Ok, I did a search on the web and found that water leaking into the trunk, specifically into the spare tire well, was a common problem amongst Saturns. I saw the SC's with sunroofs have this problem, but I have an SL1 sedan which collects water into the spare tire well (more like a pool than a well). Anyhow, I saw all the articles and threads which say how to trace where the leak could be and re-do the seal or add sealant, etc., so no need to repeat all that here, but if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

One thing I did notice in the bottom of the spare tire well there seems to be a little knockout that I checked from the bottom and it looks like you can remove that and a couple plugs at the bottom. If I remove that knockout from the top and plugs, will that expose holes that I could temporarily use as drain holes to temporarily relieve this problem? I can post pics later to show you what I'm talking about if no one is aware of it.

 

I never had a S-Car with a sunroof an I've never had a S-Car that water leaked into the cabin or trunk. So no leaks seem to be the common theme on the 10 S-Cars I've owned.

 

I've had both, but I wouldn't call it a common problem. Sometimes the drainage canals get clogged with organic debris. Do you have the sun roof ?(roofs aren't designed to have holes in them-it defeats the purpose of the roof). Yes, you can use those knockouts for temporary drains. The drivers side, back side of the wheel well also has a wiring grommet you can remove for drainage.

 

I would think when these Saturns were new, they did not plan on having to deal with leaks. Mine is a coupe with a sunroof or moon roof or whatever it is called that moves back and forth, a feature that is both a maintainence headache, and an option I enjoy so I maintain it. It is a 1994 and it has spent most of it life in the driveway and never once leaked. Even when a bunch of plastic parts broke in the sun roof causing a bunch of problems and the sun roof actually leaked and damaged the head liner because of it, water never ended up in the trunk.
You sort of have to remember, that factory frankly is only interested in supporting the car through the end of the warrenty.
My Saturn is not my first orphan car and I am certain will not be my last. By in large the better you are at taking care of things yourself, the better off you are going to be the longer you own it.
They rarely care if anyone actually likes the thing once that is done, a little like the salesman who no longer wants to talk to you if he gets the idea you are not going to buy a car with in the next 37 seconds.
And now that the factory is no longer there the car(s) are frankly cheap throwaways that are extremely complex to fix when broken and use parts that are no longer available and getting rarer.
There was a time when many cars were >assembled< from proprietory parts sourced from a variety of vendors.
Then they were pretty much designed and built in house,
then, some manufacturerers made it a habbit to purchase cars from other manufacturers to broaden their product lines and re-badge them as their own, thus the term badge engineered. The only unique item on the car being the BADGE that identified the name.
Now the big buzz word is manufactured by using >corporate platforms< thus a fancy way of saying assembled from proprietory parts from a variety of vendors and a Badge applied to tell you what the name of the car is.
What's the point.
Trying to figure out where the parts came from so you can go to a wrecking yard and pull them off of something there.
Because the factory is gone and no parts are available and in the case of the Saturns, 'specially the newer ones, that is gonna be a tough thing to do in some cases.

 

Interesting previous post uncljohn. I'm a NEW Saturn owner with an old 95 Saturn. I've only had it for about three weeks now, and for a 95 and despite what I have found with it, I'm happy with it. I know I may have gotten one that was well-taken care of despite the trunk leak and the muffler hole, but I've been impressed with how accessible things are in the engine bay so far and with the torque of the motor. I've always been intrigued with the plastic/fiberglass body panels (one of them cracked, but ok). I know it's not perfect, but it's a great spare car, particularly one for my college kid. Jeez, these days, college kids have nicer cars than even the current cars I have. I'm very happy to have run into this Saturn, maybe I just got lucky. I even like the old cassette radio with my tape stuck in it, LOL. My last "spare" vehicle was a 91 Nissan pickup, and before that was a 90 Oldsmobile Delta 88, so I have an appreciation for old cars and the Saturn is probably the most "modern" old, used car I ever owned, LOL. As far as parts are concerned, I probably won't be too concerned about that because someone's going to have parts for these Saturn cars for at least another 20 years, as it was a huge distribution of these cars over its lifespan. Heck, if I found parts for my previous vehicles I mentioned earlier as late as a last year, why not the Saturn? Yes, it's no longer being made, but enjoy that you've been part of the legacy, and I'm glad to be in on the tail end of it