4th Apr 2006, 17:28

Just more proof as to why Saturn is on the chopping block and may be eliminated as GM deals with its financial woes.

Sad, as I loved the concept of an allegedly competitive American car manufacturer in the compact segment.

Of course, now with hindsight it's obvious that much of Saturn's vaunted quality and dealership experience was really more fluff than reality, and that the cars really are and were awful.

One independent mechanic I spoke to said it was the cheapest put together car he had ever seen, and was shocked at how low the quality standards were.

10th Aug 2006, 18:23

I have been a loyal Saturn owner since 1991 and am now on my 3rd Saturn. I continually sing your praises as I will never purchase another car, but a Saturn. Unfortunately, I will rethink my next purchase due to my recent experiences.

My L200 is 3 yrs old as of (5/11/06) with 51,000 miles. I had purchased an extended warranty ending at 48,000 miles.

2/21/06 with 47,820 miles I mentioned a noise in my steering column. Struts & bearings were fixed. Still making the same noise. I bring my car back 4/28/06 at 49,617 miles (I travel for a living and am away by air often) Now, the warranty has ended and low and behold my steering rack is shot. Hard to believe this wasn’t detected on 2/21/06. This would be an $1800 repair. Working with Theo Boykin at Saturn of Pleasanton this problem is fixed under the warranty and I am charged $100 deductible. Thank you!

5/3/06 and 50,790 miles my car dies in the middle of traffic. Fuel pump now shot! $700.00 no longer under the warranty that just ended.

5/17/06 and 51,388I miles I now have no power upon acceleration. Needs new catalytic converter. Thankfully covered under the emissions warranty.

I service my car regularly at the Saturn Pleasanton facility and always receive terrific friendly customer service from both Theo & Kenny.

It’s either the car or the maintance crew that I no longer put my trust in. I feel you should know that I have never owned a car for such short time with so many major repairs necessary. Routine maintance SHOULD have caught these issues before they became a problem wouldn’t you agree?

A Very Disenchanted Saturn Owner,

20th Sep 2006, 20:55

I own a 2002 l-series which has 51,000 and my fuel pump had to be replaced due to a crack in the assembly. $500.00.

11th Oct 2006, 16:37

I have a 2003 L200 (purchased late 2002). I have 89,000 km (what's that, about 55,000 miles?) on it. I took it in three weeks ago to have a seized parking brake cable and a defective (?) intermediate shaft on the steering replaced, total of about $500. Three weeks later, the car died and wouldn't start; just prior it was making a strange whining noise that increased and decreased in pitch with the RPM. They replaced the battery ($250 including troubleshooting labour) and told me that the steering rack needs to be replaced. They offered to use after-market parts, but the tally still comes to about $1100. I'm considering my options at this point.

21st Nov 2006, 12:58

Bought a 2003 Saturn L200 new. I put 85k miles on it. At 87k miles, the catalytic converter blew and wasn't covered under the government mandated catalytic converter warranty. Parking cable seized up, but I just put it in first gear when I park. Intermittent electrical problems - fuel pump refuses to turn on sometimes, leaving engine dead. Spark plugs melted down way before 100k warranty.

Pros - love the ride, love the engine, love the feel. Have a feeling I will be doing a lot of troubleshooting and repair myself though. And I still have $5k worth of payments left... that's what kills me. I'm going to convert this to an electric vehicle at end of life...

19th Jan 2007, 11:20

I bought a 2003 L200; generally, I've been satisfied with the car - until today. I'm almost at the end of my lease, so I took the car to my mechanic to check on a noise I was hearing from the front end. Basically the steering hardware has to be replaced, which is going to cost me around $800. Then I found this site, and I've experienced a few of the things that others have noted, like blown-out speakers (I thought maybe one of my kids was the culprit), badly worn tires (had to replace the front tires at 28,000 miles), and an intermittent putt-putt sound when idling.

Lessons learned: unless I can write off the payments, I will never lease again, and I doubt I will buy another GM product.

19th Jan 2007, 13:01

Cars are getting much much more complicated, and that means that more stuff is going to break down and it's going to be much more expensive to fix. I cannot fathom why anyone would NOT lease (within the warranty period) unless they drove more than 15K per year.

16th Jun 2007, 07:26

I currently own a 2002 Saturn L200, and I have never been so disappointed in a car. I have multiple problems with the check engine light with errors ranging from O2 emission leaks to a catalytic converter melt down. I have had to fix my brakes (pads rotors) twice. The windshield motors have died. The lights flicker. The steering column makes noise. My bakes just recently stopped working in the middle of traffic.

This car only has 47,000 mile on it!! I will never buy a Saturn made product again.

26th Jun 2007, 13:51

It seems as if we are all having the same problems... just got my L200 (it has 90,800 miles) back from service it coasted me $1,500. I had to replace my battery, my top brake lights, front brake rotors and pads, and had to clean the throttle body. Every time something goes wrong with this car it is always a major repair one costing over $800. Last year, the ignition went, and the rack and pinion gear assembly had to be replaced and that was $900.

9th Jul 2007, 10:26

My wife's 2002 L200 died as she was driving it Saturday (07/07/2007) morning. We had it towed to the dealership where she purchased the car. The car has less than 36,000 miles and has been well cared for, but the dealership called this morning to say the timing chain has failed and we are looking at ~$2650.00 to repair. Due to the low mileage, they have offered to cover parts if we pay labor and I have accepted, but I do question timing chain failure at such low mileage. After reading some of the other comments on this site, I am concerned we will not get the life I expected from this vehicle.

16th Jul 2007, 18:17

I own a 2001 L200 Saturn Sedan. So far we have had a lot of issues with the brake lights - finally having to replace the entire thing. Replaced the battery early on. The service light has been on for at least three years now... we refuse to get it changed as just to reset the light is almost $600. Driver door is having issues... can't unlock the door if the window is down... can't lock the door if the window is up sometimes. Now we just found out out AC compressor is shot and that's a $1200 replacement =/