Hey, looking to get a beater before the snow flies. Have a couple of Saturns I've gone to look at. Found one with 84K on it for $1700. 1997 4 door 5 speed. How good are these cars in the snow? I understand they are no 4X4, but they seem really light. Anybody have any experience? I'm just looking for something that's easier on gas and won't give me any problems. I've also had my eye on a few 97 and up Grand Prixs, Cherokees, and V6 Explorers, all with over 100K on them for around $2000. In the long run am I better off with those and just sacrifice a little MPG?
My car before the GTO was a Saturn Redline, and while its a little more than a beater with its S/C 2.0, I had a lot of fun with that little car. One thing I will say, with GM's small cars, their A/C is typically very weak so don't consider using it during the hot summer days.
I had a '94 SC2 for 8 years and 150K. 2400 lbs. and did fine in the snow, even went through one winter with a set of SP8000's (summer tires) on it. Got about 30mpg in combined city/highway, closer to 35 highway. Did some laps at Bridgehampton with it too.
Make sure it's a twin-cam, the base single-cam motor is a dog although the later ones had more HP than the older ones (100 vs. 85).
Some of the earlier twin-cams had issues, especially if they weren't maintained properly (high oil consumption, timing chain tensioner failures). A '97 shouldn't have these issues but get it checked out anyway.
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i had a 95 sl1 that went through a couple winters. i loved it, wish i would have kept it. i never had any problem with it in the snow. As long as you have the right tires the weight isn't really a factor. The car itself is very utilitarian, everything is easy to work on and there really isn't that much to go wrong. I got rid of mine at about 150k, but my dad has a 96 sl2 as a beater up around 220k.
The only thing i disliked about it was the location of the oil filter, made changing the oil very messy.
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220k on my 7th saturn. Still original clutch. Cheap parts, cheap to maintain, just grab some blizzaks and you'll be fine, been driving an S series in the winter for 7 years. Oh and if it doesn't have ABS, it has rear drum brakes, which are touchy, you have to adjust them up regularly as they like to lock up when its slick out and send you in a tailspin, other than that great cars.
Thanks for the advice guys. Went to drive the 97 this evening. Its in good shape, but the brakes felt like mush, nothing really happened until the pedal was almost to the floor, and the release point on the clutch was almost up at the top. Tough to judge after just driving my GTO, but it just didn't feel right. Brake fluid looked good. I'm gonna go back in the daylight on Saturday for a closer look.
There's another 1997 Saturn around here with 190K on it for $1400, already has blizzaks on it. Hopefully I'll find something this weekend.
Last edited by AllMightyVoice : 11-05-2009 at 08:05 PM.
Thanks for the advice guys. Went to drive the 97 this evening. Its in good shape, but the brakes felt like mush, nothing really happened until the pedal was almost to the floor, and the release point on the clutch was almost up at the top. Tough to judge after just driving my GTO, but it just didn't feel right. Brake fluid looked good. I'm gonna go back in the daylight on Saturday for a closer look.
There's another 1997 Saturn around here with 190K on it for $1400, already has blizzaks on it. Hopefully I'll find something this weekend.
I would worry much less about a simple brake job than engine work.
If the fluid looks fine look at the pads and rotors. Anyone can refresh fluid. And then you just use that to negotiate down. You know how cheap it is to do brakes so you will be in a winning situation.
Thanks for the advice guys. Went to drive the 97 this evening. Its in good shape, but the brakes felt like mush, nothing really happened until the pedal was almost to the floor, and the release point on the clutch was almost up at the top. Tough to judge after just driving my GTO, but it just didn't feel right.
So that one needs brake work and a clutch. The brakes may or may not be a big deal depending on what is wrong, the clutch is a pain in the ass. And you still didn't say if it's twin cam or not. Either way at that price I'd pass unless you can knock it down a lot further and you're willing to do the repairs.
The one I drove today was a twin cam. Brakes are obviously no big deal, the clutch on the other hand would concern me. The guy said he is not going to go down much further than $1700. That's honestly a pretty good price for the car as is, especially with only 84K on the clock. Most of the ones I've seen on CL have well over 100K and are priced at over $2000. The passenger window is also sticking, that would be the least of my concerns though.
I've got a 97 Grand Prix GT to look at on Saturday. 100K on it and they want $2500. Supposedly its in great shape with new tires and brakes. If its a good car and they back down a few hundred bucks I might bite on that one.
Do it. A buddy of mine works at a (now ilfated) Saturn dealer and took in a '99 i think Saturn in trade with 382,000mi that was still running perfectly fine, plastic door panels and all kept it in real good condition.
Well the Grand Prix was a roach, lots of dents and the inside was in mediocre shape at best. However I got a lead on a '99 Regal GSE, 3800 supercharged. One of my dad's buddies is a mechanic and he's been working on this car for the past couple years, all routine maitenance. Car has 150,000 miles on it, but its in great shape. No dents, interior is mint, brand new Michelin tires on it. Guy is about to trade it in. I'm going to offer him $1500 cash and see where that goes.
2005 GTO Owner
