- smooth ride - price - large interior / cargo space - simple construction

- wipers - oil filter expensive

Overall pleasurable experience. No major problems yet. The car wouldn''t start once (after owning it for about a year). Dealership towed it away, and replaced a component in the ignition, and I was on my way again the next morning. I''m pleasantly suprised by smooth ride, and decent acceleration for the 137 HP. The biggest selling point for me was the space available in the car for the price. Saturn''s philosophy of building "simple" cars for an affordable price lured me in too. I''d rather own something reliable than something that''s 10% faster, but breaks down alot. I love the plastic doors. My 4 yr old has managed to scratch them a couple of times, but at least I know they won''t rust :). It seems to be fairly solid construction too. My wife got rear ended with minimal damage (scratch on the bumper which actually cost more than I expected to fix(well, to the insurance anyway)). I also managed to hit a dead moose driving at night travelling at about 100km/hr. Other than lots of blood and guts stuck to the underneath, no damage.

Safety features Looks

no problemmo

Great car. 3rd Saturn I have owned

acceleration, handling, high speed smoothness, around town economy, comfort, sound system, user friendly

The CVT transmission basically sucks if you get on the gas like I do. It really takes away from highway efficiency, too. I''d go with a 5 speed manual.

I was sceptical when my mother came home with a small 4 cylinder car, after owning blazers and vans for years. Honestly, this car is pretty impressive. I''d like to own one myself.

I love the way it looks, especially after I put new wheels and tires on it, I get lots of complements, it''s very comfortable, and I like to drive it

Horn is difficult, reliability and craftsmanship is poor

This was my first new car, and just like all the Saturn commercials, it was a very pleasant buying experience. The pleasantries ended soon after I purchased the car. Almost immediately I started having problems with the car. The weather seals around the trunk were installed wrong, The drivers side mirror made a terrible howling noise on the freeway, which I had to take back for maintenance 4 different times. The auto transmission had to be pulled out to replace a seal, which had failed. The headliner had to be removed because the wiring hadn''t been installed correctly and was making an annoying rattling sound all the time. The a/c compressor broke in the middle of summer and had to be repaired. The engine kept dying on me when it was cold and after taking it in 7 different times they finally found a bad airflow regulator. The rear brake light kept falling off and I had to take that in for repairs. Oh, yeh, I almost forgot, the battery terminals weren''t connected properly at the factory and came off while I was driving and it wouldn''t start the next time I tried to drive it, (I had to have it towed to the dealer) And I’m still having electrical problems with the car, The door handles had to be replaced because they were starting to delam. Through all of this, I can still say that (partially due to the outstanding customer service that I have received from all of the people at Saturn of Abilene) I still like my car, but unless I were to get some kind of mind blowing trade-in deal I will never buy another Saturn again

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honda *****

European Looks Engine Power Options

Tires, Tires, Tiers...... Cloth Interior Road Noise Electronics...Saturn has replaced my key switch at approx. 5000 miles.

This is my second Saturn. My first was a SC1, which I liked very much with the exception of my air-conditioning going out six times. I now have a LS2...I love the looks and power of the 3.0L V6 engine. However, my tires were chopped at 2,200 miles and then Saturn replaced them at 5,200 and realigned my car. The new tires then became then slightly chopped around 15,000 and at 22,000 miles I took my car into Saturn. Saturn has refused to change out my tires since I did not have receipt for rotating them. I later found additional information on the WEB as shown below. This is the Website address: http://www.saturndan.com/l_quality_issues.htm This is what the Website says: Many 2000 L series suffered tire degradation as a result of poor alignment. Saturn has issued a service bulletin on this issue and will realign the car under warranty and may replace the tires since, in my opinion, the tires get trashed (worn, feathered) from the poor alignment. There is also a service bulletin on wheel bushings that can lead to poor alignment. Saturn is also correcting the alignment and bushings under warranty. I have heard some complaints of the tires not being replaced. The decision to replace the tires is made on a case-by-case basis since technically the shimmy and vibration results from the poor alignment and not from the tires. But, if your tires are significantly degraded, I think you can make a case for the tire replacement under warranty. Of course, your own history with the car will make a difference. If if appears as though you''ve not been attentive to the maintenance or have been rough with the car, then premature tire wear is to be expected and is not covered under warranty. Right? I like this car alot, but the road noise from the tires is driving me crazy. If I can convience Saturn to correct the problem and replace the tires with better tires, I may buy another Saturn, but if not, then I will probably buy a different car once my lease runs out. Have any of you ran into the same problem? I am an engineer and have worked in the automotive manufacturing industry for 15 years either for an OEM or a supplier to an OEM. I cannot believe that Saturn knows about a problem and will not make the correction. If I did this to my customer, I would not have one.

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So far, everything works perfectly, and it''s a lot of car for the money. the dealership has been excellent.

