questions?

I'm thinking of buying a 1998 saturn sl with the single overhead cam motor. is this a good car or does anyone have any big problems? also is

118,000 alot of miles for this motor? any feed back would be great.

thanks thehawk93

Reply to
thehawk93
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By '98 the S series had about fully evolved and IMHO is one of the best value cars ever produced. They used to have a large premium on the used market but they are now old enough that there are now some real bargains (and no doubt some real lemons). The single cam is my favorite as it is a (little) torque monster that does not need to run at high revs and gets very good fuel economy. Some people report excessive oil consumption which I have suspected was caused by poor maintenance and by "overly spirited" driving style and shift points regularly above 3000 rpm. The driving style and maintenance received from the previous operator is the big wild card and is the usual gamble in any used car. I have 150,000 miles on a '96 which has just started to burn oil at about 1,300 mi/qt. It is still on its original clutch which I believe is also helped by low shift points.

My only service repairs have been -

- Tires (stock Firestones lasted 85,000 miles, no complaints)

- Front brake pads and rotors (stock rotors are very poor quality, replace with low cost from overseas = much cheaper, better service life, use good quality pads).

- Muffler strap rusts through long before the muffler needs replacement, but heavy wire seems to work just fine (and has lasted longer than the stock strap).

- Spark plug wires and poor grounding of the ignition modules cause problems and error codes that are easily and inexpensively solved with new wires and by cleaning the ignition mounting and grounds and using lots of dielectric grease. The dealer will try to sell you expensive, new, often unneeded modules. I use platinum plugs.

- Alternator problems are reported by people in hot climates.

- Plastic under the front bumper and inner fenders is easily (and usually) damaged or missing.

- Windshield seems to catch more than its share of rock chips and cracks easily and is very expensive to replace. Many people may require a (crack free) vehicle inspection for insurance and registration.

- Front wheel bearing at 130,000 mi ???

- Driver door hinges squeak (lack of lubrication?) and require replacement (purchased but not yet changed).

I have no experience with the auto transmission but I am prejudiced and would not own an auto if you gave it to me. This is due to the lower performance, poor fuel economy and higher cost of repair.

All these small front drive cars have easily damaged steering and I would want to have a complete front drive inspection and alignment done by an experienced specialist before purchase.

During the prepurchase inspection (by YOUR expert), I would recommend changing all fluids including transmission, engine coolant, and brake fluid flush. The old fluids (drain into a CLEAN container) can tell you a lot about the cars condition (use a magnet and a fine filter to examine old fluid), and are probably due for a change anyway.

Inspect for door and window leaks and corrosion under the carpet and on the under body space frame (especially door sills) and on the oil pan which is exposed to road gravel and is often badly pitted. A sunroof probably leaks. Check that body and door drains are clean and not blocked.

The SL was the BASE stripped down model, it will have the bottom book value. In the negotiation, CASH is king and the buyer is in control. Most people do not have enough money to afford to buy a used car. Do not underestimate the power of a cash offer. There are more good cars for sale than good buyers.

Happy trails, YMMV

Reply to
Private

wow that was a very good reply.. Bought my 97 sl with 140k and it runs like a champ. Very easy car to work on.. just did my son's 96sc's struts all around.. first time but.. very easy to do. after that was done took it in for a complete all around alignment and new tires which were paid for by putting in the struts ourselves!!

Reply to
p_vouers
98 SOHC is a hearty little car. Our '97 SLis a "teenager driving learner" car and is still going strong at over 200K miles. Thoroughly inspect anything over 100K miles.

DOHC was known for oil consumption, not SOHC. SOHC had some issues with leaky head gaskets, but a well maintained SOHC may never experience that. SOHC is an excellent gas mileage car and has great pickup at low rpm. I prefer the high bucket seats on the SL1 over the SL2's low seats.

marx404

Reply to
marx404

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