Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Sounds like your vette was louder than stock. Does the stock vette have some exhaust sound in the car when cruising the highway? Stock Mustang GT, Camero? I've heard that flowmaster stuff is loud too. I need to bug a buddy of mine with a new vette to take me for a ride.
rjs - I am aware that opening up the exhaust too much can lower exit velocity to the point of losing the "scavenging" of the engine and thus hurt low end torque. I got the full lecture from an engineer at Bassani (who admitted that their systems were loud). However, it is my understanding that cars like the Aurora and Caddy are bottled up pretty good to keep exit velocity higher (helps reduce resonations in the exhaust - and yeah the resonator and mufflers are restricive) and there is plenty of room to lower the "back pressure" some without hurting low end torque to any significant degree. I am assuming that most of the "cat-back" systems around would not hurt the low end torque - especially from a reputable company like Corsa or Borla.
I agree with you about the luxury part of the equation though. What I'm wrestling with is perhaps putting in a system that say is no louder than a stock sports car's system. It's personal, but I am also unsure about what to expect over the long term.
one other thing - how could a larger throttle body hurt low end torque? The large unit would just allow more air into the engine. I've never heard of more air flow into the engine lowering any power anywhere.
No offence on the Chrysler stuff. I guess I'm just a little tired of domestic cars getting what I think is a lot of negative bias in reviews. That's a whole different topic that could go on forever. Even Edmunds seems to encourage it with boards dedicated to American car bashing. I hope that doesn't start anything.
When you get the K&N, it really doesn't add much below 5200 if I remember right. When I dyno'd it, it added up to 7HP at the wheels past 5200, but in the 4000's it was mostly 1 and 2 HP. After I opened up the box I truly felt a difference. The dyno said I now had +4 to +5 after 4000 and 8 to 10 more HP from 4600 to about 4850. Peak was still about +7 at least - air box didn't help past 5200 much.
No, I don't think there will be a hi-po 4.0. It will die quietly with Olds I think. I think the 4.0 could pump out some better power with some basic refinements of the intake and even the exhaust for starters, but even if it added a few % more noise, it would probably not be marketable for this car. I'm sure I'm an anomaly of an Aurora owner. I like as much performance as possible but love a good looking luxury car. Not many are as stylish as an Aurora.
Colors - saw a dark bronzemist 2001 in a parking lot in PA this week - Great color! Saw the same color on a new Bonneville SE like mine in Ct too - love that color!
Sightings: driving from PA home to Maine yesterday (with the rain nipping at my heels) I saw plenty of Auroras on the highway - noticed a black 2001 3.5 pass me that looked especially sharp. I see lots of Classics on the highways in the Boston area daily - typically driven by professional looking 40 - 50 yr old men. Any women drive these cars? Never seen one.
New styling: Sighted a silver 2001 up ahead a few cars on Rt 287 in NJ - got closer - whoops - that's a Taurus! Here comes a silver one behind me - whoops thats an Alero! What gives here? This car used to be distinctive!
Enjoy your Auroras everyone - they're a classy ride!
(Turnpike) Ken
Hmmm - It seems that "Aurorians" has won out over "Aurorites".
Basically, I just said that you caught the same "2K1 crome rims on the Classic" bug that I caugt when I saw the Nxt Gen Aurora at the car show last year. My first thought was: "Don't care for the car, but give me those wheels."
I have been thinking about it for a long time, IT is just that $500 a rim is a bit steep. I then have to buy new tires to boot, so we are now at $3,200 for wheels. Give it another month and the way things are going, I could buy another Aurora for that price. :~)
Have you considered just going with the gold Aurora logo on your current wheels?
Chris
The 2001 17" chrome wheels are on of the things that attracted me to the car in the first place. I just got a new one (and tire) after the accident. I don't know the exact cost yet (may never see a bill), but was around $550 for the wheel (from GM) and $170 for the tire. TireRack has the tire for about $135 before shipping and mounting. These are H-rated tires, so if you have the Autobahn package you would probably want go with a V-rated model.
I own Northstars and Shortstars; they both love oil; a good one not too much, and a bad one, alot!!
jcy2K1::::::Sounds like you are on your second one; a mirror image of my Olds experience.
Saw a little old lady driven a '01 aurora in bronze mist last week. It is clearly the best color for that car.
My dealer has an '01 in sapphire and it does nothing for me.
It is hard to tell the difference between the black, green and sapphire.
What finally decided me over any other car, was that beside being at the top of my list in features, price and performance (3 out of 3, impressive), my experience with the dealer was excellent. Great service. Never pressured. Got all the info I asked for. The nice thing is that I can drop by the dealer on saturdays and they will clean inside out the car. It's an Olds/Caddy dealer, which probably explains (compared to the Chevy/Olds dealer). By opposition, I've gotten the cold shoulder or the in your face salesman at the Audi and Lincoln dealer.
