Used 2004 Saturn VUE Fwd 4dr SUV (3.5L 6cyl 5A) Consumer Reviews
I must be lucky
I was surprised to read so many negative reviews about the Vue both from owners and the press. Bought new (w/ heavy incentives) for <$20k & owned for 4 years. No service issues at all, other than rear suspension recall. I avg. 20 mpg city & 26-28 mpg hwy. Pros: crisp exterior styling, 17" wheels, roomy/comfortable interior, agile handling, excellent power, dent- resistant polymer panels, great fuel economy, buttery-smooth Honda engine/transmission Cons: cheap-looking interior, wind/road noise, sometimes bouncy ride, a few squeaks & rattles, lots of nooks & crannies make washing a pain All in all, it's been a great car nimble yet roomy, fun-to-drive, and economical.
Wonderful SUV
I bought my 2004 Saturn Vue in 2009. It has been a wonderful vehicle to drive! Always very reliable, roomy, great for hauling and an overall pleasant ride.
- Base 4dr SUVMSRP: $3,976158 mi away
- Base 4dr SUVMSRP: $3,499169 mi away
- Base 4dr SUVMSRP: $4,192195 mi away
Exceptional value
We purchased this used car while looking for a used minivan and just could not bring ourselves to admit we were in that stage of our life. So, Saturn Vue to the rescue. We really like this car and with the addition of the best tires we coud get, this car has met all of our needs. It drives great and compares nicely to minivans. The 3.5L V6 is very impressive and does good at the pump for an SUV. 20 to 24 in mixed driving. got 28 once on a long interstate only trip. Hit a deer once and was very happy my famly was in this car. Damage was one headlight to replace. What a relief! Safety and value. Seems to perform better than SUVs and minivans in its price range, without giving up much.
Gotta love this car
mom bought this car two years old with 26000 miles on it. it now has 105000 on it and still runs great. since she has given it to me and the only thing i ever have to do with it is put gas in it, and it really does pretty well around town on gas (26ish) since we have owned it she has had to put breaks on it and new tires. thats it :) overall a great car, good job saturn
Great value and performance!
Bought the VUE for its utility and it hasn't let me down. With the back seats and front passenger seat folded down I can haul the equipment for my entire band! Have had the truck for almost a year and put about 20K miles on it and haven't had a single problem. Has made multiple trips Wisconsin-South Florida with no problems. Averages about 20mpg in the city and around 25-26mpg highway. The VUE is also great for towing, I pull a 1500 pound fishing boat with it and the VUE takes it all in stride.
Great Vue
This vehicle blends performance, style, and great gas mileage. We easily exceed EPA mpg figures with 'realistic' driving patterns. This car is great for long distance trips, and is the most comfortable and enjoyable-to-drive vehicle I have owned to date.
Can't Be Beat for $25K
Coming from a Toyota Seinna and after looking at many cars and reading about them on Edmunds, the VUE was a "dark horse". But with the updated interior and 250HP V6 for 2004, it became clear that this vehicle is really fun to drive and easy on the pocket book. With comfy leather seats, moonroof, MP3 player, great gas mileage (so far 26MPG),great reliability for this drivetrain and excellent safety ratings, this makes for a GREAT vehicle.
Excellent car for the money
We drive our Vue regularly in the West Virginia mountains and enjoy the power the Honda engine provides. Gas mileage is great on the road (26 mpg) and good around town (20 mpg). I've had the most trouble with sunroof leaking but keeping the drain lines cleaned out seems to have solved that problem. Replaced right wheel bearing around 35K and the radio and tires just this year. I've really liked this car, the size is perfect. We got the side air bags. I hope to keep it for many more years. It still looks and runs like new.
The Honda engine is great
I really like the way my VUE accelerates. The 250hp V6 Honda engine makes it by far the best Saturn I've owned (the VUE is my third Saturn). It's exactly what I wanted: nice styling, great pick-up when you step on the gas, and a good value. Oh yeah, smooth ride too.
2004 Vue with the Honda V6 is a good car
I bought this car used for my kids to drive. It was loaded with all bells a whistles. It had 100k miles on it when we got it. We have driven it for 5+ years now. Had to do some normal maintenance, belts, brakes, couple things. It now has 152,000 on it. So I had a bit of a decision to make now. It needed lots of work, primarily new brake pads, and drums, rear shocks mainly from rust, had to repair front wheel well frame from rust etc. couple other minor things to pass inspection. Bottom line it was about $1200 of work. That's what you get with a 13 year old car in the northeast. My guy says that it actually in good shape mechanically and is pretty solid to go after the repairs. So I did it. Its a fun car to drive and hey it would cost me a lot more to buy another used car. I know what has been done and whats been put into it and with the Honda engine, drive train and tranny I am betting on over 200k. It is has its noises and rattles but it is a good car. Hopefully the $1200 spent keeps it going strong.
