Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
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Because that came standard with mine.
I have not had to add any oil between oil changes which have been done per the oil change indicator light anywhere between 3000 and 5000 miles. Using the recommended 5w-30.
b4z, I'm at 22K now and don't have any major squaeks or rattles. I do sometimes get a slight squeak where the dash meets the A-pillars on certain types of impacts and on really rough roads the console area where it meets the instrument panel squeaks a bit, but otherwise mine is pretty quiet.
oldsman : Never heard of that problem.
Intrigue/W-body circa 97 is not a rigid chasis compared to the much newer chasis cars, luxury or econobox available today.
Bulletin No.: 01-06-03-001
Date: February, 2001
TECHNICAL
Subject:
Headlamps/Interior Lights Dim Intermittently in Cold Weather
(Replace Generator)
Models:
1999-2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue
with 3.5L V-6 Engine (VIN H - RPO LX5)
Condition
Some customers may comment on an intermittent condition where the headlamps or interior lights may dim for up to 10 seconds. This condition may also be noted in the blower speed slowing or changing pitch intermittently.
Cause
This condition may be caused by intermittent low voltage. Transient engine vibrations may induce the generator to experience field discontinuity. This state results in a voltage spike that causes the voltage regulator to reset. During this period, the generator output dips to near zero.
Correction
Replace the generator with a revised generator, P/N 10464469, that has circuitry to inhibit this condition. Use the procedure below to replace the generator.
Hope this helps.
How's the Impala holding up? Rock solid I'm sure.
But you are right. If one is only going to keep the car 40k or 60k miles, use regular dino and follow the change oil light and the car will be fine.
I have been posting on edmunds for over 3 years now and I think you might have missed the almost weekley posts from from people on this site that were either selling theirs or having GM buy the car back.
I don't think the intrigue sucks. But in comparison the wbodies are not quite up to the competition in refinement and build quality.
I don't think I have ever said the intrigue sucked. For everything I loved about the car there was something that didn't quite cut it.
I can only give my experience with the car.
The driving experience was very good. My dealer was awful.
My creaks and bangs were never fixed.
I live in an historic area and the roads are bad.
Streets that were laid out 325 years ago.
Streets that were built on landfill that have manhole covers sticking out.
Pilings coming up through the road.
Roads that have sunk and transitions from the road to bridges that are severe.
etc. etc. etc.
If the price on a 2001 or later ever gets down to the price that I deem a bargain I might even buy another one.
The engine is a jewel. Far better than the one in the impala.
The Impala is doing great. The least troublesome GM product I have ever owned. but not perfect.
I feel that I have always spoken honestly about my automotive experiences on edmunds both pro and con.
Part of my feelings about the intrigue is that I feel let down about what could have been with this car. Clearly GM didn't let Olds take this car to its potential either in performance or construction.
Sorry if you feel I am being negative, but I don't think the overall tone of my posts is a negative.
Sorry man, I just snapped this morning. I had a wonderful 700+ km drive in my Intrigue this weekend and it's just a dream to drive. Seeing you put down the car and watching the markets fall again certainly don't make for a good Monday.
;-)
I've never driven one but all those who have (reviewers and common folk alike) say it has an incredibly smooth ride. If they make some styling changes, I may consider one after its redesign.
Redline Oil
NeoSynthetic Oil
This last site is probably the best non-biased synthetic oil site on the Net:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/oilshear.htm
Bob Is The Oil Guy--"Do Synthetics Really Work?"
Bob is also on the Edmunds Synthetic Oil thread and goes by the his site's domain name.
If you will look back several months and read the posts from people looking to purchase, I never told them that they shouldn't buy one.
Hope your's continues to run well. The 2000's and above seem to have fewer problems.
The base Impala's are really smooth but soft in hard cornering.
I need to find a wrecked intrigue and put the Shorstar in the Imp and then I would have the best of both worlds.
You have been an Intrigue owner for almost 5 years.
Now you are multiple Caddy owner.
How does the New one compare to your other Cad?
When you were driving out of the dealership in the new car did you look in the rearview mirror?
I forgot to say goodbye to my bronzemist beauty.
b4z, the Intrigue may not be as robust as a 3 series, but I've always been impressed with how solid the car feels. Some interior bits may seem a bit loose, the overall chassis and car feel very solid. I think part of the car's noise level is just due to the fact there is not alot of sound deadening material in the body. BTW, how do you like your Impala? A co-worker of mine just bought a 2002 LS and got a great deal on it and we rode to lunch together the other day and I was impressed with the car.
dbogey, YOU LUCKY DOG!!! Enjoy the STS. Keep us posted on it.
b4z : No worries.
one2one : The Regal GS is a nice car. If it handled like the Intrigue I may have considered it. I hope then next generation Regal is very Intrigue like. I know Lutz sent the Buick designers back to the drawing board so it will be interesting to see what comes.