BTW, I'm not your typical Olds buyer, as I had mentionned previously. I've always owned european cars, rallyed a volvo 240 when I was 20, built up a Peugeot 505 turbo (that includes engine and turbo rebuild with racing components). Last thing, to really make statistics lie, I'm 30 years old. Altough, now that I think of it, my parents might have been the cause of this, having owned a 1970 Olds 442 until 1979...
Well I think my Aurora is haunted... Today while picking up my lunch, I put the key in the ignition and "Boom".... The horn started blowing... The lights were flashing... I turned the car back off still happening... I raised the hood, it just got louder... I got back into the car and put the key back in the ignition, it stopped... Whew... Got back to work and shut the car off and "Boom" same problem all over again... This would be a nice thing and I would be an idiot if the car had an alarm... It doesn't, at least as far as I know... I called the dealer and told him about it and he is probably still scratching his (we won't get into what he was scratching)... He could not help me...
It did not do it on the trip home this evening, but I know that does not mean it was just a fluke... I know it will do it again, and probably at the worst possible time... Geez... Back to the shop for a while...
Mordecai
jcy2k1, I got your message after I bought it. I just had the aurora bug and had to get one.
Mordecai
We will await your future thoughts as your bonding period lengthens; and your financial committments come into play..
By the way according to the commercials, the new Acura at 260 horses andI am goingto assume a lighter weight. Will probably fairly well out Zinc the Classic. I don't know about the 2K1 kids. Their car is lighter.
Got some new tires last week. Michelen Pilot XGTH4s, H rated (I don't have Autobahn Pkg),for $484 on the car, including balancing, new stems and 6% sales tax.
As far as Burning oil-My last oil change was 1400 miles ago and she still reads full on the dipstick.
I guess they are selling pretty well now!
Lobsterman - I can't answer your question, I just have a comment to the rest of the gang. """OOH no not the operating temperature question Again"""
TLC - MY question is how old were the people driving?
Fellow Aurorians - It has been a while since we did this, but can we do an age, year and color check?
Henry - 36 years old - 95 Classic - Light Antelope (a.k.a. champaige, a.k.a. beige).
Henry:
dcchristopher - 24 - '01 UnClassic - Sterling Silver (aka grey!)
As far as age, color and model check, alas, I am still only an Aurora wanna be. I ended up with a Maxima for reasons I discussed in detail a few weeks back. Love the Max, but I'm still lurking here 'cause I STILL am fixated on the Aurora.
Maybe a used one in a year or two.
Henry: I guess I wasn't around when operating temp was discussed. I am assuming it is 200 farenheit, and slightly higher in slow moving traffic or heat of summer.
joeolds-40 yr old(ughh)-98 Classic-White Diamond (aka pearl white). In addition: 71 442-factory 4 speed-Viking Blue, 71 442 W30-Sterling Silver, 71 Big Block (aka 455cid) Vista Cruiser with ram air hood-White w/woodgrain-this 4600 lb. car has run a 1/4 mile in 14.99 seconds at 92mph, 73 Cutlass Supreme-70K miles-Mayan Gold, 70 Cutlass S-some kind of brownish gold-just got it running, and my eldest daughter will probably be driving it in a year or two
I am curious;who is CM? since they are willing to pick up $1150 of the tab---nice folks!!!!
rear main seal and/or a leak at the "T" joint face or split line at the upper/lower crankcase.
TSB 67-61-07 issued 2/96 for the 95 covers leak around oil pan attaching bolts caused by
porosity in the lower crank case area near the oil pan bolt threads. I have a 95 with 53k but
haven't had that problem yet.
joeolds, I want your Vista Cruiser. Always loved the wagons:P
My "98" classic runs consistantly at 200 degrees... My educated guess as to why this happens is. When you look under the hood there "ain't a whole lot of room in there"... Had the same problem with my first car... Which was a "1977 Chevy Monza" with a V-8 and a 4 barrel... The thing would run hot if you looked at it sideways... It also had no room under the hood. You could only change 6 plugs easily... One busted your knuckles just getting the socket in there and the 8th and final plug was a job for "Superman" or a hydralic jack and the removal of one motor mount...
Also I am Male... 44... and the color of my "98" is black with the slate interior...
Just a thought
Mordecai
Don't see many Classics or '01's here in southwest PA. Do see quite a few Classics in northeast OH, not many '01s.
I heard of someone in Michigan having a Turbo Aurora. Are they a regular on this board? or is there anyone who has a turbo Aurora?
