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Oldsmobile Alero

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Comments

  • beauchenebeauchene Member Posts: 1
    I'm new to this site and in your message of 10/1/03 you said that you had a lot of problems with your 2001 Alero and after everything you finally got GM to repurchase the car from you. I know what you went through. I purchased a 2001 Certified GM Used Alero in 8/01 and have had nothing but problems with it since. It is at the dealer at least once a month, well this month it has already been there twice. I'm just glad that I paid an extra 3k for an extended warranty to cover some of the problems. My question to you is how did you get GM to repurchase the LEMON back?
  • jlgoldenjlgolden Member Posts: 32
    Check with your state's Department of Transportation for specific info. Your car must be experiencing an ongoing, unresolved, real problem...and the problem has to be significant enough to impair the use or value of the vehicle. I realized that my situation fit all of the criteria for a "lemon" and I immediately filed the appropriate paperwork with the Texas DOT. I had to document each concern and related repair attempt. It then took almost 3 months of calls, faxes, dealer meetings, and more phone calls to "work through the system". In Texas, once you file for lemon law, the dealer is allowed ONE FINAL attempt to repair the unresolved concern. Of course, the dealer could not fix the car! Fifteen more phone calls and 5 more faxes later, we settled on a repurchase amount. Whew! It was a mess! Exhausting! Note: In Texas, used cars cannot be repurchased under lemon law - NEW cars only. Best of luck with whatever you do.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    How's the 04 Grand Prix so far?
  • lsmith5478lsmith5478 Member Posts: 1
    I purchased my car new from the dealer in December 2000 and started taking it back to the dealer in January of 2001. I only have 25,000 miles on the car. I have had it at the dealer at least 24 times for problems such as the seatbelt,a/c rear defrost, turn signals, and now this week it will be for the gas gauge not working. I continue to complain that the car shakes and runs like I have had it for 20 years. The dealer agrees I have a problem but they don't know what the problem is. I am faithful to the maintenace of the vehicle but I am afraid I have a lemon on my hands. Tomorrow I am going to look into my legal options as Oldsmobile's customer service is useless in dealing with the problems I have experienced. I am glad to see I am not the only one having problems, I was beginning to think I lost my mind. So thank you for all the information I have read on this site.
  • jlgoldenjlgolden Member Posts: 32
    dindak - I am very happy with the '04 Grand Prix. A few little rattles are showing up in the rear doors and at the top of the dash, but the overall driving experience is so satisfying that I can look past these noises for now. I continually get comments on the car's good looks, and all of my friends who have driven it love the power of the 3800 V6.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    lsmith5478 : You have a lemon, no doubt. We have a 02 and it's been a great car. Could not be more pleased after 1 1/2 years. No issues aside from a fogged up head light.

    jlgolden : I see many 04 GPs around so I guess people are liking them. I have not driven one, but I am generally impressed with the new design.
  • cindersnappercindersnapper Member Posts: 3
    I purchased a 2001 Alero GLS 4dr in July of 2001.It has the sunroof and premium sound package and rear spoiler. I now have 27000 miles on it and the only problem I had was when I bumped the left mirror and broke a spring. Dealer replaced it with no cost. I have had no problem with brakes or rotors. We just returned from a 2 week trip to Colorado. Put on 3000 miles and averaged 32.28 mpg.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    I had a fall service special done last week and after a year an a half they said my brakes were still 80-90%. Not bad considering we do mostly city with the Alero.

    My parents had a 99 and it had only a couple of small issues over the 4 years they had it. They just upgraded it to a LeSabre as they wanted a bigger car,

