I got a shock when I took my 2000 Saturn SL2 to be inspected this week. I took it to the service department of the used car dealership where I bought it in April 2003; they have an excellent reputation.
The service guys failed it for inspection. They told me it has an exhaust leak;not terrible but clearly enough that they couldn't pass it. They also told me this is a common problem with Saturns. Can anyone confirm this?
Anyway, they told me they would have to order a sealant kit to fix it. A little over $100. The guy called a Saturn dealership to order the kit and during the call he asked the guy on the othger end "so you haven't had a recall on that yet?"
I told him to go ahead and order the kit. Must admit I was taken aback; I've never had a car fail inspection for an exhaust problem before. Now I wonder if I made a mistake. Can't the thing be welded, assuming the leak is as bad as they claim?
For the record, I'm pretty satisfied with my Saturn. I've put 16K miles on it in 13 months and this is the first problem I've had.
The gas mileage is not quite what I'd hoped for---never better than 31 and usually closer to 28 or 29---but that might be because I got spoiled by the new 1999 SL1 my lady friend leased in late 1998. That car got 40 mpg on highway trips and about 36 overall, but it was a 1, not a 2, and it was new, not used.(Both are automatics.)
This exhaust leak business and the bit about how it's a common Saturn problem kind of bums me out, though. Any advice?
Thanks.
Regards,
Eric M