Purchase of Used Saturn for teenager and school ??

J

James (2)

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We will soon be looking to purchase a used car for our teenager son. He has saved money for a long time, and we have about $5,000 to spend.

First, is the Saturn a good choice for a teenager? Is this one of the better compact passenger vehicles?

What are the different models in the Saturn line, during the years 1998-2002??

What year/mileage should we be able to find in this price range ?? Can he get a fairly reliable car for this amount of money ??

Finally, how would the Saturn car compare with say, the Toyota Camry and Nissaan Altima, both of which seem to be very popular cars ?

Thanks for any info !!

--James---
 
My son bought a 1996 Saturn SL1 just over two years ago for a total sum of $1650. It had 112K miles, but was in good shape and was owned by a friend who sold it to him at what the dealer offered for trade. It was a single overhead cam and I noted that it had a cracked head replaced at about 70K miles. As such, the top end had just 40K miles on it.

It has been a reliable vehicle. He has driven it daily for 2 years and about 25K miles. When we got it I did all possible maintenance including 4 wheel brakes, tune up, wires, filters, trans fluid, oil, etc. This cost us about $250 at the time and we did all our own work... it was a good learning experience for him. We have since replaced tires, an EGR valve, a transmission solenoid, a muffler, and a mirror that he broke off driving into our garage (junk yard unit was $15). Total expenses including the tires has been about $400. He gets over 30 MPG and almost 40 on the open road. Insurance has been reasonable too as he does not have collision. I would say it was the perfect first vehicle, but YMMV. He has now taken the car to college this year with him to use getting back and forth. We don't worry much about it getting stolen or broken into as there is not much to steal. Body is still in good shape and it drives well, but this summer the A/C died. I refilled, but 3 days later it was dead again so there is a leak. I have not taken it in and we may pass as he is looking to replace it by next summer.

Bob
 
James said:
What year/mileage should we be able to find in this price range ?? Can he get a fairly reliable car for this amount of money ??
Click to expand...

2000, 60-70K miles.
Finally, how would the Saturn car compare with say, the Toyota Camry and Nissaan Altima, both of which seem to be very popular cars ?
Click to expand...

For $5000, you're looking at around a 1994-1995 Camry, a 1996-1997 Altima, and around a 1999-2000 Saturn SC2 or SL2. In that sense, the Saturn is a better deal; you get a later model year for the same money because Saturn's don't have as good resale value as Honda, Nissan, or Toyota.

Reliability is the big issue. Check the J.D. Power long term dependability ratings for 2003 (since that will apply to a 2000 Saturn), and Saturn is just exactly average. Older Saturn engines have many issues, the most common is excessive oil consumption, and the most serious is a cracked head. But for $5000, you will be getting a model year that is well past the cracked head problem.

If he gets a Saturn, be certain that he understands the necessity of 3K oil changes, and of checking the oil often; Saturn engines won't suffer the abuse that you can get away with on some other vehicles. Too many people have become complacent about oil checking, and oil changes, after having vehicles that never burned oil, and that could go 7500-10K miles between oil changes, with no ill effects.
 
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