Commuter Car under $3k Saturn??

[NastyNate]

So ive been looking for a commuter car for work. I drive about 200 miles round trip to work a day. Ive been looking for a diesel VW or older merc. Also looking into hybrid but at $3k they are out of warranty with over 150k miles on them,
So the usual suspects are
honda cvic
mazda protege
toyota corrola
toyota tercel

and then I found the Saturn get good MPG and its hella cheap.
Ive ALWAYS HATED saturns ....but after reading some online they dont seem as bad as i thought...
any input?

[mach1metalhead]

I am in this same boat right now and don't really wanna put this level of wear on my already worn Mustang...

[falcongtho3]

My experience with Saturns have not been good, especially with the kind of mileage you're talking about. struts and strut plates go bad. Alignments on them are a pain. I'd lean towards a Civic, Corolla or Tercel.

[DSG2003Mach1]

we just got rid of the wife's 03 Saturn Ion with 175k on it.

Maybe it was the strut plates that have rattled so bad as long as Ive known her but it drove fine and no issues holding alignment but all the plastic **** started breaking and started using some oil (seems like some motors something in the heads, not sure if its valves/seats/guides) wear out and they steadily increase oil consumption).

the worst thing was probably the little plastic piece that connects the keyhole door lock to the latch that broke, the rod fell into the window track and the next time she hit the power window motor button the window jumped off track and jammed..thankfully it didnt break anything. I ended up going to the junkyard and stealing some off other saturns since the part isnt available and doing a quick JB weld job so it wouldnt happen again.

[bris09]

I'd stay away from the Saturn and lean towards the Civic. The only Corolla I'd consider is an older one. I don't care for how the newer ones drive. It basically ignores small changes in steering unless you turn the stability control off, real pita to drive straight with a cross wind. I had an 85 that with close to 200k miles had less rattles than my 99 Contour with far fewer miles.

[falcongtho3]

Never had much dealings with the Ions, mostly the SL and SC versions which were unique to US production. I believe the Ion was an Opel based car, from Europe, but built in the US.

[lxh89]

Don't get the Saturn - they are the biggest pieces of sh*t. I made the mistake of buying one for my daughter with only 55k miles on it. It was about 2 weeks after purchase that it left her stranded with a failed crankshaft position sensor. After replacing that, a month later the fuel pump failed. Two months after that, camshaft position sensor failed. A year later, transmission stopped shifting requiring a new control board inside the transmission. If I hadn't done all the work myself, I would have easily doubled what I had spent on it in the first place.

Fortunately, it was lucky enough to get struck in the street by a texting driver that totaled it so I was able to cut my losses on it.

Tony

[Mach828]

I'd get a focus, corrola, subi forrester, or tdi jetta. I wanted a TDI jetta but the good ones sell so fast I had trouble scooping one up. And the ones that don't sell are 2x over priced.

[iudelt89]

I'm personally more of a fan of the early 2000's Mazda Protege. Great little cars. You could also look at a civic, but a lot of them have been beat to death it seems. The protege is a prettier car and more fun to drive IMO. Interior quality is right up there with the Honda, and you don't see them on every corner. In the words of James May, its a happy, plucky little car. Aside from the Protege, an Imprezza wouldn't be bad to look at either. Early 2000's as well. Those things run forever.

I'm really not a fan of the corolla. Sure they run forever, but its the most vanilla driving experience you could possibly have. Zero personality.

Stay away from the saturns. Buddy had an ion, and I have to say, it was by far the cheapest most unpleasant driving experience I've ever had. Steering was horrible (heavy but not in a good way, non-linear), everything rattled, road noise was unacceptable, interior materials were beyond sub par even for an entry level commuter (steering wheel seemed like something out of a POS go kart at the county fair), brakes were crap, all around would absolutely not recommend one.

[Procharged2k3]

Toyota is probably the best bet... or a mustang hybrid swap.

[not a gt]

A friend just bought a 2000 something VW diesel Beetle, was around $3K and he is getting 48 mpg.

[bluoval]

I agree stay away from Saturn! My wife had a 1999 SW2 with the notorious "oil burning" twin cam engine with only 79k miles on it. That car would leave a blue smoke cloud every time you drove away from a stop light or while idling in the drive thru. Toyota and Honda are hard to beat. We picked up a '99 Avalon for my son with 190K miles. Did the 100k timing belt service for the second time, changed out the two oil control valves and replaced the power steering pump. We bought it for $4500 and threw $2000 at it and it's now good for another 100k miles. You should look for a late '90s or early '00's Camry with the same 3.0 liter V-6 as our Avalon. Those motors can easily last over 300k miles!

[NastyNate]

Thankx guys for all the good info!
Im gonna keep lookng for a diesel vw of similar.
Im worried about the civics around here since most seem to be modded and the auto tranny seem to be a problem.
The 25mpg I get while driving it like I stole it Im jus gonna stick with the mach until i find something that gives me 40+ mpg. Im getting the fund together to build a new engine so Im not to worried the car was meant to be driven. jus passed 175k miles and with the 3-link istalled its so much more fun to drive!!