    There have been some bad Aleros but most of what I have heard and read had been decent though.
  • gadriver1gadriver1 Member Posts: 2
    I found this site & have over the past several days read though the entire postings. The same complaints are echoed in the NTHSA complaint site. There is only 84 pages on the Alero at that site.
    Mine is a '00 3.4L model. I love the way it drives but hate the way I have been treated since the warranty ran out. I have had the "usual" problems with water leaks, vibrating driver side mirror, rear defrost switch replaced, tie rods replaced, turn signal problem (That was under recall for the hazard switch). After my 3 yr / 36K mile waranty ran out I have paid through the nose for brake jobs to replace the pads & turn the rotors at 41,000 miles & again at 53,296 miles (thats only 296 miles out of warranty from the 1st repair)and most recently had the intake manifold gasket replaced at 55,100 miles. My dealership has refused to "work" with me on the cost of these repairs saying it is normal wear & tear for the brakes & the rotors are fine. GM knows they are having problems with the intake gaskets. I guess I will replaces the rotors when the brakes start vibrating again.
    By the way alldata.com has a wonderfull list of TSBs on the Alero. If you look hard you can find some you can actually print out. Among them is the TSB for the brakes covering 4 GM models (00-05-23-002B) and the intake manifold gasket covering 14! GM models (03-06-01-010). It seems GM isn't just short cutting the Alero!
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    41k is not unusual level to have brakes replaced especially if there is a lot of city driving or you are harder on the brakes. Rest of the stuff is not good though, too bad. I think the pre 01 models were a bit more spotty in quality. I know the newer ones were much better as that's when GM started really pushing quality more. Last year the Alero tied for best midsize in initial quality.
  • mikey00mikey00 Member Posts: 462
    I replaced my front brakes at 35K on my 2000 V6. A little earlier than I would like. Most of my cars seem to get around 40K. But I did have them changed before they reached the wear indicators so I might have been able to get closer to 40K if I waited. Rotors were replaced under warranty at 13k. I could feel they were a little warped at again at 35K, but turning them down when the brakes were done fixed it. Now at 44K, I can feel they are warped again. I guess I will eventually have them replaced with non-GM replacement parts.
    My blower motor resistor board went but that was only $17 to replace myself.
    Other than these problems, I have not had any of the others mentioned. I do fear that the intake manifold gasket will need replacing someday. It seems to fail on a lot of Alero V6's. Even if it does, by staying away from the dealer my repair costs have been very reasonable.
    Overall, a great car.
  • gadriver1gadriver1 Member Posts: 2
    I do 90% of my driving on the interstate back & forth to work. On my past vehicles I have averaged 50 - 60,000 mile before having to replace the brake pads. I expected the same for the Alero.
    With that much interstate driving I am doing well on the mpg. I average 29 - 31 mpg with every tank. Years ago I started resetting my mileage indicator to 0 with every fill of the tank so I continue with that habit with the Alero. I think the gas gauge is starting to give me problems & I keep up with mileage so I won't be embarrassed with running out of gas.
  • darkcobradarkcobra Member Posts: 1
    My wife has a 99 Alero and she just loves that car! But its been nickel and diming us through the years with various repairs. Some of the things we've run into are items that aren't so common to these boards. Bad battery within 2 years of purchase, brakes at about 30k, bad sensors in the engine causing "check engine" light to come on, a coolant leak in the engine and now the Alero seems to want to run hot now. Normal hiway driving and the temperature gauage needle is in the middle - Good. But city driving causes an increase in engine temperature, I suspect the fan is not kicking on? Is there a quick way for me to check if the fan can work (bypass switch)? Any suggestions on what to check in the engine? I'm thinking of trading the car in for something less troublesome, but my wife loves the car and just wants to keep it. So any help anyone can provide on what and how to check, it would be greatly appreciated.
  • mikey00mikey00 Member Posts: 462
    Hey guys, not much chatter here anymore. Where have all the Alero owners gone. Check out the link below. It's the 05 replacement for the Pontiac GrandAm, called G6. Is it just me or does it look a lot like what we already have.
    http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=6328&n=156,- 178&sid=178
  • cfloriancflorian Member Posts: 1
    I have an '03 Alero, love it, no problems. My complaint is how easily it appears to scratch. Does anyone else have this problem? I park far away from people, and in a garage at work and home. There are numerous scratches on it (I know the kids bumped into it once too). I've had cars for 7 years that haven't scratched this easily!!! I really don't want to get rid of the car, but it will look pretty crappy if this keeps happening. Any ideas? I'm planning on calling the dealership, to describe what I think is a cheap paint job. I'm sure I will get nowhere with this.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    mikey00 : G6 is nice. It will be a bit bigger than the Alero though and V6 will be standard.

