Faults:

Engine consumed motor oil.

Windshield wipers occasionally stopped working.

Valve cover leaked, even after having the mechanic try to repair it twice.

Cylinder head cracked at 115000 kilometers causing oil to mix in with the engine coolant. Replaced by a mechanic with a rebuilt head that had the same problem right out of the box. Replaced a second time with a supposedly good cylinder head – which lasted until 175000 kilometers, when it cracked in the same way as the other heads!

Original Belt tensioner for accessory drive belt would squeal, replaced with a dealer part that also started to squeal shortly afterwards.

Muffler Hanger Bracket rusted off – Dealer wanted $140 for replacement hanger. Replaced with a wire coat hanger.

Front Brake pads worn out at 120000 kilometers.

Rear wheel bearing assembly failed at 100000 kilometers.

The paint on the car looked nice when I purchased it, but stones and road debris chip it very easily. The front of the car looked like it had been sand blasted by 150000 kilometers.

General Comments:

The car handles like a go-cart with a different set of wheels and tires on it. With the stock tires and wheels it does not handle nearly as well however.

The car never left me stranded, but it did cost more than half of the initial purchase price for repairs within 16 months of buying it.

The seats are very uncomfortable for me, however I am 6 feet 2 so this is an issue in many cars.

The dashboard and console look cheaply made, mostly because they ARE cheaply made! The plastic surrounding the radio is held on with 2 plastic clips which break off quite easily, leaving the plastic parts to shake around freely.

The car squeaks and moans a lot in cold weather, I attribute this to the plastic body construction.

The rear defroster is next to useless, although I never did have it checked out to see if there was something wrong with it.

The car was religiously maintained in the time I owned it and I still had many problems. I would not buy another Saturn with a 1.9 liter engine. Had I realized the oil consumption and cylinder head problems that seem to plague the older Saturn cars, and the kind of money it would cost me to keep this car going, I probably would have spent my money somewhere else.

Faults:

Passenger door rattled, all I did was tighten the bolts on the door.

The car use to vibrate every time I came to a complete stop, after my mechanic could find nothing wrong, I brought it to Saturn and they told me that the top engine mount usualy goes bad, and you get that effect, they sold me a redesigned model at about $70.00.

General Comments:

Great little car with a commendable reliability record. The paint still looks like new, and the insurance is fair. The only complaint I would have, the rate of depreciation is ridiculous! I paid $4,000.00 about a year ago (it was worth about $5,000.00) the going value is now $3400.00, and that's for a loaded car in great shape with low miles.

Faults:

My 1998 SC1 had a blown head gasket at 101,000 miles.

The car now has a ping after getting head gasket fixed.

General Comments:

At 84,000 miles, my "check coolant" light came on. I took it to the dealer. He stated the head gasket was worn. They replaced the head gasket. I continually had problems with losing oil and coolant. Every time I spoke to the WI dealership, they were very rude and uncooperative. At 101,000 miles, as I was driving home, my car overheated and I had oil mixed with my coolant. I replaced the head (big mistake, what a waste of money) and now with a few thousand miles on the car, it pings.