I don't have time to poke around the Ion forums. Currently my g/f is daily driving her 87 BMW and it is not very practical for living in SF. Her roommate is planning on getting a new car and is willing to sell her 2004 Saturn Ion to my g/f.

I don't know much about newer Saturns. It gets great gas mileage, has very low miles (30k or so) and aside from some normal body damage from being in SF, is in good condition.

There have been issues with respect to the ignition something or other not allowing the car to start but I have replaced those parts and there have been no issues starting since. I've also taken care of some suspension issues.

So...does anyone on AZ have any experience with the Ions? She is asking 3,000 for the car.

 

Not with Ions, but with Saturn in general. I have a friend who has had 3 Saturns, 2 of which have gone past 200k miles with no serious issues. The 3rd is a Sky that doesn't get driven much.

 

I have an 07 Outlook, that I've had for a year and have put 20K miles on so far, and it seems pretty good.

I haven't looked on KBB but $3,000 for an 04 in good condition seems very reasonable, as long as it hasn't been crashed or anything serious has happened to it.

 

I think the 3k is pretty reasonable too. Her roommate just wants to get rid of the car so she can get a newer one. She is giving my gf a break on the price because they are friends. While it is one of the more boring cars to drive it works for the city because gas mileage is good and it is already fucked up regarding bumper scratches and door dings.

 

The Saturn is a basic car and they go for a long time. Curious why a BMW is impractical for living in SF. BMWs are everywhere and they are small and easy to park. Is it the repair bills?

 

It is an M6. No repair bills as I do all the work. It eats gas too.

 

There are two ways you can write this:

My girlfriend wants to get rid of her 23-year-old car for a six year old car. Great!

My girlfriend wants to get rid of her M6 for a Saturn Ion. What?

I guess everyone needs practicality. From what I know, those cars are simple enough that they're reliable enough, but are stupidly slow and basic for their time, except for the Red Line.

Is she keeping the M6 as a weekend wonder or is she getting rid of it?

 

The M6 is a project car, not a daily driver. It makes no sense to drive it daily given the shitty gas mileage, its size, and it being in SF most of the time. It is between buying the Ion or an Integra with 3x the mileage for twice as much.

 

dude, just buy the ion.

 

Seems pretty straight forward. For that little money and low miles, you are good

 

^this

Saturns have always had impressive reliability (especially '91 - 95 SLs). And although GM f*cked up the Saturn brand so bad it killed it, including putting POS single pod center-mounted instrumentation in the Ion, 3-large for a 2004 with only 30K miles is a no-brainer.

 

Just making sure there are not glaring and obvious problems with it...

 

Make sure you Carfox it