Is there anything I should be aware of on my model year?
The question of running temp has come up before. The winter temp seems to be 200f. Fans come on at 220f. On hot days you'll see 240f after parking it but it should settle down to 220 again with engine running. If it gets to 250 you'll get a warning from the DIC that it's turning off your A/C and that you need to turn off the engine. It will go into the Northstar cylinder swap after that, where it will alternate 4 cylinders at a time to keep from doing damage to the engine.
Im guessing I must be the youngest Aurora owner here. If your thinking it is my parents car or they gave it to me think again. I bought it myself. I bought a 98 Dodge Avenger and it had a lot of problems. I found an aurora I like and got a great deal on it.
Congrats on your purchase!
Hope you got an extended warranty. The aROARa can be expensive to maintain.
Did you get the Autobahn package?
Be sure to send us some pics once it's lowered with effects, etc.... Or send them to zincster to put them on his site.
However, I will throw in my own humble opinion on this mod. I am very curious to see what the effect of lowering the car will be. The Classic has a very long front with agood part of it in front of the front wheels. As a result, the car has a tendency to "bottom out" up front. I have seen a number of Classics with the front plastic piece missing from being torn off.
Won't lowering the car increase this bottoming problem? Do we actually need that black strip of plastic under the car?
Also, as far as the load leveling system. I think the question is academic. If you are going to lower the car for looks and handling, you will most probably be going for more performance oriented shocks. Therefore, you will probably be disconnecting the load leveling system and going with regular shocks in the back to give you better handling.
If you do keep the rear load leveling shocks, I am sure that the level can be adjusted by the facility. You may have to go back to Olds to do it.
Henry
This one isnt a race, but once at 1 am i had a clear stretch of straight road and the cop didnt catch me until i was in another town and 2 miles away from where i floored it. I was about a mile from home when he caught me, and i could have made it home because i was about to floor it again, but i saw him flashing about a quarter mile behind me. I thought he was responding to a call until he pulled in behind me. I cant remember any other races off hand but im sure ive had a few, mostly won. Im good if im racing someone in traffic.
Well my rich uncle (IRS) has donated $1100.00 to the cause of my car... And I have been looking at warranties for a while now... The one I have decided upon is from Warranty Direct... I am not sure if this is a good decision or a bad one... Guess I will find out in the long run, but they seem to be the best I have found... It covers wear and tear parts like ball joints and such... That is what sold me... Also they will cover it up to 100,000 miles, and at the rate I am driving the car that will not take as long as expected... Still can't bring myself to leave it parked for to long... I guess I am suffering from "Kid With New Toy Syndrome"...
The tail light thing I was discussing earlier is still in the works... I am looking at parts catalogs for rear tail light assemblies that are small enough to be mounted in the space I have to work with... I want it to look as professional as possible... I will have the turn signal thing if it kills me...
Mordecai
If you're going to buy a new one I would want some big $$ off the sticker, otherwise you're going to lose $5K-10K in a few months.
I posted here a couple of weeks ago regarding an Aurora (every option black/graphite '98 w/27k that had been on the dealer's lot for months). The original sticker was $24k+, it was down to $19.9 when I first drove it, they dropped it to $18.9 last week, and I got it for $17k yesterday. It took me walking out of the dealership twice over 2 successive weekends before they finally decided to cut their losses and sell me the car (they even put an ad in the paper on it when they whacked the price to $18.9, but the miles never incremented while it sat on the lot).
I realize that the market value on Auroras is low right now, and I might have done better, but, after seeing the service/warranty history (only a half-dozen minor repairs to things like trim, and no major engine/drivetrain/electrical problems), I decided to go for the car.
Now, to pick an extended warranty company. I've heard great things about WarrantyDirect, but they don't operate in Wisconsin. What about WarrantyByNet and WarrantyGold? Anyone have any experiences that they could share?
Please let me know, and thanks for all of the suggestions/advice,
--Robert
P.S. To tail onto another thread, I'm 35 and an IT geek...
i have a 5 year, from start of contract date, and 150k miles from warranty gold, diamond plan. i've used the plan three times, bad alternator, replaced radiator, and changed both front hub bearing assemblies. wg took care of all with no hassles to my service guy. i highly recommend wg.
70,000 miles
Hey Folks - I've had my 96 for 3 years and intend to keep it for many more. Then it is highly probable that I will give it to my son. Before some parts get hard to get, I was thinking about buying them now. Maybe like front suspension bushings, fold out cup holder. Do any of you have suggestions on parts to buy now for use in the future? What's likely to wear out and won't be available from NAPA or hard to get from GM?