Scotty I have a 2007 Saturn Aura with 70k miles, it had the 3.5L V6 by GM which I have heard they are bad engines. But this is the car I’m getting and I enjoy it. Is it any good, what can I do to keep it as long as possible?
That is Saturn's version of the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. Those are cars that you should only buy if you are able to get them dirt cheap. They are not known for longevity but if you want to make them last as long as possible baby them.
Its free so there ya go lol
You are getting it for free? Well in that case don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Baby it and see how long you can make it last. But I wouldn't sink much money into it either so if something major goes just scrap it at that point.
I bought mine with 107,000 and now has 125,000. I have done basic maintenance, including oil changes, spark plugs, alternator, battery. I previously owned an sl2 2001 and put over 20k before it was wrecked… that car was a tank, and was built pretty well. It was very cheap to maintain. It is easy to see the decline in GM quality over the years, but the Aura is a decent car as long as previous owners took good care of it.
You got it for free, you like it....that doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. Sure, they aren't good cars....pretty much AT ALL....but you paid nothing, so you have nothing to lose.
My advice would be maintain it well, treat it nice, and see how far she goes. It is lower mileage than most, so maybe it will go for a while.
What @zach-p said. Saturn started as a GM division intended to appeal to buyers who were turned off by GM’s other brands. GM was starting to get a reputation at the time for poor quality, largely due to their sclerotic unionized labor force (and, no, that wasn’t the only reason). As I recall, the Saturn plant was nonunion at first.
Over time, Saturn morphed into just another low end GM brand, somewhere between Chevy and Oldsmobile. The Aura was on the spectrum.
By the way, it’s not a bad looking sedan.
Even the last saturns that were produced, with proper maintenance from day 1, they can be reliable cars. Any car w/o consistent fluid changes will deteriorate.
The tricky part is finding them in good condition because they are discontinued. And the latest models are at-least 13 years old. By now, most of the saturns left have run their paces, and have plenty of mileage behind them. Would purchasing a Saturn in 2022 be smart? No. Would it have been smart 5-30 years ago? Yes. I think this is why many people dislike Saturn. I think people forgot about the legacy of Saturn, and only see the shitty, rusty, old cars currently available. Saturn is dead, I hate to see the saturns slowly disappear, as I have owned 2. I loved my 2001 SL2 (even though it was slow) and I love my 2008 Aura. I can agree with a clear decrease in quality control. But it’s unfair to say that saturns are awful. As they are all old and ran threw like your grandmas.