You lucked out somewhat as Saturns are known for problems.

The saturn sl1 series are horrible but the sl2's are great cars mine is a 2001 and at 175,000 miles and going strong with a 40MPG calculated every time I fill up. Here is the deal though with saturns you HAVE to keep the maintence on them if you dont you will be sorry!! I have a 5 speed and love it.

I knew someone that had a saturn on one original engine and sold it 3 times for $200 each time and people kept giving it back to him because they bought a newer car. This car finally passed away at 460,000+ miles

My dad had a saturn that he took really good care of and the odometer completely rolled back to 0 miles. Thats 1,000,000 miles on a car. Plus he sold it for $1,000 and its still on the road

I have a 94 SL2 and it rules. I took it across the country twice (Seattle to Boston and back), down to California and back and just generally across WA state a lot. It now has 180,000 miles on it and is still going strong. I had to replace the alternator after it died and that's it. It gets awesome gas mileage. I love this car. I don't know what I'm gonna do if it ever dies :).

I have a 97 Saturn SL-2. Still going strong. Tires lasted forever....

My father has a 1997 Saturn SL2 with well over 140,000 miles on it. It still has the original engine and transmission...and both run fine...although it tends to run just a little rough when it's warmed up....that and it burns oil every few thousand miles, but what do you expect for an older car? I should also mention that this car was once garaged, but my parents no longer have room for it in their garage. With that being said, here is what has been done maintenance wise ever since it was purchased new off the lot: Replacement tires (twice, but not in a short period of time) Regular oil changes (including topping it off when some of the oil is unintentionally burned) Radiator was replaced sometime last year, along with new hoses Water pump was replaced as well Car horn failed twice...will be getting that replaced soon Windshield wipers were replaced twice The radio knob has been replaced twice, only for it to fall off again a few months later. The optional sunroof has also been serviced a couple of times for not closing properly. It has since been repaired, but sometimes still sticks when you try to close it. The front two windows have been serviced after the window motors failed. The driver window motor is starting to show some wear again. The heater core was replaced. Not long after that, the A/C stopped working and probably needs a recharge of freon in order to pump out cold air again. Have replaced the muffler/exhaust a few times as well. Rust corrosion is noticeable on the inside of the doors (especially on the right rear of the vehicle), but despite its age, the outside of the vehicle remains in impressive shape. Corrosion is also visible on the aluminum wheels, too, but they still aren't too bad. The typical GM ignition switch in this vehicle is sometimes hard to maneuver, too...but GM wants $1,000 to fix it. To this day, my father refuses to pay that much money for something that should've been put on GM's long list of recalls for this issue...can't say that I blame him there. Despite what I have just listed, my father's Saturn SL2 has to be one of the most solid and reliable cars that I have ever rode in and driven. It not only runs well, but it also handles the road impressively. It's even great in the snow, too! With that being said, I hope to have this car in the family for at least another 100,000 miles! Due to this car's good reputation, however, it wouldn't surprise me if this car went even further than that!