I am looking to buy my 17 year old daughter a car and in my search I have found a 2003 Saturn Ion 3 with only 10,000 original miles. It has been garage kept and it is in excellent condition. I have the CarFax report and there has never been any accidents or other reported damage. I also checked with a local GM dealer who pulled a service record and they had all routine service and maint done at the Saturn dealer. I looked at it, drove, and am leaning towards buying it, but I have questions. Anyone have any history of knowledge of this car, I have never owned a Saturn. Also, since they are no longer in business, what would the future hold for finding Saturn parts?

Delta was General Motors' compact front-wheel drive automobile and crossover SUV platform, a successor to the GM T platform; it also replaced GM J platform and the Z platform used by the Saturn S-Series. The platform debuted in the 2003 Saturn Ion. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the symbol "A" in the fourth digit of their VINs. The architecture was developed by Opel in Germany.

The Volkswagen Jetta is said to have been the target for the design group. Delta uses an independent suspension in front and torsion bar type in the rear. The Ecotec Family II engine is widely used, as are a 4-speed automatic and 5-speed manual transmission.


Current and former vehicles based on this platform:

    * 2003–2007 Saturn Ion
    * 2004–2009 Opel Astra
    * 2004–2011 Opel Zafira
    * 2005–2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
    * 2005–2009 Pontiac G5/G4/Pursuit
    * 2006–2011 Chevrolet HHR

According to what info I have the Saturn Ion for that year is not in the worst vehicles.  The Saturn Ion 06 is, however.

Possible trouble spots are:  Minor transmission problems, electrical issues 03, 04, 05, suspension 03, 04,   Just going by the black dots...  Funny enough the Ion for 06 has fairly decent marks in the repair frequency yet it is not rated highly as a used car.

Look here for reliability ratings and possible trouble spots...  http://www.edmunds.com/saturn/ion/2003/reliability.html

With all that being said and that low a mileage and if you can get a good price I think for a first car it shouldn't be a bad deal.  Although, the car is about 8 years old so you may wind up with issues associated with a vehicle that sits a long time without running such as seals (AC in particular) and the rubber suspension bits being brittle.  Could also have some fuel related problems sitting that long.  You didn't find this in Pasadena did you?  I'd also change out every bit of the fluids in it.

Our 2000 Saturn has been a great car 170,000 mikes and still gets 30 mpg. Runs great burns a little oil in 3k but its no youngster. No major repairs just normal wear parts [brakes fluid changes and an alternator.   One of the most reliable cars we've owned

A lot of people that have RV's use Saturns as tow vehicles. As with any vehicle you will find some that have problems and some that do not.  Parts shouldn't be a problem, I would check all rubber parts, seals, and such for leaks,  with only 10,000 miles and that old they can dry and crack.
Take it to a dealer and have them check it out, it will be worth the cost  in the long run.

My wife has a 2001 SC2 that she loves.  It's a fun little car, but uncomfortable if you're 6'1".  Not enough leg room.  Though the Ion is the next generation of Saturn, so it is probably better.

Only issues I've had with it are:

• A broken front spring, which shredded the tire.  Fortunately this happened while pulling out of a driveway and not while going down the road. 
• Wouldn't pass inspection.  No codes in the computer, but it wouldn't do all the self-tests required for an inspection here in NY.  Turned out the temp sensor was bad, (common problem apparently) so the car never knew it was at operating temp.  (Was also difficult to start when warm)  New sensor ($11) and all was well.
• A few other minor issues but they're specific to my car.  (Little things the wife keeps nagging me to fix...)

CarFax-not worth the paper it's printed on. If it's not reported to carfax, it's not on the report.
In fact, I had a truck of which CarFax said had never been a corporate or leased vehicle. First owner was a company in New England. Second owner was my employer who leased it through Enterprise and I bought it from them. Also said no body damage...I wonder how that dent got in the R quarter?

My boss had an early Saturn and it spent more time in the shop than out. And the Saturns used as tow behinds were also the early models, which had an option for that. That option was discontinued on the newer models.

If the price is right, buy it, GM has to keep providing parts for them for a while.

Wish I coud help you, as I DO drive a Saturn every day as a commuter, a '99 SW2 (wagon, dohc 1.9 5-spd), but it's absolutely nothing like the '03 you are looking at...all I can tell you is that this SW2 has 180,000 miles on it, I drive 100 miles a day (when I don't take the Concours for whatever reason) and would buy another Saturn from the same era in a heartbeat...this wagon weighs 2500 lbs. WITH ME IN IT....a very light smaller auto that still gets an average (highway/city) of 34 mpg. The 127 horses in the dohc doesn't sound like very much, but when coupled with the light weight and some pretty aggressive lower gearing until you get to 5th gear over-drive, it makes for a really spirited ride, believe it or not....

Some to the four cylinder Saturns had issues with timing chains. One of friends had issues with his. If you google Saturn timing chain issues you can find more info. Here is one link discussing the problem.

http://www.topix.com/forum/state/nc/T7FEOD6MENJBK4OGA/p2