Is a used Saturn a good reliable buy?

[becscar]

I don't know very much about Saturns. I am about to buy a used car in another few weeks. I will only have between $3,000 and $4,000 to spend. Can you tell me if there are any good reliable Saturns to buy in this price range? I would love to hear some of your personal stories about your Saturns. Which models and years are best?
Thanks so much for any help!!!

[geekgoddess]

I bought a used 99 SL2 about 3.5 years ago, and the only problems I've had until recently was replacing the battery (it still had the original in it) and the tires (those were originals too) I'm just now having a "Service engine soon" light issue, which looks to be something with my oxygen sensor. Other than that, it's been a great car! I normally get 30-33 MPG on my bi-weekly road trips (in-town is a lot worse cause we have so many stinking stop lights - I mean heck, there are even stop lights on our Expressway here *no joke*) I started changing my own oil last year, and changed my own brake pads this past summer. And I'll be chaning my spark plugs and wires here in a couple weeks. (not bad for a 30 yo female first time DIYer, eh?) I personally think they are wonderful little cars, and if/when I have to get another car, I'll definately have a Saturn at the top of my wish list.

EDIT: I got mine used from the dealership, so it was just over $9000. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you can find a private seller in your price range though.

[saturnspeed_12]

ah you can find several saturns cheap. yes they are a good buy like ive said before, just take care of it. if the person abused it before or didnt keep good maintenance, then get ready to spend money on it to get it back to a great condition.

i got mine for $1200 at an auction. the sunroof leak was the worst problem, but was an easy fix. ive put alot of money into mine but quite a bit has gone to performance. i dont regret spending money on it, theres just something about it i love. and not to mention, what can be done under the hood, if you know what your doing and know these things.

[becscar]

Great, thanks for the advice everyone! I am hopefully going to look at some Saturns today!

side note: stop lights on the expressway? Wow! You must live in a busy area! I have never seen that before!!

[SlaveKyra]

I bought a 1997 Saturn SC1 from a used car dealer and I had a lot of problems with it. The check engine light was coming on, and the only thing the code reader would tell me was that cylinder four was misfiring. Well I knew that...lol. I ended up replacing the fuel injector, spark plugs (twice) and wires, and the coils. It's still giving me a few problems, like all of a sudden jumping while I'm going down the road. I'm not sure what it is, because I'm not that educated about cars. But I'm going to figure it's something internal, and I'm not going through all that trouble, so I'm just trying to sell it. Now, keep in mind, my dad bought the car, so I don't know what he was thinking when he bought it. It also doesn't have A/C, the compressor is out. As for mileage, it's a great car for that. I bought mine for 1800. I wish you luck.