Several "missing" features: locking gas cap, separate trip odometer, dashboard gear indicator, dashboard "cruise engaged" indicator, folding side view mirrors.

No serious complaints. This car is exactly what it should be. Having read some of the earlier reviews of the 2000 and 2001 L200s, apparently some of the problems have been addressed. I find nothing at all wrong with the door handles. Ditto the 4 cylinder engine: it''s very peppy, even at highway speeds. I test drove the 6 cylinder and the only difference I discerned was that it was a little quieter. The brakes are excellent; no complaint at all. I had read that there have been advances in the anti=lock mechanism since my 93 Honda. But the Saturn ABS pulses through the pedal just like my Honda''s does. My wife doesn''t like the amount of force needed to close the glove compartment door, which seems to be a perennial complaint among Saturn owners. She also doesn''t like the horn -- there are two spots on the steering wheel buried in the airbag cover that activate the horn. They''re hard to find and require a lot of force. I''m not much of a hornblower, so I don''t mind. My MAJOR complaint, and one that I see others raising here, is the placement of the pedals. I wear a size 12, and when my foot is on the accelerator, there is about one inch of space between the brake pedal on the left on my shoe and the hump on the right. Which means I can''t just pivot my foot from the brake to the accelerator, as I''ve done with every other car I''ve ever driven. I have to lift my foot off the brake, move it to the right, and then depress the accelerator. I haven''t learned how to do this smoothly yet. My wife also dislikes the placement of the window buttons on the console. Since she''s short and moves the seat all the way forward, she literally can''t see the buttons from her perspective. They''re fine with me. I''m surprised that they''re isn''t a locking gas cap, which I''ve had with every Honda and Toyota I''ve ever owned. I''m also surprised that the side view mirrors don''t fold. That will be expensive if I drive too close to the mailbox one day. My 93 Honda Civic has folding mirrors, and a quick parking lot survey revealed that almose every other late-model car has them. I''m also spoiled by the Honda''s illuminated gear indicator in the dashboard, not just on the console. The Honda also has a dash light which indicates when the cruise control in not just on, but actively engaged. The Saturn does not. I also dislike the combined odometer/trip odometer. My

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PRice, transmission, engine, quality of fit and finish, handling, large trunk, CD player sound, stying.

tires too small - and cheesy plastic wheel covers - front seats hurt legs

This car is amazing for the money. Since my company was owned by GM I took advantage of the GM employee purchase deal. It saved my over $1500. I was a little scared to buy one because of all the quality problems with the 2000 model. But I have put 14,000 miles on this car in 8 months and have had flawless performance. The car handles like a BMW and the automatic transmissionn is the best in the business- Period.. I got the four cylinder because gas was $2.oo a gallon the day I bought it. The engine has plenty of power and Im getting about 32 mpg on the highway. I love to blow the doors of Hondas and Toyotas. Its a real sleeper car. The transmission is geared so well, made for acceleration off the start and soars down the road at low rpms at high speed. The build quality and fit and finish are very good. The car is roomy and the trunk is very large. I didnt get any options but rug mats because the car is loaded. Would like bigger tires and wheels though. The Sales experience and service put all other companies to shame. My only complaint about the car is the front seats - they are too cupped and dig into my legs right behind the knees. It took 3 months to get used to this.

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A lot of car for the money.Ride feel. Peppy 4 cyl. Plastic fender and door panels.

Engine noise at idle. Cheesy exterior door handles.Squirrel / bird droppings eat through paint faster than knife through warm butter.

We bought the car 7/01 . It now has about 9,500 miles on it .My wife is very pleased overall with the car(she drives it the most).I have only had to have it serviced once for warranty issues. The headliner was very noisy around the dome lamp and the fuel gage did not register completely full when tank was filled. Both items were corrected on the first attempt in one visit to the dealer. We chose the 4cyl L200 instead of the V-6 L300 because in my experience,GM builds much better 4 cylinders (I''ve seen too many leaking intakes on GM V-6''s) and we plan on keeping the car a long time. Also, the 4cyl is extremely peppy, especially for a car of this size. Acceleration from a stop in local driving conditions is more than adequate. I am also impressed by the handling. The steering & suspension both have a nice tight feel (like a european car) and the cornering isn''t too bad considering the somewhat narrow tires.The seats are comfy but the power drivers seat could use seperate front & rear adjustments and skip the power recliner( manual recliner would be fine). Fit and finish of the interior on our car are very good.No problems with anything there except there was a retainer in the carpet that was supposed to hold the drivers floor mat in place but it fell off after a month or two.No point having it fixed, it won''t last(Saturn did away with it for (2002) .Of the exterior features, the door handles really do feel cheesy but they haven''t broken off. Every time I drive the car at night, I comment how great the headlamps are. They really light up the road. The fog lamps are another story. Why do manufacturers even bother with them? It''s almost impossible to see a difference when driving and the $225 option price is way too much.Overall , I have to say this is a lot of car for the money ! It has power everything,a huge trunk, nice roomy interior and a mostly plastic exterior which will stay great-looking and ding-free for years .Except for the larger panel gaps, I can''t think of one downside to the plastic fender & door panels. There are a lot of econo-boxes out there that will set you back a lot more and give you a lot less. We got .9% financing for 5 years w/ no money down , too! Can''t touch this.

