- Hello Scotty. I am considering buying a 2002 Saturn SC2 with less than 50k miles. So you know of any issues with those style cars? Good for a 1st time driver?
Everything is a possible issue on those. I'd recommend a more reliable car like a Civic or Corolla.
My wife had a SL2 (2002-12), a cousin with a bit smaller engine, and it was a bit more spartan than the SC2. Having said that, they share a lot of general GM components.
By this date (2002), the Saturn experiment had been totally colonized by GM's central services. The result: The car is on the low end of mediocre, even the coupe is slow. Our transmission self-destructed at 100K, and there were other problems developing. To be frank, several decent diagnostic shops did not want to work on it, citing multiple emerging issues and the overall quality of the vehicle. My wife ended up with a Honda Fit, a massive upgrade in quality.
It's not a terrible, terrible car, but, it's no Civic or Corolla. You'll have to really baby it, to get any real endurance out of it. Start with the transmission.
IMHO, it should go for no more than $1500, tops, provided that there are no major component problems.
And get the thing checked out, thoroughly, by a mechanic, before you lay down a cent.
