Dont Buy a saturn -they RUST
dpavie
I have 1992 Saturn SL2 which I bought because I was sick of cars
rusting and thought that plastic body panels would be the answer. To
my horror the metal that is in this car does rust in the worst places.
Rust is appearing on all four of the Window frames. My wife
complained at the Saturn service center and was told that they all do
that. Has anyone else had this problem and if so have you had any luck
getting Saturn to do anything about it?
Also with about 100,000km it burns about 1L of oil every 3Km. I also
had to have the timing chain replaced. I dont believe that Saturn
quality is anywhere near Japanese car quality!
Steven Umbach
It sounds like as Saturns get older they are really showing what they
are made of. I am looking to buy another car and have a copy of the
Edmund 1996 Used Car Buying guide. For instance a 1993 Saturn has a
reliability rating of 6.8 which is sure better than a 5.5 rating compared
to a 1993 Chevy Cavalier, but a 1993 Honda Civic has a reliabilty rating
of 8.7 and a 1993 Toyota Corolla has a rating of 9.2!! We bought a new
car this spring and we looked at and drove the Saturn's . The fact that
they were not supposed to rust is what appealed to me also because I tend
to keep a car for a long time, but I personally felt that the Saturns are
overpriced for what they are. We went to the Honda dealer and for only
about $1200 more got a similarly equipped Accord, compared to what they
wanted for an SL2, and the Accord is a larger and overall superior car.
My last Accord was getting ratty (mostly due to rust from where body work
was done on it - not too much from the original finish) and it had 140,
000 miles on it with the ONLY engine repair being a water pump (about
$160 installed). It was a 1984 model and still did not burn ANY oil
between 5000 mile oil changes. Thanks for the info on your Saturn and
good luck! We are looking to buy a 1997 Civic if we will ever be able
to find one hopefully at no more than list price! --- Steve
Patrick Vanier
dpavie <dpa...@thor.newbridge.com> a écrit dans l'article
<4vi2f0$3...@kannews.ca.newbridge.com>...
> I have 1992 Saturn SL2 which I bought because I was sick of cars
> rusting and thought that plastic body panels would be the answer. To
> my horror the metal that is in this car does rust in the worst places.
> Rust is appearing on all four of the Window frames. My wife
> complained at the Saturn service center and was told that they all do
> that. Has anyone else had this problem and if so have you had any luck
> getting Saturn to do anything about it?
My 1992 SL1 had some rust perforations on the black window frame on my
right rear door window. Went to the dealer and they replaced the part, no
questions asked.
There *is* a five year/80 000 km rust warranty on Canadian Saturn cars;
better see to it
before it's too late. BTW, most of the black window metal frames on my car
have some traces
of rust (just surface, no perforation). It's pretty obvious to see,
particularly where water gets trapped between the metal frames and the
rubber seals...
Charles A. Kunz
dpa...@thor.newbridge.com (dpavie) wrote:
>I have 1992 Saturn SL2 which I bought because I was sick of cars
>rusting and thought that plastic body panels would be the answer. To
>my horror the metal that is in this car does rust in the worst places.
>Rust is appearing on all four of the Window frames. My wife
>complained at the Saturn service center and was told that they all do
>that. Has anyone else had this problem and if so have you had any luck
>getting Saturn to do anything about it?
My 1997 SL2 doesn't have metal Window frames, at least none that I could see.
Maybe it's changed since then.
Chuck
drc...@netusa.net <-----------> http://www.netusa.net/~drchuck/
The "last chance gas station" on the information superhighway :)
And I hear the train sigh / And idle down below / Why your love is
so sweet and wild / Is something I'll never know - Melissa Etheridge
Frank Yang
In article <322647ec...@news.netusa.net>, drc...@netusa.net says...
>
>dpa...@thor.newbridge.com (dpavie) wrote:
>
>>I have 1992 Saturn SL2 which I bought because I was sick of cars
>>rusting and thought that plastic body panels would be the answer. To
>>my horror the metal that is in this car does rust in the worst places.
>>Rust is appearing on all four of the Window frames. My wife
>>complained at the Saturn service center and was told that they all do
>>that. Has anyone else had this problem and if so have you had any luck
>>getting Saturn to do anything about it?
>
>My 1997 SL2 doesn't have metal Window frames, at least none that I could
see.
>Maybe it's changed since then.
>
>Chuck
My 95 SL1 doesn't have metal window frames, either. I have no idea what he
was talking about.
The most likely rust formation would happen under the front end of the hood.
It is made of steel like other cars and I find water and dirt can easily
accumulate in there. I clean and inspect this place regularly.
Another possible place is the edges of the roof, which I check as well. So
far my Saturn has no rust.
- Frank
Jim Hawkins
> see.
> >Maybe it's changed since then.
> My 95 SL1 doesn't have metal window frames, either. I have no idea what he
> was talking about.
