I bought a '99 Saturn SL1 because I was looking for a 4-door subcompact or compact car with good mileage, good reliability ratings, good handling, fold-down back seats, and under 9K (this was in summer '02). Since I was going to immediately drive the car over 600 miles, I wanted something with a warrantee that I could use anywhere in the US, and that lasted more than the 3-day or 1-week ones offered by some dealers. That meant looking at certified used vehicles.

ADVANTAGES:
Saturn prides themselves on a "friendly" car-buying experience, and I found it pleasant. They had the CarFax on every used car right there to look at (other dealers told me I could run it if I wanted, but they wouldn't do it, or they'd do it but charge me for it), and they didn't try to pressure me up in price. (One Saturn dealership did point out that I could get a 2002 new Saturn under their current special for not much more per month, but when I said I wasn't interested, they backed off.)

The `99 Saturn SL (1 or 2) is one of the most reliable and safe cars in its class and year, surpassed only by the Civic, which is much pricier. It's also less expensive to ensure than most compacts, due to a combination of good safety ratings and low theft-proneness.

Fold-down rear seats: the trunk on any compact car is on the small side, but the seats on the Saturn fold down, so I can throw skis or small furniture in it.

Plastic-panel sides: don't rust, don't dent easily.

Reasonable back-seat room: the choices Epinions gives me don't quite apply properly, since the SL1 has a larger backseat than most compact cars, fitting normal-sized people adequately. The back-seat and front-seat room is fairly equal.

MIXED BAG (things you either want or don't):
It's fairly small, but not a subcompact. A 5'6" person like myself will fit nicely into the front seats with them all the way back, and there's still room for another person of similar size in the back seat. If you're taller than that, go sit in one for a while, with someone else in the back seat, and make sure you don't feel cramped.

Daytime running lights -- these are supposed to be a good safety feature, but I find them kinda annoying.

My particular car has very nice handling, although another used Saturn (at a non-Saturn dealer) felt somewhat jerky and stiff.

The certified-used stamp gave me a 12mo/12K warrantee on most of the car, and I could have paid to extend it, although I chose not to, since I figured that a lemon should show itself before then.

DISADVANTAGES:
My particular Saturn, after having about 5000 miles put on it by me (bringing it to 23,000), is showing signs of transmission trouble. Not the major jerks other people have noticed, but just a tendency to roll backwards while on a hill when the (automatic) transmission is set to drive.

The SL1 doesn't have that much acceleration, but it has enough to handle well on surface roads and freeways. It just won't satisfy any urges to drive like a secret agent. The SL2 has a slightly bigger engine, but it's still not a sportscar. (I test-drove a few SL2's, and they weren't much peppier.)

Wind noise: I'm not sure if this is due to the body design or just the radio antenna (which sticks straight up, rather than being angled), but there's a lot of wind noise in the SL1 at freeway speeds. Otherwise, the car is very quiet.

It's not especially "sexy". It's somewhat cute, but it's really nothing special in the style department. It's like sensible shoes -- comfortable, laid-back, and unglamourous.

OTHER:

In general, it seems hard to find low-mileage used Saturns -- on average, the Saturns had twice as many miles as the other compact cars I was looking at. I did find two (out of about 30 in the 97-00 year range) that had under 20K miles, and bought one of them. I didn't have any problem finding a huge range of options -- some had the full deluxe package, with power windows/doors, some had sunroofs, and various stereo options. (Tape and CD are optional, and so was a stereo-system with nicer speakers and a graphic equalizer). Some had cruise-control, some didn't. I went with a fairly bare-bones model, so that I could afford a low-mileage '99. I don't know how many of these options can be installed -- ask your local Saturn dealer.
Amount Paid (US$): 9000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1999
Model and Options: SL1