Saturn reliability: 135,000 -> 175,000

With all the negative posts about Saturn reliability, I thought I would sum
up my experiences with my 95 SW1.

I bought the car in October 2002 after starting a job which pretty much has
a 100 mile a day round trip commute. (It is from Sudbury MA to Beverly MA
for those of you in the Boston area).

Car had 135,000 miles on it when I bought it, now has 175,000. I have
replaced the thermostat and thermostat housing, the serpentine belt and
tensioner, battery and a set of tires. I did put a starter in it, but I
think that I botched the diagnosis and it was really the battery beginning
to act up. I still have the starter I pulled out of it.

That is pretty much it. The starter was $20, the tensioner and belt were
about $80, the battery is a $39 Wal-Mart special. The front end is starting
to make some noise, I have traced it to the bearing tops of the struts. I
have it on my schedule to replace them and the struts when I get some time,
and after I put a clutch in my wife's Acura and fix the overdrive on my
Volvo and paint the house and .....

All and all, I am very impressed with the reliability of the car, and now
that we have $2 gas, I am happy with the 35 to 38 MPG I am getting.

In a month the car will go to my 17 year old daughter when she gets her
license, and I will probably go back to commuting in my 88 Volvo turbo
wagon. I'll miss it. I would consider buying another, but we have 7
vehicles and no more room!

-David