    cflorian : We have a few scratches on our 02 but it's dark red so I know you see more on that vs. our gray car. 2/3 main scratches have been my fault and I don't feel the car is any worse than anything else.
  • wuchifengwuchifeng Member Posts: 7
    Mikey00... I think it might be quiet on this board for two reasons. 1) People are selling their vehicles out of frustration and 2) People selling the vehicle because Oldmobile is basically dead.

    After 4 years of ownership, we've decided we can't take it any more with the Alero. For the record, our 2000 Alero GLS racked up 34100 miles. It never failed to start, however, after 3 years of ownership the car started falling apart. We've had the rotors and pads replaced 3 times, hazard switch go through the dash, had the tire creaking problem, the water leaking problem, the windshield etching problem from the wipers, the blower resistor problem. The worst part (from my engineer's perspective) is that the car felt severely underengineered. The interior of the car suffered from serious amounts of squeaks and rattles that no amount of duct tape could solve. While most of these can be considered "minor" problems, we just couldn't take it any more.

    It's a real shame since it seemed like a good car at the beginning. It's also a shame that it's the shortest lifespan of car that we've owned. We've had a 1990 Camry that lasted 10 years and 164k miles with only brake pads replaced. We also have a Chrysler minivan for 7 years with no problems (go figure... given the number of transmission complaints on the chrysler board).

    It'll probably a long time (if ever) that we'll own another GM vehicle... it's a real shame. Good luck to the rest of you.

    BTW, we replaced the Alero with a 2004 Forester, which we will more than likely own for the next 10 years with little trouble.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Our 02 after more than a year and a half is still trouble free, tight and rattle free. Best car we have ever had in terms of problems. My parent's 99 was much the same. It's too bad you didn't have the same experience.

    FYI.. Subaru is controlled by GM.

    I like the new Forester though don't expect it (or any car) to be trouble free.
  • skibry1skibry1 Member Posts: 174
    At 41K the only "trouble" we've had is making appointments with our
    mechanic for regular maintenance. A "trouble" I can deal with.
     '00 Mazda 626 130 ponies bridled to a left-leg flexor
  • rdeschenerdeschene Member Posts: 331
    The only problems we've encountered so far with our 2000 GLS have been the plastic knob breaking off the handle on the transmission lever (fixed under warranty), the blower motor resistor wearing out (my husband replaced that), and the fuel level sensor had to be replaced (that last was the biggest repair we've had; there's some question as to whether GM Canada will cover that, but so far that hasn't come about).

    We're consistently satisfied with the service we receive at the local GM dealership, and overall the car has performed well. We haven't had any of the problems with warped rotors, scratched windows or rain seepage that other folks have reported. Another plus is our gas mileage, averaging about 33 mpg. Count us in as happy Alero owners.
  • rad56rad56 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 alero and just recently started having turn signal and hazard light problems. The signal and or hazard light just quits working. I can play with the hazard button and signal lever and sometimes they will start working again. This is only temporary. Has anyone seen this and what is the fix.
    Thanks
  • coalcrackercoalcracker Member Posts: 53
    We have our 2000 Alero since November 1959 with no problems. Sorry to hear yours is falling apart. I can't understand that. Most of the info here says their cars are great with no problems. Maybe you have one of those lemons you here about occasionally.
  • rdeschenerdeschene Member Posts: 331
    This complaint re: the turn signal/hazard light problem turns up intermittently here (if you type "hazard" in the search field up top, you'll see several postings mentioning this). Here's an article that addresses the problem:

    GM Recalls 783,000 Cars to Fix Hazard Switches
    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news03/gm_flasher_recall.html
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    It's really a shame there won't be an Alero for 05. It's such a great value in GX form especially. The Ecotec is a wonderful power plant and the standard features are pretty generous.

