We needed a new car. Actually we needed two ~~ a new family car that holds all seven of us and a new smaller car. The reason we keep a smaller car is because we do A LOT of driving and if we were to do it all in the van, we would never be able to pay for the gas! So, we use the smaller car for errands, shopping, taxing one or two kids to a practice, lessons, youth group, friends house or any other activity that numbers five or less in the car.

Normally, we would not buy two cars in a close time period, but this time, we were given no real choice in the manner! They both were still driveable but suddenly needed to have more money put into them than would have been worth it! So, we decided to start looking for replacements.


SELECTING THE CAR

We had narrowed it down to a Nissan, Mazada (which is the type of Van we ended up with the next week) and Saturn.

The car I had been driving for the last 6 years, and the two before that were all Nissans and so that is where we went first. I didn’t even test drive one because I knew I wasn’t buying one! Nothing really wrong with them but the dealer had a $999. dealer fee added to every new car and a $499 destination charge as well on ALL their cars in the lot! We left and drove to the Saturn lot.

I had researched the cars on the net (and in magazines) and was looking forward to trying one out. From what I had read, they had great customer service, a good warranty and a high safety rating. I was just hoping I would enjoy driving it and I did!

I drove three different cars in the Saturn SL series and knew right away I’d end up with a car from this lot! The man who helped us was very helpful without being pushy at. Since I am the one that drives the smaller car 90% of the time, I was the one making the decision. He listened to what I was looking for and never tried to add or take away anything I was asking for and always talked directly to me, not turning to my husband as the Nissan guy had.


SATURN 2002 SL1

I ended up with a dark green SATURN 2002 SL1 with 6 miles on it. I liked the way it looked and drove then and 3 weeks and 922 miles later, I like it even more!


STANDARD EQUIPMENT

My SATURN 2002 SL1 is an automatic and came with some nice standard equipment. It has an adjustable steering column which is always nice for us tall people so we don’t bump our knees! I am 5’8” and my husband is 6’2” and neither if us hit the keys and/or the steering column once we moved it up.

I also like the front console a lot. It has two cup holders between the front seats as well as one that can be pulled out for the rear seats. This is a really handy little feature that securely holds two cups for those in the back and stores out of site when not in use. The front console also has a place to store your CD’s, another storage place and even a wonderful little spot for my cell phone!

My daughters LOVE the vanity mirror on the passenger side visor and the reclining front seat. The mirror I understand, the older ones can’t pass by any mirror without looking into it but the reclining seat was a surprise to me. But, they do seem to enjoy laying the seat down
and stare out the sun roof! LOL

We’ve already used the fold-down rear seats two times. They fold-down in a 40/60 split and you can fold down either or both sides. I did find out that you really have to SLAM those seats back up to lock them.

Some of the other standard items are power steering, compact radial spare tire, 3 speed intermittent wipers, halogen headlights, headlights on chime, AM/FM radio with 4
speakers and clock, dual exterior mirrors and a large carpeted cargo area with a light. There are other things I will mention in the SAFETY/SECURITY section.


OPTIONS

There are of course many different options and all costing something! We ended up adding five for different reasons.
We added anti lock brakes with traction control solely for the safety factor. It as an upgrade from the front drive power brakes that come as standard equipment. Cost:$495

Also for the safety (and connivance) we added power locks, remote key-less entry and Saturn security system. This allows me to lock and unlock my car doors and trunk (or activate a panic alarm) from up to 30 feet away.

When you walk away from the car you click “lock” on the little remote. This locks all four doors AND turns on the security system. When you come back to the car you press “unlock” once to unlock the drivers seat or twice to unlock the other three doors. If anyone tries to enter the car WITHOUT pressing “unlock” first, the alarm sets off. This is true even if it is you using your own key ~~ if you turn the system ON with the remote, you have to turn it
OFF with the remote as well.

There is also an anti-lockout feature which makes it impossible to lock the keys in your car when they're left in the ignition. Now if they can invent a way to stop it from happening when I put them in my purse and then lock it in the car! Cost: $370.00

We then added the last three items just for fun and enjoyment ~~ air conditioning cost: $960.00, CD player cost: $290.00 and a power sunroof cost:$725.00. Our final cost was $15,055.00. The cost would have been even less had I went with a stick instead of an automatic.


GAS MILEAGE

The sticker says 27 city and 37 highway for the gas mileage and that seems very realistic and even a bit low. I have only filled up 3 times but so far have averaged 37.5 MPG. I am driving down to Oregon in a few days and with all the freeway driving expect to
get even better results.

Washington State has one of the highest gas taxes in the country and so the SATURN SL1’s great gas mileage is a great bonus! again, had I gone with the stick shift, it would have been a bit higher.


SAFETY/SECURITY

This is one of the SATURN S1 high points. I knew before going to the lot that it had scored well in the safety areas.

Most of the safety items come as standard equipment. Probably the most known feature is the side impact door beams and pads. These can take a 40 an hour fastball without a dent and are an extra protection should we be hit from the side.

There are the dual frontal air bags and childproof rear door locks, both items all cars need. Mine are past the age where we need to use the
locks but when they were smaller I would never have trusted them in the back without them!

One handy little feature is the adjustable shoulder belts. You can move your seat belt up or down in height just by moving a little lever located next to where the seat belt comes out. This is really nice if you are tall and it is too low or, if you are shorter and it is too high. It is also helpful when you have a child in the front seat as the seat belt are always too high for them. Since there is an airbag there, no child under 12 should sit in that seat.

Another standard safety feature is daytime running lamps which come on when the engine is started. The ONLY time they do not run is when you switch to the
regular headlights. This little feature alone, not only cuts down on accidents but on insurance cost.

Then there are the two options we added and mentioned above, the anti lock brakes along with the power locks and security system. I like the way you can open just the drivers side via the remote if you are alone whereas on our other car, all four doors unlocked every time.


COMPLAINTS

I would say the ONLY thing we have to complain about is visibility. Although this is not as much a problem for me as it is my husband and it would be even less for someone shorter. A lot of the trouble is the placement of the rear view mirror ~~ it is VERY low and while I am eye to eye with it, my husband is above it. He is adapting to it and has only mentioned it once, it might be something to be aware of if you are tall.

The great thing is that two of my important things ~~ an heater that heats up FAST and good speakers ~~ came standard and have both passed the test!


FINANCING

This was the VERY best part of our deal! We had pre-arranged financing with our credit union for 4.9% and had figured that into the price. When we got to the
SATURN dealer we were told about the 0% financing they were offering on ALL of their cars!

Had this not been offered, we would have still bought the car but may have skipped on either the power sunroof or the air conditioning.

With this option, we financed the entire amount, did not use our car or any cash as a down payment. The approval took just a couple of minutes and we were allowed to pick which of the two financing organizations they use to go with. It was a very quick, painless approval and the 60 month 0% allowed us to have very low monthly payments.



THIS AND THAT

** With this model, you have the choice of black or biegh for the interior. I choose the black.

** It has a 1.9 liter L4 engine.

** Get more information at the SATURN website, www.saturn.com

** The light on the inside turns on when you open the door and then slowly turns off.

** I am not sure if the 0% financing is nation wide.










Amount Paid (US$): 15,055.00
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: SL1 automatic