2007 Saturn Aura XE

I say send it.

If you have the means to build the cage or the money to pay someone else to do it, why not just go for it?

You mention the engine blowing up in the meantime, was the car $300 because it knocks or is it just high mileage? If it's just high mileage then, in the event it randomly blows up, I don't really think there would be an issue swapping in a similar mileage engine of the same kind. It's a ~3600lb sedan that will be C or B class depending on how hooptie we're talking. It makes decent power so it isn't necessarily bottom of the barrel.

If you're concerned about the budget on repairing the broken stuff: lie. "The ECU wasn't having issues, one of the plugs were loose!". "The rear main was an easy fix with a thick sludge we all love called stop leak"! "The neutral safety switch was $5". "What do you mean 'where is the original engine'? This is the original engine, the previous owner must have swapped it yearsssss ago".

It's not a popular or competitive car. Scrutiny will always be there but be extremely limited. Significantly more wiggle room and BS leeway than if you showed up with a Miata.

Everyone here (myself included) will tell you to Lemons it. The Ecotec or the 3.5L V6 have both been pretty solid engines (and you should be able to find plenty of replacements in junkyards for either), just don't try to drive it like a race car.

As long as it's relatively close to stock, it'll probably be a Class C car. These things are heavy and the weight isn't exactly well balanced (would guess from driving an '11 Malibu that it's close to 65/35). Find good brake pads--people here have opinions about which ones are best--but make sure they'll last and add some ducting to keep them cool.

We're always eager for more Saturns in Lemons. Still haven't had an L-Series, Vue, Aura, Astra, Relay, or an Ion Redline (though we have had a "normal" Ion).

It's always cheaper to buy pre-built than to build, no matter how cheap your starting car is... like half price or less. So if your in it for the cost savings, go prebuilt. If your doing it because you genuinely want to on this particular car... those engines are tanks and are everywhere. Not sure about that particular transmission, but I would imagine it's not that bad. Would honestly make a good Lemons car, but it's never cheap to build one from scratch.

Definitely. I've seen complete or nearly complete Lemons cars for sale cheaper than I paid to have my cage fabricated. I just already had the $500 car and realllllly want to send it around the track.