    We have a friend with a Grand Am and one with an Alero, both are very happy so I think most of these cars are pretty good. They tied for best initial quality last year so the cars must be pretty good.
  • hues10hues10 Member Posts: 10
    Anyone know anything about replacing power window regulators. Dealer wants to charge me $520, even though I have had various window problems for the life of the car. I guess being four years old with 57K may have something to do with it.

    Anyone experience problems with the wipers. On the delay feature, they almost stop at the top, and when I do the mist feature, they regularly make 10 or 15 swipes across the window. Wipers work fine in position on low or high if it is raining hard.

    Just filled the radiator overflow tank for the second time. First one was a year ago, so looks like I have the head gasket thing going on. Trying to hold out till March next year when I can get a V-6 VUE with hopefully my full GM earnings and $1K Oldsmobile certificate. Had a '98 Intrigue which I got rid of after five years after I spent $1K on repairs, then I felt the transmission diodes going. Wasn't going to spend another $1500.

    Have only replaced two tires on the car so far, but problems are creeping up.
  • mikey00mikey00 Member Posts: 462
    I thought Saturn didn't accept GM card earnings. Did I miss something?
  • rkw2rkw2 Member Posts: 66
    My certificate ($1.5k for another Olds) $1k for other GM cars excludes Saturn, Saab and I think Hummer.
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Saturn sometimes has promos where it does take the card for a limited time or on specific models. Saturn always takes the GM card in Canada also.
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Hey guys - Over the past couple of months I have chimed in about an Alero or two that I have found. None though that I have been able to get due to trade-in trouble. I have now gotten rid of my Malibu and went to look at an 03 G.A. (which I really wasn't too fond of BTW) when I saw an 02 Alero. It's sliver with the V6 and traction control. It pretty much has everything except leather, sunroof, and a spoiler. The spoiler is a big thing on my list, but it's something I can handle. She has just over 25K on it and they are asking $10.8K. I think its a pretty decent deal. Not the best, but decent. Wpbharry has told me he loves his Alero. The only thing I found on this car was a few SMALL interior rattles and a bit of oil seepage out of the intake manifold gasket areas. I would definitely get the gasket looked at under warranty if I were to buy it, but overall it seems pretty strong. BTW, how does GM handle warranty claims on the intake gasket? Does it have to be fully broken, or just a little oil seepage? I don't want to purchase the car thinking GM will fix this potential problem, then not...ya know?

    Anyway, feedback is cool. Thanks!

    Jeremy
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    I have one more question - I noticed on Edmunds used car info that the 2002 Alero's have a 5year/60K mile powertrain warranty. Does that hold true with the second owner as well or does it fall back to 36K mile/36 month? Or is there a transfer fee? Thanks again.

    Jeremy
  • ab348ab348 Member Posts: 19,031
    I can tell you that in Canada atleast, I bought my '02 Intrigue and had no issues with warranty transfer and no fees either. In fact I was surprised to get an email from GM Canada thanking me for my purchase since I didn't remember giving them my email address at the time of purchase. I did register with them a few years ago so somewhere they must be doing name/address matching.

    2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6

  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Hey guys - I ended up buying a 2002 Alero. She's silver, four door, alloys, gray interior, 6 cyl, auto, traction control, power height adjustable seats, cd player, a/c, rear defrost, keyless entry...ect. It's soooooo sweet! The only thing that's missing is the spoiler. It's okay though. It has 25,425 miles on it and a warranty until 9/27/04 or 36K miles. I bought it tonight, but will pick it up in the morning because they had to fix the parking brake. While I was test driving it, I put her in neutral to make sure the brake worked, but I just kept rolling! Well, OTD I ended up paying $11,200-ish. Book value was like $10,500, but then had to add dealer fees, document fees, and taxes. I believe that I got an average deal, which is fine with me. I pray this car lasts me a good 100K or more! Wish me luck!!!

