The first car I owned was a '95 Saturn SL1. It was a beauty... well, not really. But I did hit a golf ball into the door and there was no dent.

I was thinking about my latest Saturn (I've had three total) and naturally began comparing it to my MINI. Of course the MINI is vastly superior in performance but when I began thinking about reliability I started to compare what I have had to fix on both vehicles and was quite surprised.

Let's have a breakdown shall we?
This is my '96 Saturn SC2 (my last and longest kept Saturn) repairs compared to my '06 MINI R53 repairs.
Suspension:
MINI - Control arm bushings shot, replaced with Powerflex bushings, strut tops replaced, struts bad.
Saturn - Control arm bushings shot, replaced with Powerflex bushings, struts and strut mounts bad, not replaced.
Under the Hood:
MINI - Replaced belt tensioner, coil pack, top engine mount. Need to fix oil pan seal and lower engine mount (passenger side).
Saturn - Replaced belt tensioner, coil pack, top and lower passenger engine mounts, and oil pan seal.
Drivetrain:
MINI - Replaced clutch hydraulic master cylinder, driver side axle seal replaced.
Saturn - Replaced clutch hydraulic system (all one unit), replaced driver side axle because of torn boot.
Exhaust: (this one is funny)
MINI - Exhaust broke at catalytic converter as I parked at work. Replaced header/cat.
Saturn - Exhaust broke at center resonator as I parked at a store. Replaced entire exhaust. ($240=win)
Other issues (not necessarily resolved):
MINI - Noisy cabin, headliner sagging, clutch groaning noise, exterior clear coat coming off, AC condensor fan failed.
Saturn - Noisy cabin, headliner came off, clutch chatter issues, exterior clear coat problems, leaking heater core, AC compressor failed, alternator replaced.

So that's about it. It's quite astonishing the similarities between the two. I've had the MINI almost as long as the Saturn SC2 now. The clutch groaning noises are concerning me a bit.
Hope you found this at least mildly entertaining.

On the plus side the Saturn got around 36mpg avg. I also had a WB02 setup in there with an Apexi SAFC2, a full CAI and exhaust system, oh and a ported/polished cylinder head. It was actually quite fun to drive.

 

Interesting

 

Sent from me being awesome around my MINI!!

 

@Porthos - LOL! Yeah, the Saturn was dirt cheap to repair in comparison and sooo easy to work on.

 

I rather push a MINI vs. drive a Saturn.

I think Saturn is the official car of meth.

 

Car ownership.....
Crap wears out...especially when pushed hard....
I wonder if it is the DRIVER or the car...

 

Yeah, a couple things might be driver related (suspension especially). But there are some odd similarities in there nonetheless.

I bought the Saturn for $650 (135k miles) and sold it about 4 years later for $1k with about 185k miles. It was still running like a champion... I did replace the cylinder head with the timing chain system but it wasn't necessary.

 

I think Saturn was decent. I would rather own a Saturn than a Buick. I think GM killed the wrong to brands (Saturn and Pontiac). They should have killed Buick and GMC. They are normally garabge because look at the average owner. They car nothing about cars and precede to just rape the car into the ground because they are either to ignorant or just completly just ****ing stupid.

 

I've had 2 Saturn Sc's (97 SC1 and 98SC2) And I loved them! First one was totaled when I was T-boned. The other I traded for my First MINI! Aside from the MINI's I absolutely loved my Saturns. Old, High milage, and they still looked like new.

 

wife has a saturn vue...we are plenty pleased with it. I feel saturn is a very good brand of car if your like us. One job. One baby....so a low budget. haha

 

Also the way the brand is handled in the market. 1995 i had a Saturn SL manual which was fun enough, but the brand culture was amazing. It was a subculture phenomenon. But that was managed out over time by GM who we're trying to conform the product to the corporate scheme. Ended up rebadging Astras in order to achieve economy of scale etc. etc. again not a horrible product, but not premium either. But the culture was gone. And then the economy dropped out and the corporation gave up on it altogether. I hope BMW knows what it's doing with these next few years for the MINI brand so it avoids that fate.

