Saturns Suck!

I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the tranny
($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000 miles
I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.

You are not telling us if the car was new when you bought it. If it was
used, all bets are off.

Assuming you bought it new, it all depend on how you drive the car: if you
have a leaded foot and tend to abuse the drive train, then expect such short
lived components (ditto for brake pads, CV shafts, etc). Keep in mind that a
car (any car) is a mechanical assembly of some complex, and will fail (not
if, but when) eventually.

Buying a car, such as the Saturn SL, don't expect too much: these are basic
cars with minimal consideration for long term reliability. You want a very
reliable car? Buy a R-R.

"Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
...
> I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
> transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
tranny
> ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
> went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
> as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
miles
> I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
> cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
> get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.

1 alternator = 1 car payment
The other 11 are free.....


"ns" > wrote in message
news:KF5qc.11203$RM.8899@edtnps89...
> You are not telling us if the car was new when you bought it. If it was
> used, all bets are off.
>
> Assuming you bought it new, it all depend on how you drive the car: if you
> have a leaded foot and tend to abuse the drive train, then expect such
short
> lived components (ditto for brake pads, CV shafts, etc). Keep in mind that
a
> car (any car) is a mechanical assembly of some complex, and will fail (not
> if, but when) eventually.
>
> Buying a car, such as the Saturn SL, don't expect too much: these are
basic
> cars with minimal consideration for long term reliability. You want a very
> reliable car? Buy a R-R.
>
> "Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> > 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that
their
> > transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
> tranny
> > ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the
tranny
> > went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the
car
> > as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
> miles
> > I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put
the
> > cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn
should
> > get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.
>
>

My 94 SL2 - I've had to replace the clutch, the upper engine mount, the
tensioner, the idler pully and the water pump.

Sounds like my car sucks, too.

I've replaced these things over a period of 4 years...an average of about
$125 / year (okay, I did some of the work myself)

It's 10 years old with 160,000 miles. I'll GLADLY pay $125 / year to keep
her running. I'm making money every day I drive this car!

I'm already planning for a failed alternator and power steering pump...and
some other mechanical parts...just because I KNOW they'll fail sooner or
later. Probably would on just about any 10-year old high mileage car, even,
I dare say, on Hondas and Toyotas.

I love my Saturn!

Barry

"Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
...
> I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
> transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
tranny
> ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
> went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
> as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
miles
> I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
> cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
> get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.
>
>

"ns" > wrote in message news:<KF5qc.11203$RM.8899@edtnps89>...
> You are not telling us if the car was new when you bought it. If it was
> used, all bets are off.
>
> Assuming you bought it new, it all depend on how you drive the car: if you
> have a leaded foot and tend to abuse the drive train, then expect such short
> lived components (ditto for brake pads, CV shafts, etc). Keep in mind that a
> car (any car) is a mechanical assembly of some complex, and will fail (not
> if, but when) eventually.
>
> Buying a car, such as the Saturn SL, don't expect too much: these are basic
> cars with minimal consideration for long term reliability. You want a very
> reliable car? Buy a R-R.

You mean Saturn has been LYING by telling us they are "A Different
Kind of Company" and they are lying to us when they say their cars are
generally reliable!
>
> "Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> > 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
> > transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
> tranny
> > ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
> > went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
> > as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
> miles
> > I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
> > cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
> > get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.

My Saturn sucks very little gas and that is a big help right now.
I plan to take it on a 4.5 hour drive (one way) to the Carlisle
Import and Kit Car Show this weekend and I need all of the
economy it can muster!
PH

Dennis Hamilton wrote:

>I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
>60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
>transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the tranny
>($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
>went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
>as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000 miles
>I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
>cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
>get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.
>
>
>
>

--
R e m o v e XYZZY f r o m e m a i l a d d r e s s w h e n r e p l y i n g

Heh, funny you mention that... I have a 1992 SL1 that aparently i've been
driving for a year with blown rings. Still drives just fine, didn't find it
until the engine light came on complaining about PCM problems. (code 19 for
anyone who might be able to tell me where to look, other than a new PCM)

Paid $400 for it a year ago with 113k miles. It has 124,500 on it now, and
am looking at an engine swap. Although, a $400 car, that i've sunk $1200
into already (mostly regular maintniance, but i did hit a curb cracking the
subframe in 5 places aparently, broke 2 motor mounts, and blew the shocks,
but that was only $700 to repair) So aparently my saturn sucks too, because
engines shouldn't blow at 113k miles? I dunno, ask me to fix your computer,
i can do that, ask me to fix a car, heh, you're on your own.

I'd gladly go out and get a new saturn tomorrow if money allowed. I think
they're a very comfy ride, cheap to maintain, but yes, when **** goes bad,
it really goes bad. Still worth the money.

--
Alex Hartman
Engineer KCLD 104.7FM


"Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
...
> I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
> transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
tranny
> ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
> went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
> as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
miles
> I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
> cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
> get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.
>
>

Sounds like you curbed that Saturn good.

The thing that ticks me off is these people will come in here to vent
about how much they hate Saturn but they never came in here before for
help. Those kinds of people dont deserve a forum to rant on. They expect
GM or Saturn to hold their hand for their entire ownership of the car.
Sooner or later the "Owner" is responsible for maintaining the car. The
message from Jason Sacks is the kind of people we need more of. People
willing to ask good questions, not raise hell at the last sign of
trouble.