    Jeremy
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Congrats! Let us know how it goes.
  • isseyvooisseyvoo Member Posts: 121
    Just got back from my 1st major road trip in my '01 GL2, bought new and only driven once a week or so normally. Had 10K and change mi. on it when I left on 11/23, and now have 12.5K mi. (New York to Tennessee and back with a detour to Illinois). I have the 2.4l with 5 sp. manual. Drove between 70 and 75 mph most of the way and got between 28 and 30 mpg. My only concern is that the motor doesn't always light up on the 1st try. Sometimes I have to try 3 or 4 times before it starts. This had happened before and I assumed it was because I didn't drive it sometimes for a week or two at a time, but it happened on this trip a couple of times as well. I'll ask the dealer about it next time I take it in. Also, some of the idiot lights remain lit when the key is in the ACC position. The dealer claims this is "normal". Do your cars do this? Other than that, she was a champ the whole time.
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Glad to here that your car is doing good. I just purchased a 2002 V6 GL1. I too (in the 3 days of owning it) have noticed that a couple of times my car takes two tries to light. It may just be because I am used to my old Malibu kicking in right away. I'll have to keep an eye on her. How is the stick with the 2.4l engine? I would have passed on the v6 if I had found a 2.2l with the stick...the 2.2 auto was too boring for me. I only have one little thing that needs to be fixed with my "silver bullet": I heard a little rattle from the back passenger side today and noticed that the door handle there is a bit off/loose. I'll get it fixed at the 30K check-up or whatever check-up is after 25K miles (I'll have to check).

    BTW what do you guys think about the oil life monitor in the cars? Do you follow it or just do the change at every 3K? That whole once a year thing if the light doesn't come on seems WAY too excessive for me. I think I'll stick to my 3K schedule with Valvoline Durablend or I may try Mobile 1 synthetic.

    Feedback is great!

    Jeremy
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    I follow the monitor on our 2.2L Alero. It's pretty close to what it should be and that's what it's there for.

    Car should start first try. I have never had an issue. Could be just a dirt issue though.
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    I guess your right about the oil life monitor...thats what its there for.

    BTW, have any of you registered your car at mygmlink.com? It's a cool website and can be pretty helpful.

    Also, do any of you own a roof rack? Which would be best in terms of money and quality?

    Thanks,
    Jeremy
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Holy cow, is this board as dead as a doornail or is it just me?
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    It's a pretty quiet board, not sure why.

    My car has developed a squeaky seat which is really annoying. Next oil change it must be fixed!

    Other wise gas and go. Great car!
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Gas and go is right! I've got one tiny squeak and that's about it. However, on the gas side she sure does drink a lot. I was expecting that though with the 3.4. About how much do you guys think it will cost to add a spoiler to my car (painted and installed)? I'd love to get one!

    Jeremy
  • evandroevandro Member Posts: 1,108
    My Alero V6 used to be thriftier than my Stratus I4 at 23MPG around town. Yes, on the highway at 29MPG it was less so than the Stratus at 31MPG.

    Then I got a Bonneville and an Intrigue to replace them both, at 23/29MPG and 22/32MPG, respectively, and these are much heavier cars!
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    Our 3.5L Intrigue gets about 20/31-32 and our 2.2L Alero gets about 21/35. 2.2L does not do all that well in the city but is great on the highway. Mileage is all in the dumper now with winter. Cold reduces mileage and Canadian gas companies add something that makes winter starting easier but reduces mileage a bit also.
  • rdeschenerdeschene Member Posts: 331
    Evandro. Wow, that's pretty great mileage you are getting. I have been very happy with our V6 2000 Alero - pretty consistently 32mpg (U.S.) when running 68mph OR 110km/h on the highway with cruise control.

    It's good to see that at least some people are seeing even better mileage on newer (and heavier) vehicles. Personally, I think GM deserves more kudos for their pushrod V6s (3.4, 3.5, 3.8L) then they receive from the self-proclaimed, expert, automotive journalists.

    Dindak. Actually, I assumed that the I4's advantage would be more apparent around town than on the hwy (less displacement idling) so your numbers are also quite interesting. Are those U.S. or Imperial gallons ? We had a trip in your corner of the province in October (Guelph, Orangeville, Point Pelee then back to Brocktopia) with not great mileage (29mpg US).