 

I went from my 2006 Saturn ION Redline to my 08 Cooper. The Saturn was an incredible freak of nature car and I loved it, but this Mini has been incredibly reliable and leaves me smiling every day. I can't say that for the Saturn, although it was a very fast car that gave me incredible satisfaction. A Jeep Cherokee, decided it was time for me to find a new car...

 

Yeah I think GM should have kept their greedy hands out of everything. IMO Saturn was dead when they killed off the S-Series. The Saturn Sky in Midnight Blue is a thing of beauty though.

@Th3Stig - I'm with you on the BMW comment. I got really worried with the Maxi-mini (countryman). It's bigger than most normal cars out today. My wife calls it that and I shake my head everytime I see the gargantuan mini.
I do think they saved their ***** with the new Cooper coupe design. Absolutely beautiful.

 

And exactly how is the Countryman "bigger than most normal cars out today"? It's pretty much the same size as a VW Golf, which is itself a small car. It's hardly "gargantuan" and happens to be one of the top selling models, unlike the coupe (which I agree is very nice). It's enough with this "Real MINI vs. not" BS already. Every model serves a purpose, and while we may not like them all, don't p@$$ on those who do like them.

 

My '92 Saturn was problem-free until my daughter's friend sideswiped a tree with it. And even then it was not so bad: I replaced side/door panels in a couple hours with just a wrench, and she looked like new

 

Have you all driven a MINI coupe? The things are dangerous! You can't see anything out the back... If you really are going to have that limited visibility, I'd rather have the roadster...lol

IMO, Saturn was fair idea, that was totally botched by GM. Let's see, we have Chevy, Cadilliac, Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Holden, Vauxhaul... Yea, we need another brand, that will really challenge our design, engineering capacities, and management philosophy,,, Yea, that's a good idea. lol

 

My '93 SC2 was this way too. When the mileage got up there, I had to do the timing chain/starter/alternator replacement that is common to almost all cars, but that was it. Otherwise, the car was very reliable. I loved the plastic body panels and used to love the reaction of people who asked about them when I would give the car a whack and there was no damage at all.

They also had a similar culture to MINI with the buying experience. I remember you couldn't negotiate (obviously we can with MINI). You just paid the sticker price. When you took delivery, the car was parked in the showroom because they believed everyone should have the experience of driving a car off the showroom floor at least once in their life. They had "family reunions" at the factory in Spring Hill, TN and local reunions around the country. Definitely an interesting model. I also agree that GM was wrong to kill off the brand.

 

Pardon me, I meant no offense. I haven't been in on any "real mini vs not" threads either so I didn't know there was an apparent flame war going on. Definitely not "p@$$"ing on any owners. Please try not to misunderstand. I'm guessing you've had to defend yourself here and there and you definitely shouldn't have to.
For an SUV I think it is quite mini. But it does at least APPEAR bigger than small cars out there such as the Mazda2, Ford Fiesta, etc. It fits well in the modern sedan class I think. I'll stick with the Mini-SUV label. And I do understand WHY it's the best selling model.
Again, my apologies if I stepped on anyone's toes.

 

I loved the Saturn culture. Was a member on the SaturnFans forum for a long time and met a great friend there. I think that's why I went with MINI because I felt like there would be a similiar car culture there. I do feel like that culture is going away though. When I bought my car, I would beep and flash at other MINIs I happened to see and they would wave back. Now, it just doesn't happen... ever. I don't even get a wave from an Chili Red R53 owner with an Aero kit. C'mon now... Sad. :(
In fact, the last enthusiastic wave I got was from two old men in a classic MINI.

 

A couple more positive touches:

When I took delivery of my Saturn, the sales guy had a picture taken of me with my car. When I returned for service, there was my photo on the wall in his cubicle.

When I went in to pick up my car after a service visit, the Saturn sat in a clean showroom ambiance, and there was a guy in a sport coat, sweeping the floor of my car with a whiskbroom.

Also, it didn't hurt that I felt like a good guy, buying a car without haggling, from a company that respected its associates.

(I know, I know. It's all P.R., but it was great P.R. We all love to feel like smart people being respected and doing the right thing. And a company that feeds our egos feeds itself.) But then GM starved it