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But, I lost my job in Jan 03 and that ended the idea of a new aurora.
Anyway, I decided against the silver one but a few days later, at my wife's urging, I stopped by to take a 2nd look and to my surprise there was a cherry 4.0 in the driveway right next to the silver one! It was, except for not having heated seats, exactly what I had my eye on back in 02. In fact, I still have the sales catalog for it.
I decided to call the seller of the silver one later that day and politely asked if there was any chance he'd take an offer on the cherry one. To my surprise, he said, "funny you should ask, it was my late wife's car and yes, I have been thinking about selling it". End of story is I picked it up for $13,000. The exterior was pretty dirty so I dropped it at the dealer and had it detailed. When I picked it up, neither I nor my friends at the dealer, yes, when you own an Aurora and take care of it you make friends at the dealership, anyway, we were all really surprised at how perfect the car was. The owner of the dealership walked in to the shop and told me that I couldn't have purchased a nicer car from the showroom floor. Not a scratch or a ding anywhere, inside or out.
Now the problem is that I can't seem to let go of the 95 and every morning I have to decide which one to drive. They are similar but different. I think the 95 is more comfortable and a better long distance cruiser, and I still love the roar when you open her up. The 02 is quiet, quicker because of the taller final drive gear, and more nimble handling. I can only imagine that a third generation aurora might have been the perfect blend.
I've never been so addicted to a car before, not my 911, vette, saab turbo, or my three mustangs.
And to think I was considering a new G6. would have cost me over $25K and it isn't 1/4 the car the aurora is.
I put bars leak in and that stopped all coolant loss. Now, I'm at 97500 miles and I looked under the car and saw that between the cylinder head and engine block, there is a VERY small amount of goo across the mounting surface. I'm assuming it's the bars leak and coolant oozing out. I ran my finger across it and it was gooey. I did check this about 1500 miles ago and it was about the same.
Is this a ticking time bomb and should I get rid of the car? I don't want to but I don't want to pay for a headgasket repair. THat's a lot of $$$$.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
In ‘01 I took a walk over to my local Pontiac/Buick/Cadillac dealership. They were having an August long-weekend sale. An off-lease metallic green '98 Aurora caught my eye. It was listed at 22K CAD$ (exchange rate was probably somewhere between 78-82 cents American) so I expected the mileage to be high. I was surprised to see it only had 47K km (less than 30K in miles) – a pretty good deal for a car that would have originally retailed for close to 50K CAD$. I mean, this car has every option and gadget you could possibly wish for – Gold Package, Autobahn, heated seats, sunroof (no Bose stereo, but the trunk CD changer is there) The low mileage meant that it still had a year and up to 80K kms of warranty left. So I bought it that very day.
I have been thrilled with this car. It is definitely the best I have either owned or leased. My commute is no more than 12 miles in town, so gas consumption really has not been an issue. But where this car really shines is on the longer highway trips. It is unbelievably comfortable, and that V8 just loafs along around 120 kph, with plenty of grunt at speed for passing. I enjoy it cruising around town on errands, whipping along country roads, or just letting it gobble up the highway mile after mile on a summer trip.
I did not purchase the GM extended warranty (I thought the price was a rip-off) and I do not know whether or not “aftermarket” warranties are even available in Canada. Predictably my AC compressor failed in September ’02, just weeks after the warranty ran out. Other than that the only unpleasant repair issue (knock wood) has been the water pump. This car is now on its fourth – that’s right, four water pumps! There has just been a minor throttle problem, regular oil changes, rubber, and brakes. I am heading for 145K kms, so I suppose there may well be other gremlins waiting for me.
At any rate, I have enjoyed the insights you have shared with one another over the past few years, and I hope to run this beauty at least until the summer of ’08. For the life of me I do not understand why more people have not taken advantage of purchasing these vehicles off-lease – you actually benefit from the rapid depreciation that has plagued domestics, while getting one heck of a car into the bargain. What would an import with these features cost, provided you could even find one?
$6,500
The car books for about $10,000 but I am reading that olds have lost a ton of value due to olds going out.
Comments please!!!!! Is this a good deal?
I'm on my second car since The Witch and I were separated back in 2001. It's the car I was trying to imagine when I bought the Aurora. It's the car with the same supple lines and muscular design. It's the car with almost the exact same everything inside. It's got that same exclusivity. It has the same beige leather interior (oh, that smell). It even has a dubious service history... as a make. But this time I have a 100K warranty to lean on.
But it's Onyx White and not Metallic Beige. And the instant recognition it gets from people startles me after having the unknown (Aurora) and boring (Nissan, Toyota, Hyundai) cars in the driveway.
I'll post some pics of her on the Classic Aurora site (http://trak.to/aurora)if you want to see her. BTW, have you noticed how Edmunds (and other sites) have 'borrowed' my site's color scheme and tab layout!?! It's so cool!
