13th Apr 2006, 15:23

I also have a 2002 Saturn SC2. This is my 2nd Saturn. I will not buy another one. At 33,000 miles - I had to pay $1000 to replace a "Valve Body" on the transmission. My warranty had expired 6 months ago, and I had expected to pay for things that started to go wrong. But - an TRANSMISSION... after only 33,000 miles??? They told me that I should have purchased the extended warranty. Maybe I should have purchased a better car! This is the LAST Saturn I will ever buy...ever.

29th Aug 2006, 12:43

I appreciate all the input about Saturns. My daughter was convinced she wanted one because her friend has one. After reading about the issues, we both decided to keep looking. Since we're looking for used, it becomes even more important to find a car with a good track record. I wish this kind of site was around in my earlier days when I got a good whipping on a used car.

22nd May 2008, 14:37

I've had this car since June of 2002. The first 2-3 years that I owned it, I thought it was the best car for the price. The sunroof motor quit working while still under warranty, so I saved myself $410.

Of course nothing really major went wrong with it until the warranty was up. When the car had 48K on it I had to get the transmission valve body replaced. About every 3 months after that my "check engine" light would come on. The results were always something random, but I had to pay for the computer scan. I should have just bought a scanner, it would have been cheaper. This car has been in and out of the shop every few months since then. I've spent over $3000 on it in the past year. The car is almost 6 years old, and EVERYTHING is falling apart now. Just wait until your headlights start filling up with water. Of course it can't be resealed so unless you know what you're doing, have to shell out a few hundred dollars to replace it. If I could afford a new car payment I would love do drive the SC2 off a cliff. Good luck to all owners.

21st Mar 2009, 19:08

You will find negative comments on these sites, even for Hondas and Toyotas.

Fact is, I have owned 3 Saturns. My first was an '02 SL 1, which I ran daily up to 153,000 - had 43,000 when I got it. Only problem I ever had, radiator hose. I even had a fleet consultant with Wright Express tell me, they seldom have serious problems with Saturns and their C.V. joints practically never wear out. The SL1 still was perfect when I traded for my next one, an '05 Ion.

The Ion was cute, never cared much for the "electric" steering, and the "stadium-seating" back seats were not particularly comfortable. But, overall, a good car, very reliable.

I bought an '02 SC1 recently, 54k on it, and it purrs like a kitten.

Bottom line is, no, they are not Japanese quality by no means. But they do not have the Japanese price tag either.

For a little cash, you do get a decent, reliable car that's easy on gas. Overall - it's really quite a good car, for a domestic.

Mine haven't failed me yet.

23rd Oct 2009, 10:37

I have an 01 SC@ with 211000 mile on it. Original clutch! Never any major problems and it still runs and looks like new. My daughters Nissan is a piece of crap and has 40k on it. The thing is falling apart!

16th Sep 2010, 20:37

My first car was a 1994 Saturn SC1. It was totaled in 2002, and from what I hear, if I had been driving any other compact car, I would have been killed, but instead flew shop trauma, but lived because of the 4 star safety rating.

Bought a brand new SC2 in 2002 when that one was wrecked. My dad has done the maintenance on it since day 1, and it's had oil changes, tires, spark plugs... a water pump and serpentine belt at 137K... and the power locks just broke (may be easily fixed, but my dad hasn't tried yet). That's it. It now has 140K miles on it and is 8 years old. I have loved my Saturns, you have to take care of them though. Oh - it does burn oil... I put 1/2 a quart in a month of so. Most cars do when they are older... if you don't check it every so often, you probably aren't going to be happy with the car.

PS - the third door is awesome for groceries, kids, etc, and I wish a coupe was made today with one!

1st Feb 2011, 19:39

I drive a 2002 SC2 with the 1.9L 16-Valve 4 cylinder and a 5 speed manual transmission. I purchased the car after it had been smashed in the front and fixed, I have had it for 2 years and 40,000 miles.

I am extremely happy with the car, I put a set of 17 inch rims on it and the car looks outstanding. I also have a stereo in it with sub woofers and it was an extremely easy setup, I have never been able to hide wires as fast as I could on this car, full installation of subs, amp, and headunit took under 2 hours.

The only problems I have had are that the radiator cracked (which I later found that the radiator hadn't been replaced after the accident so that may have been the cause), a sensor went out in the transmission and the backup lights don't work. Also, the driver side window switch went out, other than that I have only had to do standard maintenance on the car.

All in all I am extremely happy with the car, it looks great, runs great, and has been extremely reliable.