Looking at 1997 Saturn SC2

[bromeoSC2]

My old '93 Saturn SC2 got smashed from behind and was totalled about a month ago, which has left me driving my gas-guzzling trans am. I am going to look at a 1997 Saturn SC2 (the newer body style) tomorrow. It has 91K miles, a sunroof, 5 speed, twin cam, etc. I have a pretty good idea about what problems to look for from my experience with my '93 (oil leaks, door/sunroof leaks, heater control, clutch life). Have any of the previous aforementioned problems been improved upon or fixed in the '97 model year, or are there any new problems that I should be looking for? What about service life? My '93 had 121K when it got totalled, and seemed to run just fine except for some oil consumption, which I think was attributed to the valve guides and a "ghost" oil leak. The lady is asking for $3800, is this a good price? I bought my 93 with similar miles for $2000 in 2003.

Any advice/tips would be greatly appreciated, as I am going to look at this car tomorrow.

Ben

[tweekiebear]

As a saturn Technician for the past 8 years, not to mention a Saturn Owner, I would advise you to keep looking. Keeping in mind that 97 was the first year the SC's went through alot of changes, inside and out. There are too many examples to list, But lets just say I don't think I have ever seen a 97 SC with over 100,000 miles that had not had, or needed MAJOR work. 98 was much inproved. That said , the asking price is high for an individual.

[pictureid]

I just bought a 97sl 2 with only 9k, will I expect to have problems as well? Bruce

[Red97sc2]

Originally Posted by tweekiebear

As a saturn Technician for the past 8 years, not to mention a Saturn Owner, I would advise you to keep looking. Keeping in mind that 97 was the first year the SC's went through alot of changes, inside and out. There are too many examples to list, But lets just say I don't think I have ever seen a 97 SC with over 100,000 miles that had not had, or needed MAJOR work. 98 was much inproved. That said , the asking price is high for an individual.

I bought a 97 SC2 back in January with 124k miles on it. Now I have 128,448 miles and I've had to replace the following on it:

Right Rear Caliper
Cam Cover Gasket.

I replaced the following due to my experience with my old 97 SL2:

TAM, Plugs and wires.

Currently I'm going to have a shop do a R&R on the clutch since it is the OEM with the 128k miles on it. I will also be doing a R&R with that Saturn Shifter Bushing kit that I've heard about on here.

Other than that I've only done a I/H/E and that's it. I choose the 97 SC2 because:

A) I had previously owned a 97 SL2 - No real big problems.
B) I already had a Chilton's guide for that model year
C) I've had the experience of working on a 97 Saturn and I didn't want to re-learn yet another car to try and fix.

Oh, FYI: The shop that's doing the clutch is SDA in NY. For a "Clutch and Flywheel Swap" they charge $220 labor - You buy the parts. Well, I'm supplying the clutch, a Valeo, the ATF fluid (Mobil 1 ) and they will probably have a flywheel for me ready to go in. I'm looking at a total cost of about $400. That includes the 4 hour drive there and then 4 hours back home but it's worth it. Two other local shops quoted me $730 inc. flywheel machining and $800, that's for them to do everything, including the parts. I think I got a decent deal out of this plus a small "get away" for my wife and I at Niagara Falls

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by tweekiebear

Keeping in mind that 97 was the first year the SC's went through alot of changes, inside and out.

No. The SC's got the new dashboard in 1995 with the dual airbags and regular seatbelts.

[myoung]

Originally Posted by cdp326

No. The SC's got the new dashboard in 1995 with the dual airbags and regular seatbelts.

Yes but the 97 was the first year of the new body style, on the long wheelbase frame. But the only thing new on the inside were things that couldn't be carried over due to the larger cabin.