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Great SUV!
Wouldn't change a thing, hang on...this baby is loaded with torque!
So far so good
I bought my Vue new in 2004 and now have 102,000 miles - almost exclusively highway miles. Overall, I am satisfied with the vehicle. Engine is fantastic - nice power and mileage. I have not had any significant maintenance expenses until recently. My biggest complaint are the brakes - really bad front pulsations that require the rotors to be refinished every 12K miles. Just replaced front stab bar links (very creaky) and right rear wheel bearing/hub assembly - it was producing very loud road noise. I plan on keeping this vehicle as long as I can and so far it has been a nice car. I just wish I knew of a better front brake combination than OEM parts.
Diamond in the rough- best car one could ever own!
Went over 100k miles before ever changing a light bulb! Car is over 19 years old, second time owner, owned for last 16 years... initially bought with 11k miles. No major repairs except for A/C.... went out in 2017, replacement air compressor sucked, went out less then a year (stick to GM replacement parts- worth the extra bucks). Ive been told by my local mechanic the engine is quiter and smoother than a new lexus off the lot. Been in a few bender accidents and restores well. She continues to run like a champ! Real sad they were discontinued such a reliable car. No recalls other than ignition issue (big deal so you can remove the key from ignition when its running). Many new cars have major recall issues from air bags to engines catching fire. Im stoked to learn some of vues hit 300k miles or more. To this day, many are on the road and still going strong!! If you get a chance to pick up a well maintained vue with low miles between 2004 and 2007, its a great investment. My car looks a third of its age both inside and out. Nearing 20 years old, joined the 140k club, and car still doing great!
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yes...
maybe I got lucky. 200,000 miles with little to no repair above expected. cosmetically, it blows. poor drainage design. lots of moisture inside. noisy. however, solid vehicle. good return on investment. engine solid and it gets you to work. 15 years and counting.
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New Saturn VUE is a blast!
Very fun to drive! Nice contemporary leather interior and powerful enough to get us up to our mountain home. The steering system seems great to me - in fact the first thing I noticed was how easy it was to steer. Very easy and pleasant to drive overall.
Best One Out There
04 FWD V6, We wanted something more reliable than our "ol' sludger", Toyota Sienna. We stumbled upon the 04 VUE and really liked it. Plenty of space for a "small" SUV--this looks much more like a mid-size SUV, extremely quick with the Honda 3.5L V6 engine. The redesigned dash is much more appealing and doesn't look like the old S-Series any longer. Plenty of leg room! Can't be beat for a $23K price tag, $25K with leater, moonroof, power seats and MP3 player. The Higlander was too much money and the Escape costs too much to fix the brakes (read other posts here at Edmunds). Good gas milage for a big powerful V6, 25MPG.
Saturn Vue Arrives
The 2004 Saturn Vue is not to be missed! There is quite a difference between the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder engines. The 6 cylinder is an entirely different car! With the 250 horsepower, you feel that you can go anywhere and do anything. The ride is smooth, quiet and enjoyable. Tune-ups are not required for 100,000 miles and the warranty is bumper to bumper. There are no tricks or gimmicks with Saturn and I absolutely love my VUE!
2004 Vue is Excellent!!
After test driving many vehicles, including the Ford Escape and the Nissan Xterra, I bought my VUE. This car, although I only have had it less than a month, is awesome. It has excellent power - 6.5 seconds for 0-60. As well, the interior is very easy to fall in love with and has made marked improvements from 2003 (which I test drove as well and decided to wait). The new material has really made the ride smooth and QUIET - even under hard accelleration.
Engineering Defect
I purchase this vehicle on 9-26-03 and it will be repurchase by the manufactureer this week. The vehicle has an engineering defect in the front suspension. It is not "life threatening" so they will not recall the vehicle. I have owned it less than 3 months and it has been in the shop 21 days. There is not a fix at this time for the problem.
My white truck
Great power, terrible steering, especially when towing my boat.Love the plastic body panels, wipe off the scratches and no dents. Interior cheap looking. Waiting for my recall to fix the supension. Don't make sharp left turns over 35 mph it may damage frame. Recall should fix that.
Saturn VUE V6 Amazing value
What drew me to Saturn originally and made me come back is the amazing quality and consistency of customer service. The few times I have had any issues, I have had them resolved quickly and cordially, and this is true regardless of dealership. This, combined with the terrific styling, size, power, fuel consumption and price of this vehicle make me a head-over- heels happy owner. The only thing that is slightly below-par is the quality of interior items. The fit and finish as the car reviewers would call it. There is a lot of lightweight plastic in the interior. I'm sure the amount of plastic helps lower the price, and raise the fuel economy and performance (due to lighter weight).