In article >, says...
> Heh, funny you mention that... I have a 1992 SL1 that aparently i've been
> driving for a year with blown rings. Still drives just fine, didn't find it
> until the engine light came on complaining about PCM problems. (code 19 for
> anyone who might be able to tell me where to look, other than a new PCM)
>
> Paid $400 for it a year ago with 113k miles. It has 124,500 on it now, and
> am looking at an engine swap. Although, a $400 car, that i've sunk $1200
> into already (mostly regular maintniance, but i did hit a curb cracking the
> subframe in 5 places aparently, broke 2 motor mounts, and blew the shocks,
> but that was only $700 to repair) So aparently my saturn sucks too, because
> engines shouldn't blow at 113k miles? I dunno, ask me to fix your computer,
> i can do that, ask me to fix a car, heh, you're on your own.
>
> I'd gladly go out and get a new saturn tomorrow if money allowed. I think
> they're a very comfy ride, cheap to maintain, but yes, when **** goes bad,
> it really goes bad. Still worth the money.
>
> --
> Alex Hartman
> Engineer KCLD 104.7FM
>
>
> "Dennis Hamilton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I bought a 94 Saturn SL1. At 35,000 miles the alternator went out. At
> > 60,000 miles that transmission went. Saturn graciously agreed that their
> > transmission should last for more than 60,000 miles and replaced the
> tranny
> > ($600) if I paid the labor ($800). Less than 60,000 miles later the tranny
> > went again. This time they refused to replace it using the age of the car
> > as an excuse - I guess this means that if I buy tires rated for 40,000
> miles
> > I can expect to get only 20,000 miles because the car is old. To put the
> > cherry on top of the sundae, the alternator went out again. Saturn should
> > get back to school and learn how to designand build dependable cars.
> >
> >
>
>
>

Blah blah > wrote in message >...
> Sounds like you curbed that Saturn good.
>
> The thing that ticks me off is these people will come in here to vent
> about how much they hate Saturn but they never came in here before for
> help. Those kinds of people dont deserve a forum to rant on. They expect
> GM or Saturn to hold their hand for their entire ownership of the car.
> Sooner or later the "Owner" is responsible for maintaining the car. The
> message from Jason Sacks is the kind of people we need more of. People
> willing to ask good questions, not raise hell at the last sign of
> trouble.
>
Well, that's nice of you to say, but I was really looking for
background information so I would be knowledgeable when talking to the
dealer about my problem. The fact is that my turn signal has almost
never worked on my Ion - maybe for 1000 of the 24,000 miles I've put
on the car - and this is certainly in no way shape or form something
I'm liable or responsible for.

This may sound like raising hell, but due to this problem I won't buy
another Saturn. And I'm a Saturn loyalist - my wife and I have owned
three SL2s, an SL1, a VUE (which my wife lives) and my Ion (which I
really dislike, for other reasons along with the turn signal problem).
That's six cars, each of which we've bought new, in about ten years.
And our business will be going away.

My car's at the dealer now, as they try once again to repair this
problem. When I go back this afternoon I'm going to get some addresses
from the dealer and mail letters saying what I said above.

Saturns have always been cars in which the details were attended to,
like you would expect from a car selling for a much higher price. That
to me was the key factor, along with their sales approach, that
seperated Saturns from other GM cars. This experience has shown me
that that approach is no longer the case, at least for their lower-end
cars. I was looking forward to a long relationship with Saturn - they
do a lot to make the experience positive - but now I feel I can get as
much value and satisfaction from another car as well. All because my
damn turn signal doesn't work.

"Saturns have always been cars in which the details were attended to,
like you would expect from a car selling for a much higher price. That
to me was the key factor, along with their sales approach, that
seperated Saturns from other GM cars."

Well said. I feel the same.

If the turn signal thing is an oddity (is an isolated issue), then my 2 cent
opinion says to pursue the repair up the chain of command coolly and
methodically and consider it the exception and not the rule. I wouldn't
wipe Saturn out as a potential supplier for personal transportation on this
signal issue.


"Jason Sacks" > wrote in message
om...
> Blah blah > wrote in message
>...
> > Sounds like you curbed that Saturn good.
> >
> > The thing that ticks me off is these people will come in here to vent
> > about how much they hate Saturn but they never came in here before for
> > help. Those kinds of people dont deserve a forum to rant on. They expect
> > GM or Saturn to hold their hand for their entire ownership of the car.
> > Sooner or later the "Owner" is responsible for maintaining the car. The
> > message from Jason Sacks is the kind of people we need more of. People
> > willing to ask good questions, not raise hell at the last sign of
> > trouble.
> >
> Well, that's nice of you to say, but I was really looking for
> background information so I would be knowledgeable when talking to the
> dealer about my problem. The fact is that my turn signal has almost
> never worked on my Ion - maybe for 1000 of the 24,000 miles I've put
> on the car - and this is certainly in no way shape or form something
> I'm liable or responsible for.
>
> This may sound like raising hell, but due to this problem I won't buy
> another Saturn. And I'm a Saturn loyalist - my wife and I have owned
> three SL2s, an SL1, a VUE (which my wife lives) and my Ion (which I
> really dislike, for other reasons along with the turn signal problem).
> That's six cars, each of which we've bought new, in about ten years.
> And our business will be going away.
>
> My car's at the dealer now, as they try once again to repair this
> problem. When I go back this afternoon I'm going to get some addresses
> from the dealer and mail letters saying what I said above.
>
> Saturns have always been cars in which the details were attended to,
> like you would expect from a car selling for a much higher price. That
> to me was the key factor, along with their sales approach, that
> seperated Saturns from other GM cars. This experience has shown me
> that that approach is no longer the case, at least for their lower-end
> cars. I was looking forward to a long relationship with Saturn - they
> do a lot to make the experience positive - but now I feel I can get as
> much value and satisfaction from another car as well. All because my
> damn turn signal doesn't work.