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Comments
My 2000 Bonneville is a very pretty 'Spruce' green - different than any other green Ive seen anywhere in GMdom - has a lot of yellow/gold flecks in it. The interior is two toned charcoal - the dash and doors look very nice with the nearly black tops and dark gray bottoms with cloth inserts that have subtle colors - bit of red, blue, etc. There are 3 distinct grays I believe - the nicest looking I've seen. Of course at night all the switchgear and dials light up red too - really cool. (Yes, I love my Bonnie!) I've always prefered beige and tan interiors but learning to love this one.
Best to all
Ken
Dindak - BRRRRRRR!! I watch the weather channel and hear them telling us about those Canadian polar fronts you keep blowing our way. It's chilly here in coastal Maine too - and I see every salty road splash on my green Bonnie. Prior cars have all been light colors for reason your describe - just going to have to keep after this one.
Best to you both
Ken
trunklid? I assume heating it up with a hair dryer or similar might help it come off?
It seems to be attached with the super sticky trim adhesive they always use.
Want it off, as these days i feel not so great about advertising my car as an Olds.
racer_x_p, great news article, printed it off to add to my archive of olds/Intrigue articles, before
they all get deleted off the net(!). Thanks again-ketch
3M makes a spray on product that will remove the remaining adhesive.
If you have a new car, you can usually pull the
oldsmobile off with your hands. I did this with my dealerships adhesive advertising badge on my trunklid.
I'e used Goo Gone a couple of times on vehicles with good (and easy) results.
The car really is pretty ugly front and back, I must admit, but then again so are most angles of the accord. I liked the back and sides of the Olds a lot. But the way the max cooks is making me overlook her bad looks ;~) Getting the dealer to sell me the airdeflector and interior air filter at cost, and a shop manual. I am not sure why I want to work on this car, one look under the hood will about discourage anyone but old habits die hard.
The car does seem go pretty well, but I'm taking it really easy and keeping below 4grand until I get a few thousand miles on it to break it in. The clutch doesn't seem very beefy, hope we don't need the 5/60 warrenty on that.... Now to sell my old '88 shadow and swap pickup trucks for a extended cab to make room for the baby seat :~) - will need that hopefully in May.
Good luck folks with a great car. If I don't get another pickup, maybe I'll be in market for a used one after y'all get bored with it! Make mine a green 2001 GLS with PCS no bose....
Slope
Houston
I have never been a huge fan of silver, because it seems to fade easily and can look kind of blah if not kept shiny. But the intrigue looks kind of understated with it. According to the following info. If I chose silver, I am successful and pompous. I am pretty sure that i am not pompous and i am definitely sure that i could be more successful.
Which is it, pompous or successful? You decide.
Black: Ambitious drivers who want to portray an image of success.
Red: Outgoing and impulsive with a youthful attitude, but you are easily bored.
Silver: Great style, often successful, but you tend to be pompous.
White: First choice of doctors, and people who are reliable and methodical.
Gray: Understated good taste and a cautious driver.
Blue: Team player who is sociable and friendly, but lacks imagination.
I wonder if these traits can be used with interior colors also? If I buy a silver car with a gray interior Would i be a pompous safe driver with good taste?
There is local dealer in our town, who used to sell MB/BMW/Buick till last year. Currently he have a Buick/Pontiac dealership at old location and the MB/BMW one at the next suburb.
Every second MB and BMW on the roads of our city and its suburbs is carrying the badge of the dealer. The same with Buicks and the new Pontiac. I also bought my Buick from the dealership and my car have the badge.
Though, the badge is small - less than 2 inch in diameter. My other car have a much larger inscription, "Richard's Chevrolet".