Always been a GM buyer
I have always been a GM buyer, but the prices on Chevy and Pontiacs were a shock! I had heard about Saturns but didn't never looked at them. One Sunday I managed to get my husband to drive on to a Saturn lot and we were suprised at all the features you could get at an up front price. When we went into the showroom we couldn't believe it when they handed us a price sheet and we could basically build our own car! All the prices were in front of you! When we picked up the car it was an expirence never before felt with any other car purchase. I have 4 kids and their first cars will all be Saturns!
Good for the Money!
Nice size for kids. Good performance & reliabilty with the Honda V6. Handling is so so and interior dash is not much to look at (very plasticly) Overall, a good value.
2004 Saturn vue
Very surprised of how solid this vehicle is built. It performs well in town and on the open highway. Very versitle and comfortable.
BEST MOVE BY GM
BEST MIDSIZE SUV ON THE ROAD. GM HAS INSTALLED A 3.0 HONDA ENGINE IN THE 6 CYL VUE, WOW DOES IT MOVE!!VERY SMOOTH AND ALOT OG GET UP AND GO. WHAT A GREAT MOVE TEAMING UP WITH HONDA...
2004 Saturn Vue
This is our first Saturn. We were Previously owners of a Mercury Mountaineer but were sold on the 2004 Saturn Vue. Why? Styling is beautiful, gas mileage is MUCH better than our Mountaineer,and we loved the safety features of the Vue. Our new son and his car seat fit well in the middle of the back seat. The cargo area is fabulous with a special compartment to hold groceries and water. We also put our kayaks on the roof with our Yakima kit and the vue handles that well.
my little Vue
i love it.. it cute and compact and easy to get in and out of..serves its purpose.
Good Choice
Prior SUV rode like a truck. The Saturn has the room and comfort with the ride of a sedan. Looked at small SUV's for a year and decided on the Vue.
More Fun Per Dollar
My VUE is what a car should be, practical, economica and reliable. For under 25,000 I have V6 power, leather, heated seats, sun roof, 25 miles to the gallon and great dealer suppor. I am a new Saturn customer who likes what they got for the money!
Great Drivetrain, So So Everything Else!
We came for the Honda V6 and no haggle pricing. We got a decent CUV for $19,700 out the door and headed straight to the shop for a GPS and leather seats. A/C died 3 times until they finally replaced the leaky compressor. Brake rotors rusted on the inboard side. Ignition switch is shot. Keys falls out. Suspension squeaks when it shouldn't. I work on cars for a hobby/profession so we'll keep her around but be prepared for those unexpected trim and other weak systems like the suspension design to chase your nickels and dimes. I'd still buy the car all over again! All cars have their issues!
My Honda Vue
I was a little concerned that a Saturn dealer was putting dealer add ons to these vehicles it seemed out of character adding options you wouldn't want.I love the Honda powertrain same as in my Odyssey.I have had trouble with the reception on FM as well as AM they reconnected the antenna still no improvement taking it back again soon.
After six months
After six months of mixed highway and city driving, we have come to appreciate this vehicle tremendously. Lots of room and flexibility for hauling stuff or people. Unusually high gas mileage for this type of vehicle -- averaging now about 24 mpg in mixed driving for us. (Started out much lower for the same type of driving -- have a little patience.)
Fine ergonomics
The engine and trans work smoothly and all the switchgear is easily located for a right hander. I have first hand knowledge of the benefits of the exterior plastic skin, which again, was very appealing. But the extensive use of cheap looking materials on the interior, turned me off all together, so I didn't buy this product.
Not totally convinced ...
Having owned my Vue now for over six months I am not totally conviced it was the best decision. The starter does not turn over as quickly as it should and the rattles in the front end are non stop and quite annoying. The cheap interior plastic does not hold up very well to every day wear and tear. Small scratches when removing items from vehicle often leave deep gouge marks in cheap plastic interior. The most recent recall for an overhaul of the rear supsension has left me wondering if I made the right choice when purchasing this vehicle. I guess you get what you pay for ... in this SUV segment of the market I didn't pay much.
Saturn Vue Redline Model
I purchased the saturn vue redline. I love the exterior of the vehicle and the drive. It handles well on the highway. Though the noise level was a problem at times. Hopefully the designers will work on these things for the next model. Overall I do love my saturn.
Surprisingly Fun
Our first SUV, the VUE V-6 has more pep and agility than our previous larger car. The exterior fit 'n finish continues to make it look show-room new without much upkeep. Didn't use the rear fold-up parcel-carrying feature at first but now find it very useful in carrying grocieries without them spilling around when driving. Wish the front and rear seats were a little more comfortable. After two years and 20,000 miles vehicle stills looks like new and has never needed any dealer repair or adjustments..
my 6th saturn
if they make a bigger saturn with the ratio value of the previous ones i do not want to try any other car.
