From: woodstock!scatlin@mcnc.org (Scot Catlin)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Saturn cars.
Date: 12 Nov 92 18:03:44 GMT
Followup-To: Saturn cars.
Distribution: world
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, BNR-RTP

In article <Aey9PeG00Uh_A6lHZj@andrew.cmu.edu>, tf26+@andrew.cmu.edu 
(Truman Fenton) writes:
|> I am shopping around for a large enough car to move my junk and friends
|> around.  Someone told me about a new Saturn station wagon, so I called a
|> dealer here in Pittsburgh.  The sales person quoted me a base price of
|> $10.8k.  He said that all Saturns have standard driver's side airbags
|> (definate plus).
|> 
|> Does anyone know first hand how Saturns perform or how maintainance is? 
|> How about fuel effency?  What about warrentees and service?  The company
|> sounds cooler and cooler every day, but are there cars as good as people
|> are saying?
|> 
|> Thanks

Truman,

        I own a 1992 Saturn SL.

        Good Points:
                1)  Excellent fuel economy.  My car's rated for 38mpg,
                        but I've gotten 40.
                2)  Price.  Comparable Honda or Toyota costs thousands
                        more.
                3)  Service.  Probably should have listed this first.
                        They will bend over backwards to please you.
                        I've been to three dealers and they all gave
                        me excellent service.  This is probably the
                        single greates selling point for me.
                4)  Doing basic maintenance is easy.  The engine is
                        very serviceable.  You can change the plugs,
                        oil, oil filter, air filter, and other things 
                        yourself.
                5)  The doors are made of plastic.  I thought this a
                        bit cheap at first, but have discovered this
                        to be a plus.  I can haul off and kick the
                        side of the car with all I'm worth, and it
                        won't dent.  (I have a blue belt in Karate.)
                        This also means no rust.
                6)  It's very easy to drive.  The clutch is vdery
                        forgiving, and the suspension alows for a
                        little high spirited driving as well.

        Bad Points:
                1)  There are two engines that you can get with a
                        Saturn:  A 1.9L Four Cyl. that puts out 84hp
                        and a lot of torque.  This a good economical 
                        engine, but is pretty wimpy and can be noisey 
                        when reved near red-line which is a low 5200
                        rpm.  I understand that Saturn has fixed the
                        noise problem, but I recommend the more
                        powerful 1.9L twin-cam 124hp engine.  Quieter 
                        and more powerful with a slight drop in mileage.
                2)  The tires are awfully narrow allowing the car to
                        slide in sharp corners and also allowing them 
                        to squeel in hard starts.
                3)  The only part of the basic maintenance that is not
                        easy is getting to the oil filter.  It can be 
                        done, but takes a lot of effort if you don't 
                        get the car up on a lift.

        I hope this helps you.  I bought the car for my wife to get
back and forth from work, and I fully intend to buy one for my self
when I graduate college and get a job.  This is the first American
made car that I feel good about buying in a long time.  Let us all 
know what you decided.

        BTW...  Saturn of Monroeville has given me excellent service, 
you might try them.  There is also one just South of the Liberty
Tubes, and one North of town on McKnight Road.

        Good Luck.


                                        Scot Catlin
                                        ---- ------

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