Saturn and Dodge Neon owners, check in please!

In My Humble Opinion
21

There was a recall on '90s Neons to replace the head gasket. This was probably where the oil went.

We have a '98 Neon. It’s a good, basic subcompact that wasn’t meant to be anything special and isn’t. We have had a lot of problems with it, but I’m pretty sure that most of these are the result of the incompetent service department who did the head gasket switch. They left engine mounts loose, and since then we have had to deal with an exhaust leak, , a stopped air conditioning drain and various other misadjustments and/or failures that may have been a result of having the engine/transaxle/front end assembly rattling around under the hood. Also, they had about a 20% success rate on fixing things, and they had the car twice (for two weeks each time) to fix the head gasket and promised my wife that each job would be a two day affair. My wife does outside sales; this is not good.

Chrysler has some good service departments (in Austin, I have heard good things about Maxwell, FYI), but I will not go to that South Austin dealership and I do my best to warn people about them.

Beyond the service problems it could be a Corolla–it’s an ok car, ,but nothing special.

22

Clarification: Maxwell was not the dealership that screwed up our car. Another South Austin dealership did that work.

23

'98 Neon owner checking in. I bought mine last April. Just had the head gasket replaced (under warranty thankyewverymuch). It started leaking oil real bad a couple months ago–the mechanic at Carmax said, “You know about Neons, right?” He told me the whole thing about the recall. It was a $1,200 job. Did I tell you I was glad it was under warranty?

I am also noticing a couple of clicks and clunks as the car ages. Mine has about 60,000 miles on it.

On the upside, the car drives and handles GREAT. I get about 30mpg average. Not bad for the 3 speed automatic. I wish it had overdrive though, and cruise control. I do alot of highway driving and in third gear it does seem to rev too high.

Mine is the “Sport” version which has the larger DOHC engine and tighter suspension. This option is highly recommended.

If you go with the Neon, I would probably go with one that is model year 2000 or newer. I hate what they did to the rear end style-wise, though. Every time I see one I think, “monkey-butt.”

24

Another Saturn owner checking-in:

We owned a '93 SL, drove it for 112,000 miles, then Jenn ran it dry on oil. My brother fixed the engine, and it’s back on the road, up around 115,000 at this point. Great little car.

I still drive a dark green '96 SL2, which currently has 125,000 miles on it, and is still going great.

I’m looking at the LS-Series now for our next car. One caveat: the SL-Series are not intended for tall people.

25

I have a 2001 Saturn SL-1 (red not dark green). I’ve had it for almost a year and a half, and I haven’t have any problems with it

26

Odd. I’m 6’3" and I have no trouble. It’s no worse than any other smaller car, and better than some I’ve tried to get into. YMMV. Certainly, though, if you’re taller than normal, you should try the car on before you get too serious about it.

27

I have a 1999 Saturn SL1 (Gold exterior, charcoal inside) and am 6’3", and I’d say that as a driver I fit in fine. Just don’t try to cram me in the back seat or I’ll get very cranky.

And for the OP, the SL Saturns tend to be pretty good cars, but they are not really meant as ego-vehicles. They get you from here to there comfortably, and they also do well on long road trips. But with all the benefits that others have listed I’ll tell you one that I’m very happy about: the plastic side panels. I simply can’t understand why all cars don’t have them. Also, earlier models of the SL1 had black plastic bumper covers, but I don’t think they do any more. I say this because some bitc-… er, fine woman in a trendy VW Beetle (pea-soup green) decided not to pay attention on a wide one way street and decided to turn left from in front and to the right of me. I now have a smudge (visible only if you look for it) on the front bumper, but according to the dealer it woulda been much worse looking (and expensive) if it was one of the colored covers. Being cheap has its perks sometimes.

28

My brother just picked up his second Saturn, which makes the family’s total five. The front of my parents’ house looks like a dealership when everyone comes home.

I’m on my second Saturn. I started with a 98 SL2. Never had a bit of trouble with it, except for an accident, but that was my fault. Even after the body shop had completed the work, it was a great car, even though my brother called it the Spacegg. Dark Blue, not green.

