Do I stick with Saturn?

My lease on my 2001 SL2 (33K) is almost up. My dealer wants to place me
in a 2005 Ion2...although a long time Saturn fan, I have heard mixed
reviews about the Ion....The only non-insurance problem I have had with
my SL2 was a dead battery, though I thnik the motor is not as zippy as
it was. Do I walk away and look for another brand (e.g. Hyundi), buy
the SL2 (about 10k CND) or go for the Ion...Any and all advice will be
appreciated.

 

I have been a two saturn owner for a while, and only recently a single
saturn owner(one of my saturns gave it's life to protect my wifey from
a red light runner). Althougth I have had great experiences with one,
96SL2, and very mixed with the other, 97SL2, I have to say I would
have probly continued buying SL's but saturn changed that. I think if
you look up consumer reportings, they said saturn's SL act was good
with the last few years of the model, but then erased learned lessions
about quality and design with the whole new ion model.

When my 97SL2 goes, it will be my last saturn, unless I can get a good
used 2002SL2.

imho,

Tom @ www.URLBee.com

 

See if you can negotiate a better purchase price for the SL2.

 

Get a red-line I recently purchased an ION 3 quad coupe when the
lease expired on my LS 300 and love it. One of the biggest criticisms
of the ION is the crappy interior. However, if you get leather
interior it changes everything. I would have gotten the red-line but
my wife didn't want a standard transmission.

 

I had a '98 SL2. My mom liked it so much, she went out and
bought a new 2003 Ion 2 in the spring of that year. A year
later, she passed away. I inherited the car when it was a year
old and had 4,000 miles on it. I then sold my '98 when it had
80,000 miles on it and have now been driving the '03 Ion for
about six months and 6,000 miles, including a couple trips from
Boston to DC and back.

My biggest complaint is that the seats are nowhere near as
comfortable on long trips, and the material isn't as nice. The
adjustable lumbar support is gone from the driver's seat. The
car in general feels "cheap" where the SL2 did not, in ways that
I can't quite put my fingr on.

The center instrument binnacle is goofy. Unlike some Ion owners,
I've grown accustomed to it, but I still think it's a mis-design.

The HVAC control unit had to be replaced at about 8,000 miles
due to failure of the fan switch. My car needs the DRL recall
and the headlamp lens on the right side has started turning a
milky white near the top. By contrast, my SL2 had two minor
problems during its warranty period: as delivered, the right
hand headlamp assembly was loose (corrected next day by the
dealer) and the reverse light switch died at about 22,000 miles
resulting in failure of the reverse lamps (fixed under warranty).

They did rearrange the dash so that use of the cupholders no
longer blocks access to the heater controls. The door
pockets are also now sufficiently large to hold a standard-sized
folded road map. Those were my two most-hated annoyances on my
SL2.

On the other hand, the cigarette lighter^H^H^H^H^H^Hpower outlet
is in a place that's utterly useless. Try releasing the
handbrake while not whacking whatever's plugged in there.

The car is peppier than I expected for a 4cyl with an automatic
(my SL2 was a 5-speed). It's pretty fun to drive, for a family
econo-sedan.

I'm not sure what the Ion 3 would get you other than power
everything.

 

I understand that the seats have been changed in the 05 model...but all
in all the few comments posted so far are not exactly overwhelmingly
positive

can one really negotiate a better purchase price? What happens if I
just walk away from the SL2?

 

Well, add a positive vote for the ION 2. After driving a SL2 for 11
years, recently replaced it with a 2005 ION2. Prior to purchase had
misgivings about the styling, center instrument cluster, and the misc.
comfort & appearance complaints I'd read about the early year ION's.

Depending on which ION (1,2, or 3) you buy, the various appointments
are slightly different, but I'm VERY happy with the 2005 ION2 (manual
tranny) I bought. I find the seats comfortable, the handling
outstanding (equivilent to the SL2 with a better turning radius), &
the car has a well made "solid" feel to it. The center instruments is
a non-issue, takes very little time to adapt to, and in fact I now
like better because it makes the driver's area seem more roomy & you
don't have to look through the steering wheel to see it. The only
problem I had test driving the car (a 31+ mile test drive), was my
elbow smacked into the center armrest/storage box cover whenever I
went to shift gears. At my request the dealer replaced the
armrest/storage box center piece with the open top tray configuration.
Problem solved.

I really liked my old SL2 (may she rest in peace ...), but the ION2
(so far) has been an outstanding replacement.