Come on Ketch, leave that Olds badge on the car. Nothing wrong with driving an Olds even if the brand is going away. Think of it this way, if you were driving a Camaro or a Firebird would you remove the moniker because those cars are being dropped. Anyway, good luck if you do remove it. As for Olds recent badging, the 98 Intrigue only had it etched in the backup lamp lense. 99 Intrigues(and Aleros) got the small Olds badge and the etching was still in the lense. Ditto for 2000, but somewhere during the year, they went to larger Olds badge on both the Intrigue and the Alero. My co-workers new Intrigue has the larger badge and it too has it etched in the lense. I assume 2001s are the same way. The first generation Aurora never had an Olds badge on the rear save the 97 model year. Don't ask me why. Personally, I think this is part of their marketing problem. I mean if your going to sell totally new products(i.e. Intrigue, Alero, Aurora) PUT YOUR BRAND NAME ON IT!!
www.oldsmobile.com
The $1000/1500 "Loyalty" awards to Olds owners - applying to purchases of new GM models will not offset the lower resale values of the cars we own!
From what I've read, trade-in values on 1999-2000 Olds models are already $2-3000 less than Buick / Pontiac siblings. Chances are, this will get worse, not better.
What, if anything, is GM going to do to protect late-model Olds owners from Yugo-like trade-in values by 2002-2003?
Anybody from GM here who's "in the know"?
You are correct about its resale being lower than even the Chevy Impala. Makes no sense that a car that cost more than the Impala resells for 2 grand less.
The Regal comes fully stocked--from supercharger to heated seats. The Impala comes with things like a Driver Information Center, heated mirrors and tire inflation monitor. Please correct me where I'm wrong. But once you pack on all the goodies, the Intrigue cost MORE than the other two cars when matched feature-for-feature. A driver information center, while unnecessary, would be nice and help create the upscale feel. Impala, yes; Intrigue, no. Doesn't seem right.
Here's a question: Why does a cheaper, less upscale car like Impala get heated mirrors while the Intrigue's heated mirrors get dropped? May not mean much to folks in SoCal but for us in the NE it becomes a big deal. No tire inflation monitor (this is where I think I may be wrong)? A "performance" sedan won't "perform" well with underinflated tires. Yet the Impala gets them. The Regal has tons of toys and features at a lower price tag then the Intrigue. Why? I'm hoping they dropped them to save money to put the features that Harlanc said would be on the '02 model. Otherwise, I don't see the logic.
As well as I remember, the driver info center also was optional with 2000 Regal GS, but was included in most of option packages. Do not know about 2001 nor about 2000 LS.
Supercharger is standard with Regal GS, but not available with LS.
On the other hand, Intrigue is available with PCS, better tires, and other performance gear/tuning/programming. I would like to have this goods with my Regal, but they are not available.
The fully loaded Regal GS does not cost much different than Intrigue GLS. According to GMBuyPower, the MSRP is $29175 for 2001 GSE with heated seats and engine heater, vs $29280 for 2001 GLS with precision sport package, Bose sound, gold trim ($150) and engine heater.
Probably, GS costs a $1000 or so higher than GLS after discounts and rebates. Plus, due to the supercharger, it costs about $200 more per year in higher fuel costs, with additional $100 or so in insurance... This is extra $2500 for typical 8 year ownership, or almost 10% of the car price.
I plan on keeping the Intrigue for a long time, but what if I'm in a wreck and the car is totaled? Then resale value is a big concern to me. But I shouldn't have a problem finding a good deal on another used Intrigue!
A fully loaded Intrigue hits right at 30k. Now ALL I'm going to simply say is, there are a lot of nice options/choices available from the mid-20 to 30k range both foreign and domestic. And, and many with BETTER track records!
My 2 cents, enuff said.
GM seems to have each division picking and choosing what to put in content of their cars, and you end up with a mixed up marketing effort. I liked the GP except for the good but not tech 3.8 pushrod (considering the 3.5) and the seats didn't fold down, and no driver info, no tire pressure, no PCS, etc. Previous posts pointed out the Regal / Impala option mismatch.
