I have to admit, when buying this car the one thing that really swayed me other than the price, was the styling.

When I first saw the ION, I thought...WOW! Well, after owning one for about 6 months, that turned into OW!

First off, the vehicle has been in for repairs about 4 times and the service has been poor. Here is a list of the repairs.

HOOD LATCH: The latch on the hood would jam. The mechanic told me this is a common problem. Thanks for the recall info Saturn!

CONTROL ARM: I took the car in twice for this problem. The first time they told me they had to order the part and it would arrive in a few days. Two weeks go by, I call Saturn and the part is sitting there, no call. Turns out, the part was not the control arm so it did not get properly fixed. Took it in 2 weeks later, same deal, part gets delivered but someone lost my number.

The best is Saturn then calls to see how my service went, and when I politely told them of the horrible incident, their answer was they would look into it right away! Big DEAL, how about a free oil change for my aggravation? Then again, they might have to order the oil...I digress.

BRAKES: Brakes had to be re-aligned...OK, maybe if the vehicle was 2 years old, but after 6 months?

Other things I've noticed is that the transmission is sluggish and will sometimes slip back into 4th for a split second when hitting 5th on the highway. The transmission is also quite loud on the downshift, making a loud clunk when coming to a slow coasting stop. This happens on the two IONs I've driven (mine and the courtesy car they loaned me for my many trips to the service bay).
Amount Paid (US$): 12000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: Automatic