Just found out that the wife's 97 sc2 has a pinhole headgasket leak. Then when searching the internet I found that Saturn had a "secret warranty " program for the 92-96 vehicles for this very problem. Anyone out there ever have experience with these secret warranty programs. Also, what would the ballpark be for a valve gasket repair job, I am personally mechanically disabled. Thanks in advance.
...you're sure it was a head-gasket issue and not a casting prob (crack) in the head? I thought this was the case in some single-cam engines, i.e. SC1 and SC. I'm not saying what you say isn't so, it's just new news to me.
And there is no "secret warranty". There are some issues that Saturn has decided they should fix on their dime, and since not all vehicles are affected it's on a one by one basis. In contrast, I have received a couple of letters from Saturn to cover the replacement of a defective horn, and the other was to explain that my fuel pump may be one that will fail prematurely (not a safety issue). I got the free horn right away and it wasn't until a few years later the pump failed and Saturn replaced on their dime also.
You can always ask the dealer if your issue is normal wear and tear or a defect that Saturn is aware of. In the defect scenario the next question would be how much Saturn is going to pay towards the repair. The dealer may or may oblige you, and or use some of their discretionary funds separate of Saturn entirely. Depends on the situation. Cool, calm and rational dialog has got me much further than loosing my temper and bursting into a rage (not suggesting you would do the latter).
My 97SL2 has almost 90k and is (like yours) 7 years old. At this point I don't care what breaks or fails. It's fulfilled my expectation for a $15k investment. The only caveats are the oil usage and alternator olympics. I think I still like it more today than if I would have bought a Civic. The Saturn story is still interesting, sad to see it wasn't sustained.
Sorry for the rant... (3 large mugs of coffee and a day off from work do it every time!)
I had that very problem some years back on my '96 SL, assumed it was out of warranty and had it fixed at Firestone ($1,300 - ouch).
The next week, I heard about the secret-warranty at Saturn, called the local service dept, faxed the receipt to them and had a check for the full repair cost in my hand the following week.
If Saturn had a hybrid coming out, that'd be my next vehicle as their service has been immaculate to date.
You're in luck...Saturn is releasing a hybrid VUE in late 2005.
That may work. Thanks for the update; I didn't know that.
...yeah, I've got a family member with a new Suburban who would agree with you. Read some of the newsgroups of the different automakers and you'll see problems in the Japanese models too. Honda does seem to make a great engine. I'm leaning towards horse and buggy myself...
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