Faults:

Engine died @ 98,000 miles due to no oil, but that's not Saturn's fault.

All in all, very few repairs.

General Comments:

Very reliable car, no perks, little comfort, no performance per se (no pick-up), but cheap to buy and maintain.

Factory radio/CD/audio is surprisingly good.

The car depreciates very fast, resale value is very low, so it makes it a great used car buy.

Gas mileage is very good, lower than a Corolla but not by much.

Can't rust, due to plastic - good thing for Canada. Overall recommend if you can get one with low miles.

Faults:

Barely anything at all over the 8 years.

New brakes at 120,000 kilometers, did them all. that is expected wear though.

The top engine mount collapsed at 163,000 kilometer (common problem) cost me $44 for the mount from e-bay and free labour while they did the serpentine belt at the same time!

New tailpipe just recently at 165,000, once again normal wear and tear.

I am discovering that the car is starting to burn oil enough that in 4 months, the oil will go from full to empty... is there any fix to this other than a new engine?

Also, the gear shifter sometimes seems difficult to get into first if the car is running and in neutral, what could that be?

Otherwise I am VERY happy with the car!

General Comments:

I only paid $11,000 for it brand new, it was a 2000 on the lot in 2001 so I got a great deal!

Manual is easy to drive, smooth and well geared.

Engine seems pretty happy. Not too slow but just fast enough to keep up!

It is the bare-bones package, no A/C, no power windows, doors, mirrors etc.

Paint looks great, LOVE the polymer!

It is amazing on gas, quite the difference from my 1990 Cherokee I had before!

Seats are a little hard but are holding up well.

Fold down rear seats are great, I managed to put a 42 inch LCD TV in the truck with the seats down and it was no problem!

I just need information on how to fix the oil leaking. It doesn't seem to be burning off (nobody ever sees blue smoke), so I am quite puzzled!

Faults:

Shortly after I first purchased it, I started it, took off, and noticed none of my gauges were working. I pulled over, turned the engine off, restarted it, and it hasn't done it since.

Once or twice, I have had the clutch slip a little, but it's only happened on really cold days with a cold engine while trying to accelerate heavily.

General Comments:

I have only owned Toyota until I bought this Saturn, and I choose my Saturn because it was such a great price. Since Saturn's don't hold their value like a Toyota or Honda, I was able to get mine for about 1/2 of the price of what any equivalent 4 year old Corolla or Civic with under 30k miles would cost. It has never let me down as far as dependability, but I believe you do get what you pay for.

It's been 100% reliable, but it's still a cheaply built car. It rattles a lot, and has a pretty bumpy ride, and get uncomfortable on long road trips.

The lack of the optional power-steering sucks. I'm still amazed that was only an option in 2000.

The clutch is very finicky, causing the car to buck very easily. I drive it enough to know how to prevent it 99% of the time. Although, if anyone else who is unfamiliar with it drives it, it's never a smooth ride.

I've only replaced changed the oil, replaced the tires, and replaced the battery BUT it WAS 6 years old, which is great in Texas with the heat.

Even with Texas heat, it has an incredible A/C.

For a car that was purchased when I was a student and needed something to get me through school, it has been an excellent car for the price. And, after 4 years, I could probably sell it for almost what I paid for it. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another Saturn.