I bought my 1994 saturn SL1 in 1996, intending solely to drive it until the new beetle became available. I still have it in 2005, so you can see my plans changed.

this was mostly because my poor saturn suffered 4 cosmetic injuries in the first 2 years i owned it.

The first was a collision with my car standing still and a small pick up truck colliding at a 90 degree angle with the passenger side front wheel at about 5 MPH. There was no visible damage to the car except for the plastic wheelcover being cracked. The front fender merely was pushed in and bounced right back! I think it had a scratch which was removed with some household cleaner. I never got anything fixed, and have never had any problems with alignment.

I had a friend with me when I was in that accident who is a mechanic, who loudly proclaimed that that made him a "Saturn believer". he said if we were in a BMW or an Audi we wouldn't have been able to drive home(about 60 m)
I never had the car fixed after that accident(stupid I know).

Then the windshield was shattered on the freeway by some debris. I was not hurt, insurance covered that one.

A garage door opener fell on the roof of the car leaving 4 little dents which I have never fixed.

Then, I finally destroyed the passenger side front fender in 1999 when I scraped it hard against a carport pole. I drove it with a shattered fender for about a year, now I have a nice primer grey one! I think the fender would have survived if it were'nt for the previous accident.

What I really wanted to say about this car is, that it has been a FANTASTIC investment. Virtually nothing has gone wrong with it, god only knows why because I have beat the CRAP out of it. I have not changed the oil as well as I should...and it is still going strong at 103,000 m.

the only repairs I have had are one alternator replacement(after someone jump started it in 1998), radiator flushed and hoses replaced..serpentine belt at 95,000...nothing else. Oh wait, there was a recall on the seat reclining thingy that I had fixed after Saturn hounded me to death about it. that was free of charge.

I have never even had a headlight go out in the 10 years i've owned it!

The only things I don't like about the car...

I do feel that it is underpowered...however I feel that the fact that the car has been virtually problem free despite the poor care I've taken of it makes up for that! I turn off the AC to merge onto the freeway, big deal! I think it still gets about 30 mpg...not positive.

lack of cupholders kinda sucks...i had one but my boyfriend broke it and I havent gotten it fixed. But whatever.

The only real con I have about this car...I would not buy this body style if you live in a rainy or snowy climate, due to the fact that there is no rain gutter above the doors, so if you open the door in the rain, water falls in on you and the seat. Not enough to soak you, but enough to cause a minor annoyance. I have not had any trouble with leakage, however, it is only when the door is opened. I'm sure later models have improved on that. I live in So Cal, so it's not that much of a problem for me.

Anyway, I am writing this for those of you who may have kids who are in the market for a used car...this car has been one of the best investments Ive made. I intend to drive it 'til it dies, and from the other reviews on this site it looks like me and my saturn will have a few more good years together!
Amount Paid (US$): 12,000?
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1994
Model and Options: SL1 5 spd manual trans