QuestionThe Saturn is a 2001 L200 4door, it has 46,000 miles. It's a very clean car, leather, heated seats, spoiler, CD, etc. They are asking 9,995 however NADA is only 9,675.
The other car we are looking at is a Pontiac Grand Am, 2001, ~75,000 miles, 4 door, 4 cyl, pretty basic car. What are your thoughts on this one?
Thank you.
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The text above is a follow-up to ...
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I am looking for a car for my daughter who will turn 16 in two weeks. We are looking into a a 2002 Saturn. Are these good cars? What about their safety?
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Hi Monika,
Can you be more specific? what model saturn... how many miles? price? Some saturn's fare better than others, while all suffer from poor resale and sub par build quality... my personal favorite first car would be a honda civic... or if she wants something sporty looking a 1999+ v6 mustang is a fairly safe choice... Saturn's safety is well ranked for the most part, but it still varies by model... Give me some more details and I'll try to be of more assistance, thanks!
AnswerI am not a fan of pre-2005 saturns or pontiacs - both feel very cheaply built and reliability was at best decent - 75000 miles on a 6 year old domestic is about the time when stuff starts breaking... so avoid that one... the saturn would rank higher to me than the pontiac by car with the lower miles... Try looking at honda preludes, civics, acura integras, miata's, etc... when it comes to getting higher mileage cars I cannot stress how much better off people are with getting imports (with a few exceptions)... The resale will be stronger with any of those cars as well - that saturn is listed at 10,000 with under 50,000 miles... my 14 year old mustang is worth about 5,000 with 130000 miles... why is the saturn so cheap already? because of everything I already said.. poor quality and reliability...
I am sure either car will get her through highschool and maybe some of college with only minor problems... but at the same time a different model import will yield fewer problems. and when you daughter decides she wants a newer car.. she will get alot more for it... just something to think about...
If you choose to persue the saturn, take the people down.. way down... those cars aren't selling well and never did, they should be flexible beyond NADA or bluebook - or atleast close, I'd offer them 8500 or so... just to see - if its been for sale a while they might just bite. The worse they will do is say no...
My vehicle approximations:
Saturn -
Reliabilty 5/10
Build Quality 5/10
Resale Value 4/10
Pontiac -
Reliability 3/10 (too many miles)
Build Quality 5/10
Resale 6/10
Conclusion:
Check out some other recommended models first... and if all else fails the saturn will be the best bet if you get a decent price.
I know you probably like the cars, and your daughter may as well, but from a mechanical/economical standpoint bother vehicles are inferior to their competition.
Some suggested models: Honda (prelude, civic, accord, del sol), Acura (Integra, RSX), Ford (mustang), Chevy (Camaro), Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Celica, MR2/MR-S), VW (Jetta, Beetle), Mitsubishi (Eclipse yr 2000-2005), Mazda (6, 3, Miata)
As I said your best bet of the 2 will be the saturn, but please check out some of the cars I listed... you will probably be able to feel the difference in quality just by sitting in it. Good luck and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. Thanks!
