Anyone Have a Saturn - Love It or Hate It?

Hi C. ~

Just to let you know this is our second Saturn! We had the Ion that my hubby drove to and from work which was great on gas and then we bought the Saturn Vue ~ which I drive and I have 2 boys ages 11 & 9 yrs old. I've had it now almost 5 years and we are planning to trade this one in for a newer one! They are really awesome! Fantastic customer service when you deal with them! Good Luck!

I've had TWO Saturns and LLLLLLOVED them. I currently have a Mitsubishi and would give just about anything to have a Saturn. I was talked into the Mitsubishi. It IS a nice car but I REALLY like the Saturn better.

In addition, if you have the option of the car care package....TAKE IT! It was one of the most WONDERFUL things! I took my car in for every scheduled maintenance check, change, etc. and it was already rolled into the payments. They also always offered a free car wash after the service. I REALLY felt like a valued customer there!!

As a result, my neighbors BOTH got Saturns and love them, too!

I have friends who had a Saturn ION and hated it. Now they have the Saturn SUV and love it. So I guess it's what kind of model you get! Good luck.

I would suggest rerouting to a different type of car. I worked doing oil changes in a garage for quite some time. I kid you not but every saturn that I ever came across had some type of oil leak whether new or used. Saturns are notorious for oil leaks. I would suggest steering clear of saturns.
D.

I have a Saturn. It is sort of like a station wagon and I love it, I have never had a problem with it and have had it for 4 years. Knock on wood!

We purchased a 2008 Saturn Vue in Sept 2007 and I love it. I downsized from a Dodge Durango V8. I have two kids (3yrs and almost 2yrs) and my oldest has no problem getting in his carseat and I have no problems putting my youngest in his car seat. It takes a little getting used to the fact that I don't have alot of room in the back but it helps to stop the clutter from building up. I also love the fact that it costs less to fill the gas tank. I looked into other smaller suvs and found that the saturn offered more standard features than other companies.
Good luck!!

I used to have a Saturn car, and I really really miss it. The problem was is that you could not fit one car seat in my back seat and knew (while we were "trying" for the baby) that we would need somthing bigger, and I wanted an SUV so I wouldn't hurt my back too much getting him in and out of the car. I did test drive the Vue and liked it, but had already bought the car, it had a nice big back seat (back in 2003) and thought that it would be perfect for my mom (who drives my Grandma around) but she decided at the time she didn't need anything like that. She ended up lated buying a Mecury Mariner and we ended up with a Ford Escape (not hybrid). Good Luck.

I have a Saturn Relay, which is not a hybrid, but I love my Saturn. I have driven several before this. Great company, great customer service. Good Luck

We've always been a Ford family because my grandfather worked for Ford and we get his retired discount. But, GM changed their policy to include my mom as his sister-in-law so they looked at Saturn the last time they needed a car. They LOVE LOVE LOVE their Ion! They test drove the Fusion and didn't like it nearly as much. They are far happier with their choice:) I also really appreciate that they aren't on commission, so there's no preasure salesmen to deal with.

I don't have any personal experience, but I have two friends who have had Saturns. One of them absolutely despised the one they had.....had their first child while they had that car and had a very hard time getting an infant seat in it properly and also had no end of problems as far as having to get things fixed all the time.

The other friend we know loved their Saturn so much, he went to work as a salesman for them, and they have two kids....I dont' know him as well so I don't know about any issues they may have had with carseats or whatever, but it's always left me very skeptical about Saturns that the two people I know who have had them had such widely varying experiences with them.

Good luck with your decision!

I purchased a 2006 Vue this past summer and LOVE it. My kids are older but it would definately have room for 2 car seats. The back hatch has lots of room for "stuff" too. If you need more room you can look at the Outlook but it is pricier than the Vue. I do not have a hybrid but I get very good gas mileage on the regular version. There are some excellent deals on used Vue's and a few Outlook's right now too....as long as you can still get your discount.

K.

My first new car was a Saturn- a 2002 SL2. I still have it, with 100,000+ miles on it and still going strong. My brother has the SL1, and he has 150,000 miles on his. The SL1 and SL2 are small, though- it worked fine when I was a single mom of one, but now I just take it to run errands during the day, I use my minivan when I have to haul all three kids around. My mom has a 2005 Saturn vue, which she has had a lot of problems with, although she really likes the car overall. I don't know anyone personally who owns the newer Saturn minivan, but I've heard good things about them.