My Saturn (VUE)
This may sound silly, but I really don't like the styling of my VUE. I bought it due to the large doors and my wife is a total care person, I must lift her in and out of the Saturn. Orange peel paint. Slopping steering. Maybe I will get used to it? (the steering)
its under rated
i like the car very much however, there is room for improvment as i will outline in the improvements to be made
2004 VUE Redline
Just bought it a couple months ago and really liked the styling before I drove it. When I took it out for the first drive I was surprise at the "heaviness" of the vehicle. It was a lot more substantial than I thought it would be and I was pleasantly surprised. Even my buddies, who are pretty harsh critics (the know-it-all type when it comes to cars), really like my ride. Gas mileage is a great surprise for an SUV - I get about 23/gln just in everyday driving (my buddies Xterra only gets about 15).
My retirement vehicle
I'm an old fart moving south for retirement. Didn't like any of the colors offered so settled on white. It actually looks better than I thought and it is easy to keep clean. Was looking at mini vans but decided on the Vue because it had a higher horsepower engine, 5 speed auto, (both by Honda) side curtain air bags, was a bit more compact, and has good towing capacity for my soon to be purchased Aliner camper. Gas mileage was also important and the Vue does come close to the sticker estimate. The Vue could be quieter at highway speeds but considering my previous vehichle was a Lexus LS400 it's no wonder I feel that way.
Very nice vehicle
This is my second Saturn and I have had very good luck with both of them. Nothing fancy but comfortable, reliable and economical. The VUE handles very well and can be towed on all fours behind an RV with the Honda engine. I would buy another without hesitation.
What is with all the noise!
Our Saturn VUE is a good but not a great car. Mileage on highway runs 34 mpg. Engine performance is excellent. Draw backs: Interior is cheap for the money. This is one of the noisiest cars I have ever driven. Have had it at the dealership 2 times, and still has problems. Sounds as though a train is coming in the drivers door. My 2002 F250 diesel Ford is much quieter than this car. And the resale value is horrible. Purchase a car for $24,000 and drive one year and get offered $12,800 for a trade on a new 2005 Vue. This tells me what Saturn thinks of there vehicle. Would not have purchased this car if I knew what it would be worth after a year of driving.
2004 Vue - Transmission Problem???
We purchased a 6 cyl FWD'04 Vue from Saturn of Sunrise.If the Vue performs like the sales reps,then we hit a grandslam,we LOVE the Vue with one exception...the 5-sp auto trans hesitates when it is about to change gears,it seems as if it is not sure what gear it wants to be in.We've brought it back to service.They have test driven it/hooked it up to the computer. They say everything seems normal.However,it is starting to bother us.After driving the Vue for another week we called the dealer and asked if they would drive our Vue for a few days to'feel'the problem.Saturn has been eager to assist.Has anyone else had this type of problem?
This vehicle has surprised me!!
Its been about 11 months now with this SUV. The silky smooth Honda engine and tranny is a must have! I now have 30000 miles on this puppy with absolutely no problems.
a great car
i am amazed at how great this car is, no problems at all. go to the dealer for oil changes and tire rotations only.
I love my vue
The vue is a powerful suv and a fun vehicle to drive. It is also a comfortable ride and we enjoy it very much. The fuel economy (21-22) is not quite up to my expectations yet but thecar only has 2300 miles and I hope it will improve as it gets a few more miles. Any way we love our vue
2004 VUE Tow Car
I pruchased the 2004 VUE as a Tow car for my Motorhome. It is easy to handle and light enough to tow 4 on the floor. As a around the town vehicle, it is fun to drive. I would suggest it to all my friends to buy, especially to those who travel by motorhome.
V6 FWD VUE
Overall I am extremly pleased with the Saturn Vue. Like other's have noted the first impression I had is the power of this vehicle with the V6. It literally has get up and go power when you hit the gas at any speed!I have read number of major suv/truck magazine reviews labeling the interior as being "cheap". But I personally would characterize the interior as a "minimalist" interior...in that I have just about all the creature comforts you could get on this vehicle and for me, everything is very well laid out and functional, no frills no fuss! It handles well, and is a very comfortable vehicle to ride in.
THE SATURN
THE CAR IS VERY COMFORTABLE AND HANDLES GOOD BUT WENT ON A LONG TRIP HAD A FLAT TIRE AND COULDNT FIND THE TIRE ANYWHERE I HAD TO LOOK FOR A SATURN DEALER AND YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW THAT FEELS. THE WHEN I LOWER THE BACK WINDOS TO GET SOME FRESH AIR THE NOISE WAS UNBEREABLE.TOO MUCH NOISE INSIDE THE CAR.