When that lease was up, I got an L200. I love this car. Sunroof, CD. leather seats, and my personal favorite, ASSWARMERS! Once again, I have no complaints. It’s another lease, but even with all the bells and whistles, I’m only paying $13 more a month than I did for the SL2? Definitely worth a test drive. This one is silver. I was at the dealership when my brother picked his new Saturn up last week, and surprisingly I didn’t see a lot of dark green new cars, just used ones. But has anyone else seen the silver blue? Very nice.

Have you guys seen the Vue? I can’t wait for my lease to be up, I need one of those.

29

I have a 2001 3 door Saturn SC-2. Bright red. I love it. Plenty of trunk space, plenty of backseat space (well ok, comparatively…for a sporty car).
Good pickup, only 11.5 gallons but it gets around 32 on the highway. I’ve never had it give me less than 22 even in the city.
I even bought the whole service package for a few hundred and it covers oil changes, etc for the first 36,000, which I’m happy with.
I even drove it 1200 miles in a weekend to ChiDope and it handled great. Seats are quite comfy.

The ONE problem I’ve had with it is that it does not handle well at all on ice. It fishtails way more than I’d like. You know…as if there was an acceptable number of fishtailing incidents with which I’d be comfortable.

Anyway, to sum up: Saturn good.

30

I do not own a Neon, but I worked an an auto parts store for several years. I sold a lot of parts for later model Chrysler 2.0 liter engines, mainly for Neons. These are parts that you would not think a late model car would need yet, such as head gaskets and engine rebuild kits. The popular opinion in my area was that Neons were having some problems in that area. It happens often enough that noone I work with would consider buying one.

Take this for what it’s worth, I am not ragging on Neons or anything, this has just been my experience. Might have been a QC fluke, or a local dealers poor service department.

31

I own an SC2, and I love it. I love the car, but more importantly I love the way the dealership handles things. I have dealt with two different places, and they both went above and beyond when it came to treating me fairly.

As well as the safety features, I love the way it handles on the road…really “hugs” the pavement, even on rainy WA freeways. Good gas mileage, reasonably priced service…I’d buy another one in a minute. Except I intend to drive this one for another twenty years or so. Oh, and that polymer body? I’ve had mine for six years and I don’t have dent ONE. So I guess it works just fine.

32

Had a Neon until an SUV pulled out from a side road in front of us. Just after we took over payments in 1997 (it was a 95 model), the A/C broke. Wasn’t under warranty either and because the belt is one of those long continuous models, we couldn’t cut it and just go on without A/C. $700 replacement. Also had to spend several hundred on brakes a year after that. I’m almost thankful for that 15-year-old girl pulling out in front of us. I love my F150!

From reading this, sounds like a Saturn is the way to go since you’re going for a car.

33

I have a 2001 Saturn SL1

I can’t say too much about mine yet as far as reliablility yet. It’s been exactly a year. No maintenance problems, breakdowns, or anything worth mentioning that’s bad so far.

On the good side, I got the car for around 10K! It’s the most basic saturn they make. No A/C, stick, SOHC engine. It’s got 12,000 miles on it and I’m very pleased with it. I appreciate that all Saturns come with standard rear defroster, stereo, and other basics–like 6 friggin’ cup holders.

It’s nice and roomy. The trunk is huge, and they’ve added the security feature of being able to lock the rear seats up and disable the front seat trunk release, so you can really lock things in the trunk. This was quite nice when someone broke into the car, took all of my CDs and $1.50 in my quarter stash in the console, but they weren’t able to make it into the trunk to score my laptop, motorcycling gear, and all of my work tools. Lots of money saved.

I worry that after the three year warrenty is up, everything will deteriorate…solely because I have this nagging feeling that a car sold for that cheap is not built for long-term investments. After reading the other posts, I’m becoming convinced that such a fear is unfounded.

