I will chime in.
I had a 2001 Lw200 with a manual trans. There are some major differences
between a LW200 and LW300 model, and of course between the 4 cylinder and
V6 in the 300 series -- not to mention the automatic verus manual tranny.
The main thing to note, regardless of the model - parts for this car are
expensive!

Most other Saturns models shared the body/chassis with another of GM's
partners. This meant maybe you had Saturn Sky, but you could also shop
for parts from a Solstice. Your SW shared with what... bonneville?
Not so with the L-series. I found the price of brake rotors for example
to be excessive. Or go price a front windshield.

My particular lw200 was a great car; with a lot of problems.
The clutch had a hydraulic leak that took the dealers months and tens of
thousands of miles to "diagnose"... actually they finally got sick of me
complaining and tore the tranny apart and found the problem.

The final nail in our 2001's coffin was an issue with the fuel injection
or timing or something that caused the car to buck and lose power until
restarted. You can search this newsgroup for other posts about our
experience. Now this was a lw200 with a different engine and different
tranny -- so those problems are nto necessarily indicative of what the
car you are looking at might have (btw, we logged 78,000 miles before
trading it in).

So to try and push you one way or the other, know that all cars have some
baggage. But specifically the L series is more rare than you;d think and
therefore as it ages the maintenance costs are higher than you'd expect.
It is otherwise a fine automobile and you sound like a handy car person -
so the added expense of parts is offset by your own labor.

You could likely hold off on the timing chain (not familiar with the V6
engine), but price-wsie it sounds good. Check for the recall or tsb about
the cant of the tires. When our '01 had this done they ended up replacing
all four tires due to uneven wear; again not sure how differnt the lw200
vs lw300 suspension is.


"S." > wrote in news:3aa16ce3-d535-48f9-894b-
:

> Not sure if I am looking for someone to talk me out of ...or into...
> purchasing a used 2001 LW300 wagon with 98,000 miles.
> My '95 SW1 w/ nearly 180K is now burning about a qt of oil every 400
> miles. I did a top engine clean w/Seafoam when I disassembled the
> engine back at 152K and did head gasket and timing chain kit. I've
> done all the maintenance myself except for the tranny rebuild. With
> two small kids and reliability/safety being a factor, I guess I'm done
> w/ this car.
> The LW300 (6 Cyl) is at a local Saturn dealer. This is a really
> beautiful looking car. Like new, w/ new tires. It has never seen snow,
> has a clean one-owner, Carfax. The dealer showed me the service dept
> history. It has always been serviced there. Even on the lift the car
> looks great underneath with no leaks, or evidence thereof. (Having
> just done the Cat Conv on my SW1, I have been under a Saturn several
> times a year for about a decade now). I took the car home overnight
> and all looks and feels good.
> The service issues I have seen detailed on the web and various owner
> reviews (edmunds, epinions) with this series have me concerned. The
> tail light recall was done on this car along with a few BCM's at
> 5,100 and 13,600 mi, engine oil coolers at 1,600 and 28K mi.; fuel
> pump/sender, rear crankshaft seal at 31K; MAF sensor at 53K, Water
> pump @ 56K. Rear wheel hub/bearing at 56K; front weatherstrips and
> dimmer switch at 57K; "Armrest/Console" @ 78K, Pwr steering pump/
> pulley and belt tensioner at 83K. The last major recommended service
> done was the 81K.
>
> This car was traded back in February. Has been driven by dealer for
> 700 miles now. With the end of the month, an anemic car market, along
> with a pending timing chain service at 100K ($1,900 for the 100K
> service per another Saturn dealer. I can get the Rock Auto timing
> chain kit and do it myself for $325.00) I feel I can get a good deal
> for $3,500-4K.
>
> Am I being blinded by the $$$ and condition? My car's dying and my
> finances are meager. If I had several thousand more I would seriously
> think of a higher mileage Passat wagon, Malibu Maxx, Volvo 70 series
> wagon,and maybe, maybe, a Honda Odyessy van.
>
> L-Series owners, what say you?
>
>
> Also, what could a "Non-Saturn Accessory Installation" every oil
> change mean?
>