Sorry guys...all the Saturn's have metal window headers. The difference
between the 96 Sedans & Wagons and 97 Coupes and the rest, are that the
header is just a "frame" for the rest of the parts built into it. Anything
before the new models was metal that was painted. The only thing that is
plastic is all the side panels and some of the deck lid. The roof, hood and
deck lid are metal. If you live in an area that has a high salt content
(either by the sea or LOTS of snow in the winter) your car will rust if the
rust proofing put on in the factory is scratched away. If you see a scratch
on the header...then see about getting it fixed.
IF you ask how I know this...well I work in the Body Shop and have built the
doors.
Jim Hawkins
Spring Hill, TN
Michael Tjia
Jim,
Since you work in the body shop what are your comments on my postings here about the polymer
bady panels crumbling and cracking on both my 92 SL-1 ansd 94 SL-2 after two and one winter in
Canada respectively.
Small pieces fall off the bottom of the door panels from near the fasteners and on the 92 SL-1
large cracks develops on the outside of two door panels comnecting several fasteners. Any
opinion on this as far as material, and installation process?
Mike.
Kevin
Would the fact that Saturn recycles the plastic made from doors that
werent painted correctly, hoods, etc, have anything to do with the
integrity of the plastic once they are put back through the mold
machine again?? Or it could be they arent using the best grade
of plastic like they should be doing, and expect a customer to accept
the idea of plastic panels so they dont have to worry about dents, but
then again, I'd rather have small dents I can fix then parts falling
off..
Michael Tjia
Exactly my point. We are thinking alike......
A number of things in manufacturing and assembly may contribute to the
problem of crumbling and crcking that I expereinced with both my Saturns
So far Saturn has denied responsibility at least for the 92 SL-1
claiming that it is first of all out of warranty and second that nothing
in their manufacturing process would cause this to happen.
I can see why they include the second reason so that they do not have to
replace every panel that anyone shows them to have a crack. But I do not
completely buy their story. There is got to be something wrong here.
One thing for sure I did not see any outward evidence of the panels
dinged by somethng like a shopping cart nor could Saturn show me proof
although they claimed that this is what is causing it.
I do not know yet what they are going to say about my 94 SL-2 since it
is still under warranty and I have not made it an issue yet. I am
taking these problems to Saturn one at a time.
David B. Zwiefelhofer
> A number of things in manufacturing and assembly may contribute to
the
> problem of crumbling and crcking that I expereinced with both my
Saturns
> So far Saturn has denied responsibility at least for the 92
SL-1
> claiming that it is first of all out of warranty and second that
nothing
> in their manufacturing process would cause this to
happen.
Sounds familiar. They're giving me the same line about the paint peeling
off of my 94 SL2.
Dave
--
David B. Zwiefelhofer Voice: (608) 258-8965
The ENRnet Group Fascimile: (608) 258-9686
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Ed Bareiss
Frank Yang (fy...@interramp.com) wrote:
: In article <322647ec...@news.netusa.net>, drc...@netusa.net says...
:
: >>Rust is appearing on all four of the Window frames.
:
: My 95 SL1 doesn't have metal window frames, either. I have no idea what he
: was talking about.
This is a documented defect on our '91 SL2, so far the only really major
flaw to the exterior that we haven't incurred ourselves... The frames
on both back doors and front doors have rusted out, and the fronts were
replaced while still under warranty! The one rear was replaced when one
of the side windows broke, and the other is still sitting on the car
rusting out. The frame itself is not replaceable without replacing the
whole side window (the one permanently attached to the car, not the door)
so that makes it a bit pricey to have done now. We'll just wait til
someone breaks that one! All indications from Saturn have been that it's
a pretty common flaw, especially on the earlier vehicles. This Saturn
also has spent its entire life outside in hellish Arctic New York and
Connecticut winters, which doesn't help any rusting metal. From the
looks of things, the frames fill up with water on the inside and rust
from the inside out, as the rust bubbles are coming up from behind un-
scratched paint...
-Ed
91 SL2
147,000 mi.
Xiao-Long Li
In article <50nm63$7...@orson.eng2.uconn.edu>,
91 SL2 with 147,000 miles? Gee, I have not seen a car without any rust
with 147,000 miles. :)
How are the Major parts? Still running or breaking down. I just want to
know.
Thanks.
--
Xiao-Long Li (Shaw) :) (Undergraduate, EE & ME)
School of Electrical Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering
Internet: gt6...@prism.gatech.edu Mailbox: 336374, Georgia Tech Station
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332-1675
brian-w...@uiowa.edu
>
>91 SL2
>147,000 mi.
Wow! 147K is some serious mileage. As one who drives their cars
until they drop, and then some, I hope I can look forward to those
kind of miles. And mine sits in the garage...
What, if any, other problems have you had with the car?
Brian, '93 SL, AC/ABS 51000 K