Zincster
My Aurora just crossed the 100k mile mark a couple of weeks back. In a few minutes I'm going outside to start a thorough interior and exterior cleaning. I've got a few door dings and some scratches to touch up, and will probably hit the car up with a buffer before applying a few coats of Zaino. At that point, she'll get an oil change and go into storage for the summer (just pulled my other ride out of storage - an '04 GTO).
In four days, I'll have had my Aurora for five years. She's been relatively trouble-free for the last several thousand miles - except for my Christmas Eve incident (loose lugs/loose tire/fried wheel bearing - my tire shop's fault, not the car's). I hope to get one more winter (November 1 through April 1) out of her before she goes on to live a life as a garage queen (I assume at some point in the future I'll strip the exterior down and do a restoration - keep the frame/body panels from rusting)...
So, let me guess: your new ride is a Jaguar? Can't think what else might have the flowing lines, more recognition, and a dubious service history... :-)
--Robert
Great to hear your 'roara is fine, hammen2! The car needs a few examples to survive for posterity, so a restore might be in order in a few years. I still can't believe they killed Oldsmobile right after releasing the best looking car line all of GM.
People off the street ask how I like this Jag. People at work get mad because they think I'm getting paid too much. They could be right
Thanks
Over 1000 $CAD -- ouch :surprise:
Running great again!
Henri :surprise:
Checking out new cars, I first drove the 6 cylinder STS, but it seemed sluggish to me. Then I tried the V-8 Buick Lucerne which seemed peppier, but still sluggish compared with my Aurora. Then we drove a DTS Performance model with the NAV system, and it took me no time at all to want it.
We now have the Light Platinum color, with everything on it except for the Adaptive Cruise Control, which I do not want. This car will really move, but the ride is about the best that I've ever experienced.
I wanted the NAV for the enhanced display for XM radio. I am now enjoying using the voice command system for changing radio channels and CD tracks. My wife really likes the analog clock.
We just took delivery on Monday, so these are my early impressions. But, it appears to me that my new Performance DTS is a very worthy successor to my Aurora that I had enjoyed so much for the past four and one-half years.
I'd have to say,though,that if the Aurora were still being made, I'd likely have bought an '06 Aurora instead.
A few hours later, climbing up out of Phoenix on the way to Flagstaff, I get the "Check Engine" light--course, going up hill on a hot afternoon, I had the usual fear that my rock steady Aurora was finally going to fail me.
After about 20 minutes, I remembered the last fill up and realized that I hadn't put the gas cap on--about the same time the gas guage went up to full tho I was registering over 275 miles on the trip odometer, so I had my answer.
Stopped to tighten the cap but the light was still lit and the gas guage still at full but I was satisfied that the cap was my problem and continued on to the next fill up which solved both problems.
So, just a reminder about that gas cap--make sure it clicks several times or you will be getting that most concerning of all warnings. Better said, don't strike up conversations with gas attendants and forget to check what you know and they don't. Now, if I could only figure out why the low tire pressure warning keeps coming on in cold, wet, or the last time, hot weather conditions!
On the redundant side--here we are another ten thousand down the road in this beauty without a real hiccup--amazing reliability here--90000 miles and the car is rock solid up and down the hills and around all the curves--she can play it fast or slow but has all the grace and aplomb of a really great road car--how nice it is to cruise up those long Arizona pulls with the temperature at 101 with the A/C going full blast and the temp guage not moving off normal! The wonders of modern engineering are always brought to mind when I remember many sweltering miles in the summer, driving cars that demanded a choice between cool air or overheating--no mas.
My '97 has 216,000 and mechanically incredible (paint on the nose is showing it's age).
The Aurora Club of North America has several members just under and OVER 300,000 miles.
The temperature gauge is normal, antifreeze is always full; the fans work; the skirt on the front bumper is intact, what could it be?
I replaced the Coolant Temp Sensor and the PCM - I still get the same message. It sometimes happens apx.2min after I start the car, then again about half an hour later.
What's going on with it?
I'm thinking about purchasing '95 - '97 Aurora.
Please advise what to check on the car. Which year model is better? What annual maintanance cost to expect?
Thanks in advance.
Vadim
thanks
Hope you join us Classic owners.
My advice is to buy the latest model year you can. '99s in general are the best; search the archives and you will see what I mean.
Get a CarFax report. Try to get maintenance history. It seems like there are two categories of Classics: good and bad. The bad ones cost their owners a lot of money; replacement parts can be expensive and Joe's garage may not be able to help you. The good ones (like mine ('97 with 130,000 miles)) need nothing more than normal maintenance of wear items (oil and filter, lubrication, brakes, coolant, hoses, tires, etc).
