I am looking to buy a new car and have found a 2002 Saturn L300 sedan w/ just under 38k miles on it. I am looking for reason to or not to buy this car. Previously, I had a negative opinion of Saturns, but that was because my experience was limited to the SC1 and SC2 and they tend to total out quite easily... I have done some research on these vehicles at your typical car websites (edmunds, nada, autotrader, etc...) and they all seem to say the same things, but I wanted to check with people who have actually owned the vehicles and aren't just trying to sell them!

 

experience was limited to the SC1 and SC2 and they tend to total out quite easily... What does that mean?

 

Losing $$ value and being a reliable vehicle are not related.

A properly maintained</span> S-car often lasts 175K-200K mi....the fact that no-one will give you $500 for it on a trade does not stop the car from getting 35mpg highway and being a great daily driver.

If you're looking to buy a used car for resale value, go buy a classic 'Vette...

If you're looking to buy a daily driver that runs and gets you from point A to point B without a large maintenance hassle, a Saturn may be ok for you.

Personally, I have no first-hand experience in L cars, but I think they had some oil coolant line issues in the earlier designs.

I would highly recommend taking the VIN to a Saturn dealer and pulling the maintenance records for this vehicle (chances are since it came with a 3/36 warranty and the owner probably took it to the dealer until the warranty expired).

If this doesn't lead anywhere and the owner can't produce maintenance records, it's a calculated crap shoot.

Derf

 

I agree with derf. And as for L experience. My brother owns a 2002 he bought new and has not had any problems with it.