Climate control is not offered. And there are no rear vents.
On both my Intrigue and my Impala the #1 fan speed on the A/C is not quite enough and the #2 speed is a little much or a little noisy.
The intrigue has rear vents under the seat. The impala has none. On hot days with someone in the backseat, the fan speed has to be set on #2.
Impala is doing great. 30,000 miles coming up in about a day. October 1st will be 16 months of ownership.
Chevy offers Climate control on a pickup, why not on the Impala?
It does make one wonder what goes on in meetings at GM.
Right now the Opel based 04 Malibu looks like Chevy's best bet as nothing in the car line (aside from Corvette of course) is really very attractive.
Just kidding.
See if your dealer will look at it. I had them fix the creaking in my Apillar and they got 90% of the noise out of it.
b4z, I've taken in my Intrigue numerous times for rattles and they say they do what they can. I'm ready to just take some crazy glue and glue everything together to see if that'll help. I've already put insulation tape where the plastics rub together in places. Sigh. It really does take the ownership experience south.
The CTS is a little too edgy for my tastes. I'm not a fan of the pointed rear-end. If I were in that market I would probably be leaning towards the G35.
Well, teaches me a lesson in humility, because(until recently) I was the type of guy who likes to make fun of the stupidity of other drivers. Wasn't drinking either, so I don't have that excuse. I had it fixed at the local Chevy dealer and am pretty impressed. The car is silver metallic, and it's impossible to tell they painted the quarter. The only thing I noticed when I got home is that somebody at the shop somehow broke that particle board tire cover in the trunk. Guess they climbed in there for some reason.
BTW, my Intrigue has almost 30k on it now, and it is not a rattler whatsoever. The only noise is the drivers door, which will squeak when it's cold outside. The Intrigue is not a bouncy sedan and it does take bumps rather hard, which may contribute to rattling. But if the car weren't as stiff, it wouldn't handle as well as it does, so you have tradeoffs.
Anyway, I'd just be curious what you all think. Things to keep in mind is when a magazine comes out, the cars were probably tested 3-5 months before. So if it appears right when the car rolls off the line, it obviously had to be a prototype they tested (which are hand-built). Some magazines will point out somewhere in the article that it was a prototype. But they quote the performance like it's a production car. That's what pisses me off.
I'm surprised by the people who think the CTS is ugly but like the G35. The front of the G35 looks like a rounded-over rip-off of the CTS. Plus, the rounded front doesn't match up with the angular rear and rear taillights. The taillights are horrible. It looks like they took them from some Mach V type of animated car. Just my opinion. Oh, and I believe the wood in the CTS is all real.
Looks pretty good. At least they fixed the interior!
What do you think the performance differences come from (not being smart, I'm wondering what your opinion is)? I can understand a few tenths, but they have differences of almost a full second. I don't think production tolerances can account for that (especially from a country that makes "perfect" cars...). Plus, they are always slower. They never test a production car that is a full second faster than the preview car they tested. Some cars are slightly faster, and I'd guess it's because the preview car wasn't a wringer. But I do think there is some intentional deception going on. Just look at the horsepower, torque, and weight of the new Accord and tell me that's a car that can hit 60 in the 5's... I also think that Nissan/Infiniti had to have sucesses with the Altima and the G35 in order to stay afloat. I don't think it's a stretch to think that they breathed on their preview cars in order to make a big impact with them. Anyway, it's just my opinion and I'd be glad to hear yours.
More and more I'm getting tired of auto magazines with their anti-American car biases, their assuming any Japanese car will be completely trouble-free, and the way they ignore the incredibly inconsistent performance figures of some of the cars they test. Not to mention the way they act like even family cars should ride stiff as a board for the 1% of the time that people drive aggressively enough for it to matter. The things they focus on have little bearing on the real world or real-world driving. They are quick to cite 0-60 or 1/4 mile times, but ignore cars with better 5-60 or 30-50 or 50-70 times which are much more useful for real-world passing power. Not to mention their ridiculous price values ("Is the BMW worth an extra $7,500 for less room, similar acceleration and less features? You bet, just for that steering feedback." Give me a break. Or "Sure the Intrigue has more equipment, more room, more power, and looks better, but the Accord has a sticker that's $103 less. So you can use that to pay for a new set of factory wiper-blades. Plus, it will last for eternity.")
I apologize if this is too off-topic (and if nobody replies, I'll figure it was), but I am interested in hearing other opinions and a lot of the Aurora-board guys get pissed when we talk about things like car magazines.