* Zippy V6, best in its class * Great luxuries (leather, heated seats, etc) * Fully loaded L300 inexpensive compared to other fully loaded vehicles in its class * A radical change from traditional saturn styling and powerless reputation. * Unseen magic under the hood * No major rattles/creeks after 30k miles * Oil life monitor and other nannies * ABS/engine timing based traction system * impressive trunk space

* No stick for the V6 yet * You might want to ditch the OEM tires * DRL''s cannot be shut off

I have had the car for a year now, and it still is a lot of fun to drive. The V6 is quite zippy, even for an automatic. Take the 182hp with a grain of salt, and expect this car to perform in the range of some 220-240hp vehicles. Its as responsive as the Auto 3.5L Altima, at a much lower price, with a better interior. Hopefully Saturn will put a stick in the 2003, as this V6 should be well in the low 6''s for 0-60 times. Expect 7 seconds from the automatic. Handling is impressive, even at high speeds. Beware that the sport package will make the suspension a bit stiffer than normal .. but nothing bone rattling. The auto transmission is very smart. It downshifts when its supposed to, up-shifts when its supposed to, and doesnt hunt. Since the gas pedal is a digital input, the computer can sense pretty much what you are trying to do, and push the car accordingly. Moving to a linkage car is like night and day. It will even automatically compression break down an incline ... i love watching all the other autos have to hit their breaks on the way down. The interior is still holding up just fine. No problems. I did have a slight stain on the console, in which the plastic panel was replaced under warranty. Quality is much higher than MY2000. MY2002 addresses the remaining quality issues. Many of the original MY2000 problems have been worked out, but it hasnt been an uneventful 30,000 miles for my MY2001. The OEM tires were replaced once (under warranty at ~20k miles), and i hear that MY2003 will feature a different brand. When was the last time your dealer replace tires under warranty?! The service is incredible. The V6 has had some slow cooliant leak issues, but this was easily repaired under warranty. Apparently this is very common with GM''s L81 engine (Saab 9-5, Catera). MY2002''s have not been experiencing this problem to my knowledge. MY2002 also addressed the remaining problems in the car. Introduction of Auto HVAC, DVD, automatic headlights, OnStar, 6 disc deck changer, etc. make it even more attractive. This car is one heck of a sleeper, and its worth picking up if you are looking for A) something that undercuts just about every 4dr in its class performance wise B) need to haul more than 2 people around with ease C) fully load your car with luxury D) Want to spend 20ish E) Something different than a camcord...

V6 Roominess Heated Leather seats CD changer up front, not in the trunk Price Overall classy look Car Care Maintenance plan

No scan button that I can see on the stereo

I recently purchased my second Saturn after leasing the 3 door coupe for 3 years. I loved my previous Saturn and never had any problems, so it prompted me to go back again without looking at other cars. I wanted a bigger car with a classier, less sporty look to it, and the L300 is perfect for me. I got all of the goodies, including the 6 disk CD changer, heated leather seats, gold trim package & V6 engine. I love the seats, they look very classy and heat up so quickly. Passengers in the car have said the back seat is very comfortable and roomy. The V6 provides so much more power than the 4 cylinder. I was confused at first as to how to use the 6 disk CD player and drove it right back to the dealership because I thought it was malfunctioning. However, the service department very nicely showed me how to insert the disk''s after choosing the disk number on the stereo. After that it''s been fantastic. The sound quality is excellent. The only complaint I have about the stereo is that it does not have a "scan" button to automatically scan the stations. I liked that feature on my old Saturn. The overall look of the car is very nice, although I do wish I had gotten black instead of gold. But the gold trim looks so much classier than chrome and I have gotten many compliments on it. The trunk is huge and the pull down seats make it easy to carry longer loads. My boyfriend''s only complaint was that the pedals were too close together, but I think it is fine. The rear window and side mirror defogger is excellent! It heats up so quickly! One of the best improvements I have found over my other Saturn is the fact that the automatic locks only lock the car AFTER you put it into gear, not when you turn the key in the ignition! This will save me from locking my keys in my car again and again. Overall, I''m very happy with the L300 and my entire Saturn experience. I looked at the L200 as well to consider saving some money, but decided that even with the top of the line model, it''s still affordable. I was able to get all the bells and whistles I would never have been able to afford on a Toyota or Honda. One thing I HIGHLY recommend to all Saturn purchasers. Get the Car Care package! You pay $900 up front, but NEVER have to worry about paying for any futher repair or maintenance expenses again! Just drive it in, get the work done & sign for it and your done!

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