW Fox for a year and wasn't sure when it would quit on me. So I was in the market for a newer, reliable car that I could afford.

Toyota Corolla's and Honda Civic's were too much. I ended up looking at Geo Prizm's which were more in my price range, but could not find one I liked.

I considered other cars and looked at Saturn's hearing that they were reliable. After some searching I found my car. A 1994 Saturn SL base model. There is nothing extra with the car, except Air-conditioning. The car was in perfect cosmetic shape, and looked practically brand new. I was very pleased with the way it rode and appearance and snapped it up.

Since then I have put on almost twenty thousand miles in seven months and it has been acting like a champ. The clutch failed me around 100,000 miles, but that is to be expected, but the repair costs were pricey (1500 dollars at a dealer)

The car has little punch when accelerating and is not sporty at all, but it does feel reliable and the handing is very nice. And if I do need some extra power the engine can provide it.

Even though the style is 10 years old it doesn't look dated, and fits out on the road even with the newer model cars. I still see a ton of Saturn SL's on the road which is a good sign as well.

All in all, the car has delivered more than I could hope for from a 10 year-old car. It is cheap, reliable transportation.

Faults:

Replaced alternator.

Replaced starter twice in a year.

Replaced valve cover gasket two weeks after I bought it. Needs another one now. Burns a lot of oil, even after the gasket was replaced.

Replaced radiator and also reservoir tank. Uses a lot of coolant fluid. It's not leaking, but the light comes on at least every other month.

Replaced headliner.

Passenger side window in the back will not roll down. Motor has gone out on it.

Seats are worn very badly. They actually rock back and forth when I turn a curve.

Automatic seat belt is not working on the driver side, it stopped in the middle of the track. Now I have to ride with my seatbelt half choking me.

General Comments:

This car is very loud and not very comfortable for road trips. Especially since the seat on the driver side have worn and I am actually leaning a bit while I am driving.

If I am ever running late in the morning and it is raining outside, all I need to do is take a bar of soap to my car and take a bath while I am driving because the driver and passenger side windows leak just that bad.

Don't count on passing cars unless you have at least a mile of clearance, especially if the air conditioner is on. Very poor pick up speed.

I've gotten my money's worth out of this car. I've taken several trips in it and it has never left me on side of the road. I haven't spent an extremely large amount of money to repair the car considering the age of it.

Makes a good second vehicle to beat around town in.