My 2 cents ....,
Bill Davis
Colorado

 

I tried that with my car and they wouldn't go for it. They wanted $11K
for my 3 year old LS 300 and, as much as I liked that car, it just
wasn't worth it when I could get a new 2004 ION 3 with all the dealer
incentives for about the same amount. You can just walk away from your
lease with no problems as long as the car isn't damaged, over mileage,
or has excess wear.

 

I had a 93 Saturn SL1, which was my favorite... Worked like a dream and
never costed me much at all for maintence.... Think all I put in it before
I sold it at 300,000kms was an alternator, battery and the front control
arms.

Then I bought a used 98 SC1, which I just sold a month and a half ago. It
was a great car as well, but it was going to need a head gasket soon (very
slow leakage around the outside of the seal in one corner). Plus I was
getting bored with it, wanted something new.

My original plan was the Smart Fortwo, but Mercedes-Benz had awful lease
prices on it. I'll wait a couple years. Then I was considering either an
04 Ion or 04 Echo hatch. I decided I really like the idea of a hatchback,
and was very close on the echo. Then I found the Chevy Aveo (aka. Pontiac
Wave, Suzuki Swift+). I leased an 04 Aveo LS, loaded with everything except
automatic tranny. With all the rebates on 04's, and the GM gas card, my
payments are much lower then the base echo hatch with air. Even after
driving both, the Aveo is quieter inside, and drives much better, although
the echo does have better fuel mileage and a little more peppy.

Anyway, I'm very happy with my purchase, I'd highly recommend the
Aveo/Wave/Swift+ to anyone. Also, if you want to buy, and want the coolest
car ever designed, check out the smart fortwo.

 

your kidding right? We got potholes around here that will eat "cars?"
like that alive.

canadians have strange taste )

 

Nah, just much better roads.

 

Well because they never salt them would be my guess.

 

Plenty of salt, they just take better care of them.

 

They use more sand than salt.

The roads around here are generally very good but there are pot holes
that show up in places right after winter from snow plows breaking
chunks out.

The biggest problem with those tiny cars he mentioned is there isnt any
crumple zones to speak of. They looked more like small caskets than
cars. I want more than headlights and tail lights around me, I want a
"hood" in front and a "trunk" in the back.

 

I leased a '94 SL2 (only 30 days), then owned a '95 SL2, then leased a
'97 SW2. We LOVED the SW2, but the residual to buy it at the end of the
lease was crazy like $12k (US). I tried to haggle a bit, but the sales
guys said they couldn't budge on it, though they could work a deal on a
new 2000 - "afterall you have to have a car right?"

I actually did not HAVE to have a car, as I had a working old and rusty
full-size van at the time and was only driving a few miles per day
anyway, so I handed them the keys and walked away.

8 months later we custom ordered a 2001 LW200 and got the 0.9%
financing, which was way better in the end than either buying the 3
year old SW2 (though we liked it more), or getting a newer vehicle at
that time without the financing incentives.

If you are truly happy with the existing vehicle and can finance it
without losing too much money, do so. You might wish to take the
opportunity to also add extended coverage to it, since you will be
making payments on it the added cost for the extra warranty financed is
minimal.

 

My dealer wants $1600 for the extended coverage...ridiculous, in my opinion

 

p.s.

for the cost of financing the 2001 I can get a 2005 Ion

 

i would purchase your lease return with an factory extended warranty, if
i were you.

 

Just curious what it was about the SW that you liked better than the LW ?

My next will be a wagon but I can't decide between getting a used SW, a used
LW or waiting to see if Saturn brings out another one ( a wagon version of
the ION would be nice).

Ron
Charlottesville, va
94 SL1

 

The SW2 was big enough for us. The LW200 is bigger and more comfortable
with a leather interior and heated seats but since we also have a mini-
van we did not necessarily need the extra space of the LW200. Also the
SW had a longer run, lots of people able to work on them, parts easily
available (for now).

Well they did away with the SW body, and I hear they are hard to find.
The Lw series was also phased out, I have trouble finding someone who
knows anything about the LW200 with a manual, as it was a "new" to
Saturn transmission (from Saab I think). Also becuase of fewer cars out
there the glass windows on the LW are more (yes we have a crack in the
windshield).

The Relay is what is coming off their line currently for "big cars". I
am not thrilled with the Relay, though have not seen or driven one yet
in person.