I looked hard at the Impala and it is a impressive car with features that the others should have. It drives nicely on our straight roads around here, and you appreciate the smooth ride. Too bad the interior styling uses seat styling from GM's Vega era cars and a dash few would say is attractive. The whole inside looks cheap, and loaded it was less than $1000 less than the rebated Intrigue, which had style as well as some other features -- but the driver info center and some other stuff on the chevy was very and nice. My wife also hated the styling of the rear of the car, but found the Max OK. Go figure.
Gm's marketing mix was strange, to say the least. With the others like Lexus, you know what to expect when comparing to toyota.
Slope
2001 Intrigue GLS, fully loaded (everything)
MSRP - $29,280
Carsdirect price - $25,555
2001 Acura TL (no Nav system)
MSRP - $29,030
Carsdirect price - $29,029
Even though the Intrigue's MSRP is higher than the TL, you should be able to pick up a fully loaded one for about $3500 less than a TL.
On another note, with olds gone, who will get the shortstar? Catera? Buick?
It would make one hell of a cop car motor too.
For the local police they could drop a 3.73 gear in there. That would more than make up for the lack of low end torque.
Buick is supposedly working on a 300 hp supercharged GNX. The shortstar could be a prime candidate for this car.
J coleman, that Acura also lacks a stability control system. Frankly, I think Olds prices its cars higher because they know that their customers will want to talk them down. This is common with alot of brands. Many Olds owners are used to negotiating while most Acura owners are used to paying MSRP for their cars. Olds actually tries the Saturn concept a few years back, but it just didn't work. You'll pay full price for that Acura and probably finance it at standard finance rates while you can probably get the Intrigue at 1% or so over invoice and then get a low finance rate(or take another $2000 off the price).
The sooner you start arbitration the better off you are.
I would demand a new car and take the $1500 loyalty bonus and the $2000 rebate and pay the higher finance rate. But, I would only pay invoice for the car.
Or, I would ask for a total refund.
Good Luck.
They will have to go through what you are going through now.
The car went back in Monday AM, and so far all they've done is run it to see where the oil is coming from The only mechanical thing they've done is pull one wheel to get a better look.
Thanks again, guys & gals. I'll keep you posted if anything significant develops.
Olds should have started out low-balling the prices until they created a decent loyal following [much like what Toyota & Honda have done], and then they could have commanded a higher price, on maybe a good GM vehicle. Instead they took the other approach, OK we have it priced at 29k and we are going to give you our feel good discount of 4k and don't you worry about that stinking thing called depreciation. It is smoke and mirrors they want you to feel like you are getting a bargain, when really it more like a 25k car for 20k or less. There is a reason that Olds can't or should I say "could not" compete with Toyota/Honda/Nissan it called lack of "Quality Control".
When I was looking at the new V6 Aurora back in March 2000, my local dealer would not budge from the MSRP because it was brand new version. I stated to them that Olds track record with me, does not warrant paying full MSRP. That is when I decided to go back to looking at Toyota/Honda/Nissan etc. etc. And according to the reviews the Aurora has come up way short on the quality issues.
I like hondas as much as the next guy, but they are not perfect. I like the engines and the fit and finish. I don't like the bland styling, the lack of character, the price of admission and the attitude of some of the dealers i have dealt with.
The fact is that oldsmobile is going away, we are well aware of that. We are also aware of the depreciation. We are also aware that we can buy a new oldsmobile or a used oldsmobile for less than a comparably equipped mid size car.
I can buy a 2001 GL that has a MSRP in the mid 25 K range for 20K. I also get a 5/60 K warranty.
Yes the car will depreciate faster than a honda, but for aquisition cost you can't beat it.
If i pay 7K less on the purchase over the TL, that is a savings of $154 a month times 60 months is $9240.
By the way, I can't fit in your beloved honda anyway, so your point is moot.
Demand a new replacement car! You paid for a brand new spanking car, not a refurbished automobile.
Good luck!
