I have a sickness...

[PurdueGuy]

I have a sickness... I just bought my 3rd Saturn on Saturday. To confirm the sickness... each time I buy a Saturn, it's crappier than the last one! lol (Fortunately, each has also been a fraction of the price. )

Bought a 1993 SL2 for $300. A few minor scrapes on the outside, a trashed but fairly solid/intact interior, a properly working auto tranny, and a badly misfiring DOHC engine. Interestingly enough, while the car basically ran on 3 cylinders at idle/putting around town, it all smoothed out like there was no problem on the highway, and I had no trouble driving it 1 1/2 hours home. Further investigation shows that the misfire is probably from a need of a valve cover gasket replacement, followed by plugs & wires. That means this will be a pretty nice, properly working "beater" car for me for easily under $500, very possibly under $400.

Left - "new" '93 SL2 (nicknamed the "POSL2") - bought for $300, just purchased

Middle - '99 SC1 - bought for $5,250 3 years ago, needed nothing

Right - '99 SC2 - bought for $1,000 1 year ago, bad auto transmission, fixed by swapping in a manual for about $500

Also have a '98 suburban for hauling people & stuff on the occasion that there is such a need.

[ocnblu]

Ehhh, you're ok, Perdue. You're not by yourself. The S-series cars have a devoted following. At work we just painted a '97 SC2 rear bumper cover for a guy who would not shut up about how ideal they are as city commuter cars, and we just processed a '95 SL1 hit in the rear end by a Chevy K2500 and totalled at 165k miles. That little sucker started up and ran perfectly with barely a touch of the key (but when it did, a cacophony of buzzing interior trim followed suit, it made me giggle but then I kept looking at the odometer and I didn't care). Long Live the S-Series!

[GMTruckGuy74]

That's cool! Another one to add to your growing collection. I looked at a '93 SW1 at my dealership when I was there with the AURA for service at the end of December. It was parked in the back and looked as if it was waiting for the wholesaler to come pick it up. I'm keeping my eye out for a '95 SW2 with an automatic. I've always liked the first generation station wagons and like the interior upgrade of the '95s the best.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Ehhh, you're ok, Perdue. You're not by yourself. The S-series cars have a devoted following. At work we just painted a '97 SC2 rear bumper cover for a guy who would not shut up about how ideal they are as city commuter cars, and we just processed a '95 SL1 hit in the rear end by a Chevy K2500 and totalled at 165k miles. That little sucker started up and ran perfectly with barely a touch of the key (but when it did, a cacophony of buzzing interior trim followed suit, it made me giggle but then I kept looking at the odometer and I didn't care). Long Live the S-Series!

ocn, do you know where the used "Saturn" S-series only dealer is in Lancaster? Every time I'm in the area I pickup the Auto Shopper and some other larger used car mag and see this dealer's advertisement.

[turbo200]

those are some fantastic deals! right about now manual would serve me well as a car I could kick around and have a little fun in.

[PurdueGuy]

so in 3 days, I've taken the interior from this...

to this...

Basically, I am gutting the interior, cleaning it piece by piece, identifying broken/missing/bad parts, and then I will get the parts I need and reassemble. Should be very nice and clean (aside from it'll still have the worn fabric, but even it I will remove from the seats and clean thoroughly) car. Plus, I have a website (www.saturnseries.net) that I put how-to guides on, so I'm taking pictures as I take things apart, so I can make guides to help people repair their Saturns.

[Intrepidation]

Take pictures when it's done. I love before and after pictures!

How can people let their cars get so filthy?

[Kevin]

Jon, welcome to the club. We all have that sickness. (accidentally typed "sickmess," which my wife would probably agree with...)

I'll own 3 Saturns soon, but only for a short time. I ordered an Astra this week, and will sell the '97 SC2 privately instead of trading it in, so until it sells, I'll have 3 - and that doesn't include my wife's. Add hers to the mix, and we'll have 4...

[daves87rs]

Very cool!

Before I got the Cobalt- I was shopping S-series to replace the wagon.....

After things get settled, I wouldn't mind picking one up.....

My buddy's 02 SL1 just passed 80k...no problems, nothing replaced....