Faults:

Rebuilt the motor. A big auto retail and service chain took $1700 from me to "fix" a coolant problem... Same day, my engine blows with a warped head gasket...

Other than the "mechanics" screwing me over, my Saturn is my baby. Runs great, low gas consumption, sleek. I put some good money into her, like replacing everything made out of rubber, as it was garage kept for a while. They go through oil pretty fast, but that's the price of luxury I guess.

They are easy to modify and make more efficient for your style of driving.... Plus mine has limo tints, rims, LEDs, everything. Just keep extra oil with you. I use 5w30 full synthetic...

General Comments:

Tight ride. Great torque. No blind spots. Turns into a racer easily

Faults:

Rear wheel bearings - Discovered they were bad while checking the rear brakes. Wasn't making any noise yet, but could tell they were dry, so I just replaced them. Changed at 238,000 miles.

Plug wires and spark plugs - the car had a slight miss. Pulled the plug wires. Saw that the grease in the boot was so old it had hardened and felt similar to candle wax. It was just time to change the plugs and wires.

Valve cover gasket - Discovered this was bad while changing the plugs. When I pulled the plug wires, 2 of the wires were wet on the end.

Tires - they were just bald and loud. Replaced with much higher quality rubber.

Muffler - rotted out. Replaced with stainless steel replacement.

Tie rods - tie rods had no slop whatsoever, but they were old enough that the boots were dry rotted and had no zerk fittings, so I just had replacements installed that were greaseable.

Driver's seat - foam in the seat was all smashed down. Was like that when I bought the car. Replaced with seat from a lower mileage SL2 from a salvage yard.

General Comments:

It's been a good car. Fuel efficient, parts are cheap, and it's easy to work on. The only issue I have is the oil burning, which is a common problem. Have to add about a quart of oil every 700 miles.

Other than that, it's been a good car. Fuel economy is good. Averaging about 35 MPG.

Faults:

1.9 DOHC engines leak oil; I go through about a quart every 400 miles. I been using SAE 30 and it doesn't leak out as fast. I read online that the rings in these cars aren't the best, but it's no major concern, just be sure to check your oil once a week to be on the safe side.

When it rains, wet spots appeared on the driver back floor board. I ripped part of the carpet back, and found the problem; some of the welding around the emergency brake cable wasn't sealed, and water drained in from the rear of the car as rain would run down into the car. I used a "form a gasket" tube of this rubbery stuff from Advanced Auto, and ran it all around the welded area; seems OK so far.

One drawback is it's hard to work on by yourself. If the alternator goes out, good luck, it's located under the engine and you need a mechanic to replace it. It's also hard to change the serpentine belt; in fact I can't do it, and take that to the mechanic to change as well.

The lighter seems to always blow out a fuse. I don't smoke, so I threw the lighter away, but use the port for my cell phone charger, as well to charge my GPS.

General Comments:

One of the best features about this car (that no one mentions) is it does NOT have timing belt, but has a timing CHAIN, and probably won't ever need changing.

All those drivers who had a timing belt snap on you, and the car dies in the middle of nowhere; they know what I am talking about. Plus those belts need changing about every 60,000 miles, and get costly.

The car has excellent power for a 4 cylinder. Nice and quiet. Handles nice, looks sporty and cool.

Had a decent sound system, I since put in an MP3/CD player, but it still has original speakers.

Really, for the money, this car blows away the Ford Escort Wagon; I used to own one and it's a good car, but this Saturn Wagon was far superior, and yet you rarely see them on the roads.