Faults:

Small metal line that feeds water pump got a leak. repaired it with stop leak. Perfect!

Water filter had to be replaced... once in 5 years

:-)

Tensioner pulley broke. Repaired for $200 total.

I love my car!

General Comments:

I have had this 'girl' for 5 years and she has been highly dependable. I drive and treat her with care, changing the oil religiously every 3,000 miles. I only put prem gas in her.

My Saturn has been a grand car for me. One problem with the 94's and 95's is that they are easy to steal. Mine was stolen three times and came back untouched each time. Washington is a misdemeanor rule for car theft if it is considered joy-riding and no damage is done to car. Mine was perfect. The last time I found a brand new portable car charger in the trunk. Go figure. We charged the dead battery and then drove home.

This car still gets 24mpg in town and 27 on the road. Little things are beginning to go wrong, but what the hey, I will fix them. The main worry for me is that she may be stolen again and mistreated. Yes, a anti-theft bar goes on the steering column whenever I am not in the drivers seat.

This car is excellent on tire wear also.

Faults:

(1) Right front wheel bearing

(2) Electric fan switch

(3) Oil pan and gasket

(4) Drivers seat "breaking down"

(5) Strut suspension "klunk" but are OK?

(6) Window frames starting to rust out..

General Comments:

Of the minimal problems listed, all are well within the realm of regular "wear and tear".

This little bear of a car handles the northern WI winters with no fuss. Bought the car for its gas mileage, averages about 37+ mpg continuously.

Our Saturn does have regular maintenance, oil changed every 3000 miles religiously, we run Trop Arctic 5w30 and AC/Delco filters, we did put a synthetic transmission fluid in it, which does make a difference in the winter months with a 5 speed manual trans.

The Saturn, being the basic economy car it is, goes above and beyond what is asked of it in all areas of transportation.

Faults:

New spark plugs.

Only other thing that had to be replaced were regular maintenance (tires, brakes, etc)

General Comments:

This was my first car, bought it when I was 16. Being a young (and fairly bad) driver, I beat this car up pretty badly. I taught 3 or 4 of my friends how to drive stick on this car, got in a few accidents (only fender benders, thankfully), and basically did not take great care of the car. Despite all of that, my car has held up amazingly well. For the most part, the only things needed to be replaced were regular maintenance (brake pads, tires etc) or things which I caused myself (rear ended someone and needed new bumper, hit a tree and needed a new side mirror...) Every person that has known me while I've had this car is in disbelief that my car even still runs. Never thought much of saturns before, but now place them up with hondas and toyotas as far as reliability. My only problem with them is the look. The look of saturns is not really my style.

Faults:

The alternator has had to be replaced on average once every other year. Fortunately, it has been covered by warranty each time. It has been more of an inconvenience than an expense.

Despite my taking meticulous care of the interior of the vehicle, it began wearing very badly about 3 years ago. Specifically, the cloth on the ceiling and cloth covering the visors. A crack has developed in the dashboard as well. The seats and floor are fine.

I have had very minor mechanical repairs. I would estimate in my 10 years of ownership, I have spent less than $800 in repairs. I don't think that's bad at all for an economy car.

General Comments:

I loved the car in my single years, but once I got married and had my two children, we outgrew it very quickly. It's not too much of a family car due to its size.

However, with the exception of the alternator problems, she has been a very reliable and economical ride. She still runs fine to this day.

I wish Saturn had made the interior more durable in this model. I have multiple strips of ugly duct tape on the ceiling due to deterioration of the cloth. Plus, the car developed a lot of interior rattles due to deterioration of glue and cheap plastic interior parts.