Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: wowthisexists
IF the car never smokes, can it be driven indefinitely if the owner keeps a close eye on the oil level ?
Generally speaking, yes. Boatloads of Saturns and certain years of Corollas seem to. One runs the risk of premature catalytic convertor death; but even that doesn't seem to always happen--Toyota's can and do eat cats but I don't recall Saturns being known for that issue. Spark plugs can foul out, so they may need replacement sooner than normal.
I've had 3 Corollas since 1991, brought each one to over 200,000 Km's and not one ate a cat. The 2001 did have the sticking oil ring problem and had begun to consume oil, given enough time it probably would have ruined the cat.