We got our 2007 Saturn VUE last April. We were a family of small cars but with twins, it's not possible. So we thought we would move slowly up to larger cars. I am actually happier we got 2007 instead of 2008 as they changed the door frame structure and 07' is better in crashes. As far as the car itself, it's okay. For us it was between a Ford Escape and Saturn VUE. Ford had better financing but it just looked cheap and the chassy (sp) was too low. Plus, I'm not a fan of Ford but hubby is. We have had to Graco carriers and now two Britax Marathons in the back. So really the 5 seating goes down to 4. The cargo is spacious and if you really need to transport large objects you can take the car seats out, fold down back flat and even the passenger side seat flat! The driver and passenger seating is comfy. My one complaint, depending on which way you are driving and wind blowing, it can be a little noisy. Also look into financing not through GM. We wouldn't think it would be cheaper but it was because then Saturn/GM gave us $1500 credit, so less to finance even though smidge higher percentage. Good luck.

I had a Saturn and just Loved it also. We in May we bought a Saturn Vue (05) and it is a great little SUV> I have a 9 month old and a teenage daughter and there is enough room in the back and then some. I have a friend who alos has a Satrun vue ans she loves hers also!! It has great gas milage also.

I've had a Saturn Sedan for the past six years. It was bought just days after having my one and only child. On purchase, the car was four years old and - according to the mechanic who checked it out - in great shape. The primary reason for buying it was because, at the time, Saturn did not haggle on price (I don't know if they continue this policy). The car needed only minor repairs up until last year, when a new transmission and some engine work was required, setting me back $2,500. My primary complaint, however, is that the Sedan is very close to the ground; getting my daughter in and out of her car seat is difficult. If I had to do it all over again, I'd choose a car with an elevated body, or a small SUV.

I have a 2005 Saturn Ion 3 and I love it. I love everything about it. I cannot wait until I need a new car because I am going to stick with Saturn.

My husband and I both have Saturns, and we love them. My MIL has one too. They are one of the safest vehicles too. I was actually hit by a semi about 4 years ago the day before Christmas Eve and it knocked me into oncoming traffic at a high speed and you know, I was not hurt at all. My car needed fixing of course, but it saved me. I love Saturn and I would probably never get another car other then a Saturn. I hope this helps.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

I have 2004 Saturn Vue and absolutely LOVE it! Like many have already said for a mini- SUV it is great on gas mileage and has a lot of room. It also has a lot of safety features like the side air bag curtain. We also like the fact that it will not rust. I wouldn't drive anything else. My sister has a Saturn not sure what model but it is at least 10 years old and she never had single problem with it.

S.

ok, we have had 3 saturns & two with really bad accidents .

We love them for many reasons - Mileage ,durability - reliable

We take care of the required maintenance - oil changes rotation of tires and the basics and we never have to bring it in or have a broken down car. " ALL USED mind you "

right now I have the SL2 the better sedan - when my daughter was in an infant seat ( she was a horrible rare facing car seat gal) and my 4 year old son would have his car seat on the opposite side I could squeeze( not so comfortably my 160 lb body) in between them to comfort or feed my daughter

Although I did have an accident with a 97 in 2005 and the airbags did not work . But not a head on !

Great luck,

L.

I don't, and never have, but a friend of mine does. So I asked her. She's had her Vue for about 4 years, and she had one before that as well. She loves it.

(Edited to add: But she has no children yet)

C., we have a Saturn Vue and LOVE it! I had a small Saturn for almost 10 yrs! when it died last winter, We went with the Vue...slightly used...and got an amazing deal in comparison to to other cars its size (Equinox, Escape). We are actually needing to get rid of our second car which is a lease this spring and were thinking about looking at the Saturn Outlooks. The Vue is great but we've said to have two carseats eventually would make it a little tight. (we only have one right now). But like I said, I've had Saturns most of my driving career and the customer service is impecable at the dealership and the maintenance is realtively low...your typical stuff. Good luck, hope this helps!
T.

C.,

I have a Saturn SUV and absolutely love it. It is easy to drive, very comfortable for those low back pains, complete with electric seat warmers!. The buying experience is like no other, I would do it again, and I am now sold on Saturns. We bought at Fishers Saturn. Not a mom but a grandma, and car seats fir well without "touching room" if you know what I mean. Grat colors, great ride, very safe in the snow, and great for groceries, etc in the back.. Go for it! Happy buying!

