New daily driver

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New daily driver

June 16, 2009, 05:31:37 PM

Out with the Nissan, in with the Saturn SL2.

Truth be told, even though Nissan marketed the Maxima as a four-door sports car, I just wasn't feeling it. I could not get "into" that car. The automatic tranny had much to do with it, but it was more than that. The car just didn't feel "tight", and hitting potholes would send a shudder through the car's bones. Then it started asking me for money. First, it was the tranny, which I knew when I bought it. Then the radiator cracked. Then the battery ped out. Then it needed tires. Then brakes (all four corners). Then tie rod ends. Then ball joints, and finally, rear struts (why anyone would install a strut suspension in a car with a beam axle is beyond me, but there you go). The final nail in the coffin was gashiznitting $1.07 per liter (roughly $3.70/gallon in US dollars/terms). With the T-Bird drivable again I put it up for sale, and within two days it was gone. It wasn't all bad though - I made a cool $1500 profit on the car, after the original cost and all the parts were taken out of the sale price.

I then took my time (in my terms, that means I waited two whole weeks) before buying another car. I had to do something soon - one of the reasons for selling the Nissan was fuel economy, and now I was driving a 5.0 T-Bird with 3.55 gears! I was actually looking for another Volvo wagon, but quickly decided that Volvo wagon owners, especially the ones trying to sell said Volvo wagons, are on crack. A '97 for $5500 here, a '99 for $7500 there, I just gave up. That is double and triple what I'd pay for a 10+ year old car.

Then I stumbled upon this Saturn. It's a '97 SL2, fully loaded except leather, alloys, and ABS. $1200 with a new two-year safety sticker. 'Round here that sticker alone is worth $1200. At 125 horses it's no powerhouse, but it's only a 2200 lb car, so it gets along alright. Better still, it will get 35+ MPG all day long. Better still, as I mentioned with my old SL1, it has a plastic body, so it won't show rust. That's an important consideration in Nova Scotia, where most cars older than 10 years are rusted to death.

Pics of my new plastic torpedo:

New daily driver

Reply #1 – June 16, 2009, 05:41:24 PM

I hear those little things are bulletproof. Nice find with the manual tranny too man.

New daily driver

Reply #2 – June 16, 2009, 06:15:17 PM

why did you get rid of the 1st Saturn you had?

New daily driver

Reply #3 – June 16, 2009, 07:40:27 PM

Quote

I made a cool $1500 profit on the car, after the original cost and all the parts were taken out of the sale price.

So you NETTED $1500 AFTER repairs?!! That's Awesome!!

And FWIW -- Any mid 90's Nissan with over 100K on the clock is on borrowed time...Everything goes at once as you've experienced and most people don't want to put up with it.

New daily driver

Reply #4 – June 16, 2009, 10:55:25 PM

Quote from: 32VFoxBird;278140

why did you get rid of the 1st Saturn you had?

If you mean the last Saturn I had, it's because It was an SL1. 100 horsepower worth of single cam might. It just didn't cut it. And I sold it for over $1500 (I'm thinking it was $1700, but don't remember) after buying it for $400 and sinking about $700 into it. Made a couple hundred profit AND drove it for over a year. Which is probably exactly what I'll do with this SL2 next year :hick:

The first Saturn I had was a '94 SC2 (the twin cam 2-door, for those of you who are not familiar with Saturn-speak). I had that back in early 2003, and sold it for cheap because it needed a bunch of work I was unwilling to do and didn't have a garage to do it in (rear brake calipers seized, engine burning oil, seat belt motors seized, etc). That sale ended well too, though, as I bought my 88 T-Bird with the funds gained from the Saturn sale.

Quote from: 86XR7project;278131

I hear those little things are bulletproof. Nice find with the manual tranny too man.

I wouldn't even consider one with an automatic. As I said with the last Saturn I bought and posted about here: If I'm going to buy a shiznitbox, it's going to be a shiznitbox with a modispooge of fun. Sportiness aside, though, I was a Saturn mechanic for six years and have no love for the automatics in those cars. They change the whole nature of the car. Every buzz and rattle from the drivetrain (and there are plenty in a Saturn) seems to be amplified by the auto, and there are several well known problems with them.

As for bulletproof, they are, provided you keep oil in them. They are well known for burning oil. The rings carbon up and stick solid to the pistons, then you end up with a smoker. My last one burned a quart every 120 miles before I re-ringed it. I have so far put 150 miles on this one and the oil hasn't gone down any, but it was down a quart when I bought it, so I imagine it burns some. If it proves too much I will re-ring it, a simple job (engine doesn't even have to come out) and cheap (around a hundred bucks for rings and gaskets).

Quote from: V8Demon;278153

So you NETTED $1500 AFTER repairs?!! That's Awesome!!

And FWIW -- Any mid 90's Nissan with over 100K on the clock is on borrowed time...Everything goes at once as you've experienced and most people don't want to put up with it.

Yep, $1500 AFTER repairs :D Made a few hun on the last Saturn too, and a grand on the Lincoln before that. I'm finally getting over the embarassment of that Volvo wagon, the last car I will ever lose money on. And you're right, I learned quickly that the Maxima was a "nickel and dime" car...

New daily driver

Reply #5 – June 17, 2009, 12:41:49 AM

Ugh, I was never all that happy with my '97 Saturn SC2. Everything creaked and groaned with 120k miles on it. The suspension was fine - the body was the nuisance. The 5 speed was a nightmare when I was driving the car to work every day, 25 miles away with 20 of that bumper to bumper. Besides the oil burning, I never had any other big issues. Occasionally the air bag light wouldn't turn off and turning the ignition off and back on fixed it, along with a check/service/whatever engine light that came on once but never came back. For whatever reason, it was over double the cost for LIABILITY insurance as the '88 Sport (not counting second car discounts or whatever) - this is the main reason I got rid of the thing. With the auto tbird back on the road, I wouldn't have an issue with the Saturn's 5 speed. Got me 28/40mpg too! Highway isn't much improvement but the city was a nice boost.

I made back what I paid for the car itself, minus some maintenance parts. Insurance put me in the hole bad though - money that could have gone towards a better engine block!

New daily driver

Reply #6 – June 17, 2009, 01:34:34 AM

Not bad. I have a friend who drove one in high school. She got a lot of attention from guys because her plates read this: YUM 69

New daily driver

Reply #7 – June 17, 2009, 07:38:07 AM

looks like my sisters old car... where did you find it?

My buddy up here put a turbo on his saturn like that.... moved out pretty good, but he never got the fuel issues sorted out and keep getting in the boost with it running lean, and threw a rod through the block, twice....