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Just wonder what you guys think about these cars or similar GM counterparts. I’m tossing around the idea of picking up an Ion with manual transmission (since I’ve heard the autos suck, and Getrag makes the manual, AND most people never change auto trans fluid) and using it as my daily driver/beater car. I’m attracted to it because it has the ecotec engine and plus for the same money I can get a newer car compared to if I bought a used Honda. Then, I’d have to worry about modifications and if it has a B18ceeethreepeeOOO22vvnehdyua or whatever (I like Honda, just not how they make the same engine series 100 different ways, please laugh).
Plus, the Saturn logo, by itself, is a great anti-theft device.
So, again, just wondering if anyone has owned, owns, or driven one of these or a similar GM car that isn’t made anymore.
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When I was working for Saturn we didn’t really have any real problems out of the Ions beyond what we’d refer to as “lot rot”. The car’s weren’t very popular, so they would just sit on the lot and the batteries would slowly go dead from sitting month after month. When the batteries die in those cars the ignition cylinder won’t turn, and the idiot salesmen would occasionally snap the keys off in the cylinders. Let me tell you, nothing like replacing the ignition cylinder in a brand new car while the potential buyer is standing there watching your every move.
The only other thing that they were prone to was pulsation in the steering wheel under braking, which was again caused by the cars just sitting in the weather. rain water would get onto the brake rotors, and the pads would hold the moisture against the rotor surface longer, so the rust buildup would be greater, so there would be a variation in the rotor thickness, causing a pulsation in the steering wheel.
Other than those two things, they’re not bad cars, as long as you don’t expect them to give a Mercedes smooth ride. There is some NVH that you’ll have to live with, but that’s to be expected from a little econobox. Good luck finding one with a manual though. I think I’ve maybe seen two Ions with manual transmissions since the car debuted. If you can find one, so much the better, but you may be looking for a long time.
Thanks for the heads up 3Sheets. I’ve been looking around on craigslist and some other sites and I see maybe 1 manual transmission for every 10 I’ve looked at. They are still for sale too. Probably since most people don’t like manuals. Even though a lot of the manufactures don’t specify a drain interval, I still like to change a manual transmission every 30k -50k miles depending on the conditions.
I’ve seen some people really put the miles on their Saturns and they keep going. A friend on mine put about 300k on a 90-something SL with a 5 speed before he sold it ( this was probably 5 years ago).
If I end up getting one I know who I can turn to if I get some strange problem that I can’t figure out (which seems to be my trend lately).
I’ll do my best to answer your Saturn related questions, but I admit that I didn’t work for them for very long. It was a small dealership and they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) send me to factory training, so I was just guessing how to repair them half the time. I don’t bear them any grudge though. It was a learning experience.
I do like their S series cars though. The SC2 (meaning the 2 door, twin cam) is a decent, semi-sporty car that gets a little better than 30 mpg in mixed driving with an automatic. My wife had one that she would up totalling. I do remember seeing a ’93(?) SL1 at the dealer with almost half a million miles on it, and beyond basic maintenance, nothing had been done to it, except for having the timing chain replaced at 290k, only because the customer wanted it replaced.
I owned a 2003 Cavalier 2-door with the Ecotec/5spd Getrag combo, awesome car! It would go like snot and get great fuel economy. The Ion is a great car other than minor things like sway bar links, control arm bushings and rattling steering column, if you want a little more thrill find the Ion Redline with the 2.0L Supercharged Ecotec.V-)
I really like the Chevy Cavaliers and the Saturn S series vehicles. I would recommend them to anyone.
I had a 2007 Ion that I ended up totalling. It was a decent car, and I survived the crash with a bruised heart and lungs but my life was still there. There was a recall on the IONs for a cracked fuel line so you might want to check for that.
It did have an odd thing it did that my mom’s cobalt also did. Sometimes when you came to a stop light you heard something that sounded like thump thump thump thump. Almost exactly like if someone ran up to the car and knocked quickly on the trunk. This would happen after sitting completely motionless for several seconds.
We never figured that out.
Mileage was decent. My mom could get into the low 30’s on her Cobalt by carefully monitoring the instant MPG on the dash. My saturn didn’t have the EVIC on it so I didn’t get the real-time MPG info.
My e-brake cable popped off the lever and I had to fix that and it developed a clunk on the drivers front wheel, which now I’m pretty sure was a bad ball joint.
I bought it used though. I think it must have been a repo, it had cigarette burns in the headliner, and someone had scratched “F*ck You!” in the passenger window. (On the inside). There was a chunk that looked like a bite mark missing from the steering wheel which I had fixed before I bought it.
LOL Shaun, the whole point of me considering this car is for better mileage. If I was looking for a fast car I would just pick up another Corvette, build the engine, and put on a TVS blower on it. I could do the same thing with my truck, but I have feeling it would just be a giant tire smoke machine – still fun though.
If I get one of these cars it’s just getting good fluids and that’s about it.
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