98 SL2 w/ 5spd - questions

Never owned a Saturn, but am impressed with the gas mileage an SL2 can
deliver.

I have my eye on a 98, 5 spd with 62k miles on it. I think the price is ok,
but have some questions.

I drove the car and it felt fine, for a 4 cylinder, stick. Are these cars
smooth like Hondas, or are they a bit buzzy?

The one I drove had some buzz/vibration, but not that bad.

What should I look for in terms of tell-tale signs of problems?

The shift lever had an awful lot of side-to-side play in it, even when in
gear. Is this normal? Can it be adjusted or corrected? Also, the clutch
did not appear to slip at all, but it does grab real high -- same
questions...

It's a handsome car, I would like to go back and get it tomorrow, but just
need some feedback.

Thanks

Oh -- CarFax was clean...

In article >, says...
> Never owned a Saturn, but am impressed with the gas mileage an SL2 can
> deliver.
>
> I have my eye on a 98, 5 spd with 62k miles on it. I think the price is ok,
> but have some questions.
>
> I drove the car and it felt fine, for a 4 cylinder, stick. Are these cars
> smooth like Hondas, or are they a bit buzzy?
>

I always felt hondas were just has buzzy/wheezy as Saturns. It's in the
nature of small displacement 4 bangers.

In article >,
blah blah > wrote:

> I always felt hondas were just has buzzy/wheezy as Saturns. It's in the
> nature of small displacement 4 bangers.

You too? I've driven so many 'amazing' 4 bangers, and they all were
buzzy/whiney and underpowered. I really wish Detroit would get the
message and stop trying to force them on us. I've NEVER driven a 4
banger that was as smooth or nice as a 6. And I've driven some ****ty
6s before.

I should have said Accord. You must have driven a Civic...

"blah blah" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, says...
>> Never owned a Saturn, but am impressed with the gas mileage an SL2 can
>> deliver.
>>
>> I have my eye on a 98, 5 spd with 62k miles on it. I think the price is
>> ok,
>> but have some questions.
>>
>> I drove the car and it felt fine, for a 4 cylinder, stick. Are these cars
>> smooth like Hondas, or are they a bit buzzy?
>>
>
> I always felt hondas were just has buzzy/wheezy as Saturns. It's in the
> nature of small displacement 4 bangers.

Whatever. I wasn't that unimpressed. I went ahead and bought it...

"Philip Nasadowski" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> blah blah > wrote:
>
>> I always felt hondas were just has buzzy/wheezy as Saturns. It's in the
>> nature of small displacement 4 bangers.
>
> You too? I've driven so many 'amazing' 4 bangers, and they all were
> buzzy/whiney and underpowered. I really wish Detroit would get the
> message and stop trying to force them on us. I've NEVER driven a 4
> banger that was as smooth or nice as a 6. And I've driven some ****ty
> 6s before.

In article >, The Millers > wrote:
>Never owned a Saturn, but am impressed with the gas mileage an SL2 can
>deliver.
>
>I have my eye on a 98, 5 spd with 62k miles on it. I think the price is ok,
>but have some questions.

We own a five-speed 1998 SW2 - IIRC that has the DOHC V4 - also for the
fuel efficiency.

>I drove the car and it felt fine, for a 4 cylinder, stick. Are these cars
>smooth like Hondas, or are they a bit buzzy?

I've never driven a Honda, nor have I really noticed "buzziness" in
anything I have driven, but our SW2 drives fine. The stick-shift's
remarkably forgiving, actually - it's always easy to get into gear
with a smooth transition.

>What should I look for in terms of tell-tale signs of problems?

We had some temperature sensor problems that made it idle too high
when the engine was warm (maybe the automatic choke was confused or
something), but other than that there's been nothing too surprising.

>The shift lever had an awful lot of side-to-side play in it, even when in
>gear. Is this normal? Can it be adjusted or corrected? Also, the clutch
>did not appear to slip at all, but it does grab real high -- same
>questions...
(snip)

I didn't notice anything strange about ours but, alas, I don't have it
to hand right now - my wife drives it. Sorry I can't be of more help.
(Her parents have a 1996 wagon, but that's an automatic - no problems
with that either. I can't compare with my Subaru because the stick in
that is /very/ different to our Saturn.)

-- Mark

In article >,
says...
> In article >, The Millers > wrote:
> >Never owned a Saturn, but am impressed with the gas mileage an SL2 can
> >deliver.
> >
> >I have my eye on a 98, 5 spd with 62k miles on it. I think the price is ok,
> >but have some questions.
>
> We own a five-speed 1998 SW2 - IIRC that has the DOHC V4 - also for the
> fuel efficiency.
>

V4? You mean I4.

In article >,
blah blah > wrote:
>In article >,
says...
(snip)
>> We own a five-speed 1998 SW2 - IIRC that has the DOHC V4 - also for the
>> fuel efficiency.
>
>V4? You mean I4.

Gosh, they're all in a line or something? I shall have to look again.
Thanks!

-- Mark

"Mark Carroll" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> blah blah > wrote:
>>In article >,
says...
> (snip)
>>> We own a five-speed 1998 SW2 - IIRC that has the DOHC V4 - also for the
>>> fuel efficiency.
>>
>>V4? You mean I4.
>
> Gosh, they're all in a line or something? I shall have to look again.
> Thanks!
>
> -- Mark

Well, it's 1/2 of the V, anyway! ;+)

Ken

In article >, The Millers > wrote:
(snip)
>The shift lever had an awful lot of side-to-side play in it, even when in
>gear. Is this normal? Can it be adjusted or corrected? Also, the clutch
(snip)

I tried my wife's 1998 SW2 this afternoon - that lever also has lots
of side-to-side play in it, even when in gear, so maybe it is normal.

-- Mark