I've had 2 Saturns in the past 10 years or so. I've found them very reliable and user-friendly. I have a low-end model - an SL1 - without any of the bells and whistles. My car seat fits fine in the back seat, and I think 2 seats wouldn't be a problem. I've always liked the Saturns and hope I'll be able to upgrade the next time I need to buy a car.

Married mom with 3 month old girl

I had a 2000 Saturn LS1, the larger sized sedan. My husband would still be driving it if the timing chain hadn't broken and blown the engine last year. We had other minor problems with it over the 7 years, most of which were recalled. Overall, I like Saturns, but I would not get the new version of a model again. I think they just had a few kinks to work out first.
I regards to size, I fit three carseat in the back, 2 front facing convertable/booster seats and 1 pumpkin seat. It was snug, but it worked. Before our youngest was born, we could sqeeze a small/medium framed adult between the carseats.

I had a 2002 Saturn Vue. I loved the darn thing!!! If it hadn't been for a really bad car accident I would still be driving it. I had minimal issues and the service center is great!! The whole Saturn experience was great from beginning to end. The Vue was great on gas (I had the 4 cylinder), wonderful in the icy conditions (traction control), was really roomie...I loved the bins in the back that popped up to keep my groceries from flying everwhere and the side boxes hold a gallon of milk and wash detergent perfectly. I couldn't say enough great things about it. even in the accident the little guy held up really really well and it was a head on collision...not a scratch on any of us and I was 8 months pregnant.

WOOT! Saturn! Hehe.
I was trying to do a count of how many Saturns our family has owned over the years...final count is 7. =) Obviously we like them.
Since we have so many children we had to get something that would fit 8 people so 4 years ago we bought a Dodge Caravan. It was a decent vehicle until it gave out on New Years Eve.
We went and looked at the Saturn Vue (we have fewer kids at home) and I fell in love!
The Vue is their mini-suv. You sit up high, the dials are few and easy to read/find. There is a mute button on the steering wheel, great feature! Big mirrors to see with. Drives like a car, not a truck! And yes, carseats fit in it just fine. It seats 5 and the kids love being up higher so they can look out the window. Gas mileage is soso but no worse than my Caravan was.
As always, the people were WONDERFUL! And the price wasn't too bad...18k for a 2007. We are already considering getting another one for my husband. =) So I would say we are a definite YES in the shouldIgetone catagory. =)

My sister has the saturn sl2 with a V6 engine. She had some major issues with over the last year and a half. I forget how many years old it is, but she had two computers go out, plus the labor the install one of them. The garage diagnosed it. My husband was able to install one, but he was a mechanic, and has some of the necessary tools. Then after it was "fixed" she had a repeat issue. My husband thinks they did not correctly hook up one of the computers. It appeared to be programmed because it ran for a 1/2 day. He was able to tighten a connection somewhere, and it has worked fine since then. So, if you do get one, find a garage you trust.
Personally, after all the bad reviews on that particular saturn and a few others, we would not buy any saturn.
Check out some of the finance deals out there right now, many places are still having 5 yrs/0% financing. Just check to see if the interest backdates if you haven't paid it off by then.
The Chevy Aveo has a wagon style car, and mazda a5 is pretty cool. Though the mazda has more room for car seats, and cargo.
Some dealers may be having special financing also for 2007 models that they are trying to clear out.
Good luck.

I don't have any advice (sorry!) but I am also wondering the same thing....

I would be happy to answer any questions that you have, I bought a 2008 Saturn Vue XR V6, in October. I have 2 kids, one 5 month old baby in rear facing car seat, and one car seat forward facing with my 3 yr old. I LOVE it, and I downsized. I went from a Ford Expedition (my husband drives that now) to the saturn. I did 6 months research on cars before I decided on the Vue. It is higher than cars, so it is easy to get the baby carrier in and out with no problem. My 3 yr old climbs in her seat on her own. Feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions. C.

We bought a 2007 Saturn Vue last May before our daughter was born in July. We really like our car a lot. It is an SUV, but drives and feels like a car (we had a Chevy Blazer prior), it is easy to get in and out of and the heated seats are perfect for this cold weather! It was also ranked the best car in highway safety, if that helps you make your decision. We wished we could have gotten the 2008, but they didn't offer any deals at the time. Good luck!