    I had forgotten about "winter gas" though, so I had blamed it on the Michelin Arctic Alpins, heavy winds, rain and lots of two lane highway driving (stop signs, red lights, tractors, etc.)
  • rdeschenerdeschene Member Posts: 331
    The oil life monitor seems to be pretty accurate to the number of miles driven - although it goes "longer" if we've had a lot of highway cruising (e.g. 500miles a day), but that sounds right. Everything's at pretty much steady-state conditions when you're running on cruise control for hours on end.

    With regards to cold starting - I have also noticed that I have to hold down the key longer, and the engine turns over more times, for our V6 Alero to start then was necessary for our V6 Corsica. These two engines are very closely related.

    I just recently tried allowing (LITERALLY) 5 SECONDS between putting the key in the on position and turning it to the start position and it started right up. It was a very quiet day and I had the rear seat folded down, and I did hear the fuel pump cycle on /off during that 5 seconds.

    So it could be that, or it could be something related to getting cleaner emissions on startup -- preheating the combustion chamber (which really is quite small) with the spark plug before fuel injection begins? I dunno !!!
  • evandroevandro Member Posts: 1,108
    Have the fuel pressure regulator checked out, there's no such thing as pre-heating with the spark plug...
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Today I am taking the silver bullet to the dealer to get that door handle fixed. It's a real tiny problem (if you can call it that) but I'm a nut about my car. I thought that you could take any GM car under warranty to any GM Goodwrench service dealer but I guess I was wrong. The nearest Oldsmobile dealer to me is 30 miles away in Boulder or 25 miles away in Brighton, CO. The nearest GM dealer is only about 5 miles away though... :(

    I'll let you know how the dealer visit goes.

    Jeremy
  • evandroevandro Member Posts: 1,108
    I take both my Pontiac and my Olds to a Buick-Cadillac-Saturn dealer 5min away from home for warranty repairs, in spite of there being a Pontiac dealer another 5min down the same road, with no problems whatsoever. And I didn't even buy any car from them ever... Or maybe I did, from another dealer of the same group in another town...
  • dindakdindak Member Posts: 6,632
    rdeschene : Oh ya, city mileage on our Ecotec sucks. I will be asking about it next oil change.

    jtrujillo86 : Should be able to go to any GM dealer. My parents get their LeSabre serviced at a Chev Olds dealer all the time.
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    It turns out that the rear outside door handle on the passenger side was over-extended at one time. They had to order a new door handle and the part will be in next week. They will then keep my car for a few days to paint the door handle and let it set for a day or so. I'm not too peeved though because the money isn't coming out of my pocket!

    I've been told by this Oldsmobile dealer, in addition to two others and a Chevrolet dealer, that for warranty repairs you vehicle must be taken to a Olds dealer unless it's an emergency situation. You can have it serviced @ any GM place, but just not have warranty repairs done anywhere else.

    I was new to this Olds dealer. They were a pretty small outfit, but they did their job well. I have always been pleased with GM service (that of course is not including their prices).

    While I was at the dealer I saw an awesome 03 2 door silver Alero with a spoiler. It had the 2.2 Ecotec w/ stick. It had everything except power windows and sunroof. I was shocked to see the sticker @ $18.5K, but then there was an additional $3K rebate if you went through GMAC. I still kinda thought it was a bit excessive, but that's just me.

    Anyway, other than the door handle, everything here is great. I took the advice of the board and decided to wait 5 seconds with the key in the ON position before cranking it...it seems to have solved my sort of problem. Thanks!

    Jeremy
  • jtrujillo86jtrujillo86 Member Posts: 300
    Bought and changed the Silver Bullet's air filter today. I am at about 25,825 miles now, and the original filter in that bad boy was nasty! Hopefully now, I will see an increase in MPG. The manual suggests inspecting the air filter @ 15K miles and replacing it @ 30K miles. On my Malibu, I would always change it every third oil change or about every 10K miles, whether it was visibly dirty or not. I think that's the same schedule I will stick with on my Alero.

    Jeremy
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