Most of the cheap-car paranoia comes from my parents experience with their '91 Ford escort, purchased for 9K, that basically fell apart after three months (and has been ever since). Ford’s idea of affordable is a car that you intend to rid yourself of when you can possibly scrape up the money to buy something else.

I hope to have the car for either 10 years or 100k miles (whichever comes first, right?). At that point, I may just buy another one, as they seem to improve each year in sexiness and features.

We’re also planning on painting on blue flames at some point in the future.

34

2001 Saturn SC-2, five-speed, white three-door.

My last job wasn’t far where I lived so the mileage is still low. MPG seemed on the low side, along with the performance as a result. But with a job change, a 700 mile move and 2,000 miles of intervening highway driving, the MPG has gone through the roof and the engine has real grunt for a Saturn.

I love it.

35

OK, So far:

Saturn= good

Neon= bad

Keep 'em coming! And thanks.

36

My SO had a Neon – I don’t know what year – but the transmission blew at 90,000 miles. That doesn’t sound right to me, somehow.

I have a '97 SL2, dark blue, that I bought two years ago. I just had to get a bunch of brake work on it in March, but otherwise I haven’t had any major problems, and brakes need work eventually anyway. I’m at 62,000 miles. The one time it broke down it turned out to be the drive belt, which was a $60 repair. There are about a million Saturns around here; the local dealership must be doing well. I really like my car. I think I got lucky, because I did what you’re NOT supposed to do, which is fall in love with a car on sight and then buy it!

37

I have a 1996 Saturn SL2, 4-door. “Light plum”–the color of a lavender jelly-bean! Saturn doesn’t make them in that color anymore, which makes it very easy to pick my baby out of the crowd in the dealership parking lot when I take it in for regular servicing.

It was the first new car I’d ever bought, and I’ve been very happy with it. Only one major repair so far, last year, when the seal on one of the piston shafts decayed and had to be replaced. It only has 33,000 miles on it, since I don’t have a long drive to work. It was a remarkably quiet car when new; it is noisier now that it’s getting older. However, it does still “pick up” quickly when I accelerate, and without sounding as if it’s putting a strain on the engine.

I also think it’s a nicely maneuverable little car, with a short trunk and hood, so it’s easy for me to make turns in tight areas, parallel park, or get into a compact parking space without worrying about scraping the bumpers.

Another nice thing: Saturn bodies don’t rust, so it looks very good for a 6-year-old car.

I intend to keep it `til it falls apart and, when the time comes, I will probably buy another Saturn.

38

By the way, I notice you’re not including the Chevy Cavalier - you might want to give that a look as well. I’ve owned two J cars and put a total of 300,000 miles on them - incredibly reliable basic transport. Traded one in at 130,000 miles, the other needed a valve job at 170,000 that would have cost more than the Blue Book, so I sold it (cheap) to a fellow who could do it himself. I think I saw it the other day, come to think of it…

But I’d still put the Saturn above them - Saturns have good resale value, Cavaliers don’t.

39

In view of the other tall people checking in with no issues, let my amplify this: I’m long in the torso, short in the legs. If my legs matched my torso, I’d be about 6’4". One of the items I made sure came on my SL-2 was an adjustable seat, so that I could lower the seat enough for me to not beat my head. It works, and I fit, but only just. If you’re any taller, I’d look elsewhere first.

I very much want a L200, and Jenn would give important parts of her anatomy for a Vue. I sure hope Satrun is working on a hybrid… If they make one, I’m buying it.

40

Really? All '90s Neons? Not too long ago, the dealer mentioned that I had a slightly leaky head gasket, and intimated that it was somehow my fault (I followed recommended servicing to the day, almost).

That being said, that’s about the only problem I’ve had with my Neon. '95 Sport 4-Door, over 250,000 kilometres (about 160,000 miles). Only problems I’ve had were the leaky gasket and leaky A/C. Any other problem I’ve had was from outside interference. The only reason it failed its last inspection was because there was a small chip in the windshield right in the driver’s line of sight. Apparently, this is an automatic fail.

Had that not been there, we were told it would have passed with flying colours. My Neon done me good.