Tips on Buying Cars: buying a saturn, automatic transmisson, saturn sl


Question
Hey Jeff, my name is Matt and I have recently been thinking about buying a used car.  It is a 1998 Saturn SL with an automatic transmisson. I noticed that the mileage was at 141,000 and the selling price was around $4,900.  I was just wondering if this is a fair price or if Saturns can really hold up after 100,000 miles.

Answer
Saturns from the 90's do hold up very well; I see them all the time with 150,000-200,000 miles.  They're reliable and relatively cheap to repair.  But that price- $4900?!  The highest value I can find for a loaded '98 SL2 (the top model) in near-perfect condition is about $2700.  Is this a dealer or private owner selling the car?