Be aware that there is an active safety recall for replacement of the nylon fuel rail with stainless steel; several Auroras have been destroyed by fire from leaking gasoline. The recall covers '95 thru '97+ (I'm not sure how recent).
Good luck.
Les
Henri
My waterpump left on me two days ago on my aurora '99. I went to an indipendent mechanic who replaced it for about 200 $ but I noticed two things for which I argued over with him:
1. He did not have that special tool (sorry don't know the name but know that exists) to remove the pump from the socket, so he used a hammer and screwdriver to rotate and break the pump until he pulled the thing out.
2. He lost one of the original bolts that attaches the cover to the pump socket and used a different bolt (I can tell the difference from the head configuration of this bolt ).
My concerns are:
#1: Could it be that the watersocket pump may have gotten damaged because he used the hammer and a screwdriver to rotate the old pump flips i.e. this could cause leaks in the future?
#2. Am afraid if the wrong bolt had the wrong length (i.e. longer or thicker) and as such it may make the bolt hole unusable in case I have to replace the waterpump again.
This will require replacing the whole spatul and not just the waterpump socket which could be a catatrophe (way expesive) financially spealking...
I regret that I brought the car to this fricking mechanic but now is too late...:(
Any thought? Does anyone know what is the bolt size for the cover that attaches to the waterpump socket?
Thx Niko
It steers nice otherwise and I only hear while going slow and turning from center position to halve radius.
I will be replacing rotors/pads soon so I can look into your suggestions on this. Thanks
paul
Vicente
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Latest service record pretty good (knock wood) at 150k (kms)with nothing but regular maintenance to report. May have to get the third set of rubber soon, though.
Hoping to keep this car running through 2008 at least
Henri - 95 - Yes I am.
Yes. Sometimes I mix 93 and 89 since recommended octane is 91.
Les
Henri (N.J)
The only thing I can think of wrong are a few scratches on the front on that long plastic nose and a little peeling black trim paint on the sunroof frame.
I have absolutely no affiliation with the seller.
Les
Told by radiator shop that we have head gasket problems...husband dives into the motor, pulls out the heads (took two days) and broke a cam while he was at it. Going at this blind as we have no book.
Our question is:
Can we have a 305 Olds engine replace the 4.0 that's in it?
Or is would it be better to go with a Cadilac Northstar?
Or will nothing but an exact replica of the 4.0 Aurora motor work?
Thanks in advance to any and all replys!
Now the caddie northstar. There is not suppose to be any difference in the external measurements of the engine. The difference is only suppose to be in the bore. Now, here is the issue with using the caddie. Will the Aurora cimputer recognize and use the extra displacement of the 4.6 northstar? My mechanic drives an Aurora and works at a (former) Olds dealership, he says the computer should recognize the displacement and use it. However, that is a guess because, as I said, no one knows of an actual switch.
Personally, I think your situation is prime to try thr caddie conversion. I would just like to see someone due it. If you do a search for "4.6" or "caddie northstar," you will probably find most of the postings. Some of the postings are on the old threads before Edmunds upgraded its webware, so you may have to do a little reserach.
Coming up on 160,000 km (that's 100,000 miles) this month and running very smoothly. Not sure if the tires will see me through the winter.
I use the mid-grade gasoline, and it runs just fine.
1) How helpful are these reports?
2) What is the danger to use regular gas instead of premium gas?
I've heard that using regular gas in cars made after 1990 is not necesarily a bad thing because these cars have knock sensors, but I don't know what that means. This might be a deal breaker for me. Can anybody give me some good advice?
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I own a '95 Aurora. The only problems I have had with mine is the ignition switch. I had to have it replaced because it wouldn't start and the security light would come on. Not stay on, but it was the only light that would come on. Now I have no problem starting!!!
As for the gas, I have used the cheapest gas for my bank account is strapped for cash too. And I have had no problems using it. No engine failure, nothing. In fact, it runs like a dream.
I love this car. Mine called out to me in a car lot. Even though I had trouble with it, I still loved it. Now the problem seems to be taken care of. I have not had a problem with it for quite a few months now.
My advice is to ask if there has been any other problems. Some cars run great, and some can be lemons. The reports on this site scares me, but I have had a lot worse cars than this one. So far, this car is great. I love mine. I wish you luck and if you do decide to buy it, welcome to our aROARa family. Not all Auroras are bad!!!
Did they have the recall done on the fuel lines?
What is the price of the car?
There is a posting in either this forum or one of the others that is a check list on buying an Aurora.
I would suggest you search for the checklist and then go through it. I think then you will be able to answer the question of purchase or pass.
By the way, I am NOT emotionally attached to my aROARa. I just do a dead on impersonation of a guy that is.
By thw way . . . .
Henri with 1995, autobahn package - 115,600 miles