Want a car so competent to be without personality (incl. looks), there are lots of choices. Want overall goodness and execllent performance with great looks that don't bore, your choice narrow fast. The mid size and near lux market are filled with cars that satisfy the former, and sorry, failed to meet my needs, nor many others. Passat, Intrigue, and a few others do, and while sell less, are no less important.
In fact I am troubled by us Amercian buyers, who lemming like, go buy so many cars so without personality and style. It isn't so in most of Europe, where such cars as the Camry and Accord (except type R) are considered boring and are just acceptable. Over there they also do not sell so well like here. Deny it, but in the good ole' USA its hard to understand buyers expectations when the best selling cars for many years were the first gen. Escorts(!).
Toyota & Honda have a lot of loyal customers. Olds did too at one time, most have aged on or simply would not be caught dead in a GM/Old.
Styling :: Granted Camry/Accords styling is not very exciting. But for the most people after the honeymoon is over, reliable transportion is the key, not being on a first name basis with service manager. Look at the Max, Nissan trys to get a little daring and everyone is slaming the looks.
Carmakers are NOT going to make everyone happy. Too wild/bland, too expensive, too much/little, not enough choices, etc. etc. They are damn if they do, and damn if they don't.
But its looks like the consumers are voting with their checkbooks, cause Camry & Accords seem to sell real well, even with the conservative looks.
But I can't speak for him. I can speak for my '98 Silver Mist Intrigue that has just cleared 68,000 miles and will probably hit 70K by the end of Feb. So far it has been more reliable than my '95 Toyota Camry that I traded for the Intrigue. No squeaks or rattles from the interior, no parts falling off. Only thing I've done from a maintanence point are oil changes. Since the car has been out of warranty (over 30,000 miles out of warranty) the only repair has been to fix the fuel door so it closes flat. A $0.48 part and $24 repair. I will have to take it in because my low fan setting doesn't work although the rest of the settings are fine.
Have not changed the transmission fluid nor the coolant (don't have to until at least 100k miles). This morning I got the low coolant warning but hasn't surfaced again today. I had this happen about 2 months ago. I bought some DexCool and filled it to the line. Sensor must err on the side of caution because I barely put anything in. That was about 5,000 miles ago. This time I'll put in a little more than what the fill line says. But not much.
All things said, this Intrigue has cost me less to own than any car I've had/have... foreign and domestic alike. My wife's Bonniville requires more attention than the Intrigue. Attribute this to the long life fluids and plugs. I have had the steering problem and it creeps up from time to time. But not enough to bother me. I have the strut jounce problem but didn't notice it until others here made me aware of it. I only heard it when the car was at a stop and I turn the wheel to the right. Apparently it didn't bother me either.
For those that don't post that are reading this as they contemplate their next car, the final word is this car is at least just as good as its competitors. My '95 Camry had the water pump go, the engine mounts replaced (at 50,000 miles), it shook when stopped at a light (replacing the mounts didn't help and the dealer couldn't find the problem), both front window regulators go, timing belt needed replacement (no Intrigue needs this), and had the already small buttons fall off the radio. And during the time we had it we thought it wasn't all that bad a car. And it wasn't. But compared to the Intrigue, the Camry performed like domestic vehicles are alleged to act once miles are added. The Intrigue has proven to be the more reliable car.
For those that have had problems and would never get another Intrigue, I don't blame them. In fact, I'd say they were foolish if it happened twice. So I can understand jgriff's position. My sister-in-law has had horrible experiences with Nissan--both with a Max and Altima. She has workmates that have had the exact same problem with Max's. Her sunroof wouldn't close and Nissan said it was due to abuse. It's Philadelphia... it doesn't stay warm enough to abuse the sunroof. I suppose her workmate abused his too. But from what most other owners of Intrigues say, it's not bad. And even the ones that express their problems still express satisfaction with their car. After all, NO car is perfect... not even Lexus.
HONDA RULES MAN!