I've got a '98 SL2 sedan and love it so much that when we went to get a new car for my husband, he got an '06 Ion. They're very low maintenance, for the most part (I've been having a few issues with mine lately, but it is 10 years old). Saturn of Dundee has some of the nicest people working in their showroom and repair side.

The company has also gone the extra mile to make sure the cars are great on gas, have really good safety features and are environmentally friendly. They actually put off doing hybrids for a while because they couldn't get a significant difference in milage between the hybrids and their standard line.

I don't know if you're thinking about getting a sedan or SUV, but make sure you double-check the back seat - some of the Ions have a console in the back and the seats also have an angle that makes putting a car seat in levelly a little trickier.

We have a 2004 Saturn Vue and love it. I have a 7 month old in a rear facing carseat and a two and 1/2 year old in a forward facing seat. It is very easy getting the the kids in and out. We have had no problems with our car. My mom liked ours so much she went and bought a 2007 Vue. She is also very happy with her purchase. Even with the two car seats there is still plenty of room to put a stroller and groceries.

We rented a Saturn Vue Hybrid while our car was being fixed and we did not like it at all!
It was too small and I did not like the way the floor heater worked (or didn't work)
The only thing I liked was the trunk.
My husband says the Chevy Enquinox is a little more money, but a way better car.
By the way, we have a Ford Taurus SEL and we love it!

We had a Saturn years ago. I absolutely loved that car. It handled great, got great gas mileage, rode well. We had to trade for a van when we had child #3 on the way. They now have a cross over and van type which we have looked at and are contemplating purchasing. I don't think you would regret purchasing any of the Saturns available.

I have a 2003 Vue and I LOVE it. We bought it new when our oldest was not quite 2, he's 7 now and has a 4 yearold brother. There were two car seats in the back, not alot of room for anyone else, but a ton of "trunk" space. Also my father-in-law has sat in the back a couple of times (he's over 6ft tall) and has commented on how much leg room there is in the vehicle.

We've taken it on many vacations and when we decide to get a new vehicle it will definately be another Saturn.

By the way my mother-in-law has a Saturn, my Sister and her husband each have Saturns and they all love them.

Hope this helps
Jenn

In october, my husband and I bought a Saturn aura and we love it. We started out with the smaller car, but it was just too small with a family of four. And thankfully, Saturn has an exchange policy that allowed us to exchange for the Aura -- of course we had to pay the difference in price, but we just had to take a new loan out, and they paid off the first loan.

The Aura is a very comfortable fit, though it would be a tight squeeze to fit a 5th person. It is a great ride and has lots of fun features.

We love the ease of buying a car with no Haggling, and the customer service is great.

hope this helps...sorry, i can't speak to the hybrid issue.

I've had two saturns - one an early model from '93 which I loved and was a great car. I drove it for over 200,000 miles with few problems. I then got another one, a 99, as did my mother. It was just one problem after another, for both of our cars. The customer service was lousy and things were always breaking/going wrong. I will never get another Saturn again (neither will my mother!).

I own a 92 Saturn and I love it....I have had some minor problumes but nothing major.

LOVE IT! I've had the L300, the Vue, and up until my twins were born I drove the ION. I've gotten into a full head on collision in the L300, totaled the car, but I walked away without a scratch. I've always felt very safe driving in the Saturn. If it wasn't for me needing the extra room-4 children and a dog-I would still be driving a Saturn

Hi I have a second hand saturn and I love it. Minimum gass, max. satisfaction. I really love my car the only thing is sometimes some parts of the car wiggles during driving:) like the handle etc etc.otherwise it is perfect. i strongly suggest it.

We have a Saturn SL from 2001 as my husband's car (I get the minivan)--it's a small sedan, but absolutely love it! Great gas mileage. It's over 110,000 miles and going strong. My sister-in-law had a Saturn for over 10 years and almost 200,000 miles before she turned it in for another Saturn. They're great, dependable cars; I hope to get one of their larger vehicles when our minivan dies. We did check out the old Vues a couple of years ago and they were nice, though after 2 kids, it'd be impossible with 3 car seats. I'd recommend trying them out and seeing if you like it. But Saturn is great--I'll sing their praises!