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Less than 11.5k miles, lovingly maintained (just had 3rd oil change - not required by schedule until 22.5k). All documented.
Have had no problems whatsoever, not even with brake rotors/water leaks.
Car was driven for summer from NY to OR and back, so has seen mostly highway miles. (Actually once got 32.3mpg @ constant 75mph with AC on!) Car is now garaged in NYC, but has never seen snow/salt.
Best offer by end of september. Save $1000s off of new! I am returning to graduate school and can't afford to garage a car in New York City!!!
Email to seb@pixgen.com if interested or for more details/pictures.
At the point of a whopping 750 miles, the transmission began doing a violent shift into second. They downloaded upgraded software into the controlling on-board computer and now the car is even zippier than before....hope it stays this way!
Despite the rocky start, I'm willing to overlook these inconveniences because I absolutely LOVE this car....everything from the comfy leather seats to the sound system to the midnight blue color to the handling. This is the most fun car I've ever owned, and it's definitely a head-turner.
The cry drives great. I am glad I opted for teh 6 cyl.
I'm going back to the dealer FOR THE THIRD TIME because I found water in the car AGAIN after it rained yesterday. Plus, after driving over a bumpy road on Saturday the "service engine soon" light went on. The car only has 820 miles on it. Despite what I said a few days ago, I'm asking for either a replacement or my money back. If I've had this much trouble in 6 weeks I can't imagine what 6 years would be like.
the rpm is around 1500 -1700 i hear this noise like a belt is lose kinda like a scratchty noise and it only happens at this level of rpms. Is it normal?
worth of damage to my car. I found that my 1999 Olds Alero Gls 2 door had bad rotors. I had called the dealer several times to see if the parts were in for replacement. FIVE and a HALF weeks later, my car and I were involved in an accident, with still no new rotors. What happen: I was traveling 35 in a 40, a deer came from the right side of the road about 40 meters in front of me. When I applied the breaks, they locked up. ABS should not lock up under normal use. However, because of the bad rotors ABS can not operate correctly and this caused my car to lose control of the road. Needless to say, I have not see my car for 2 mouths and it still has two more weeks to go until it is completely repaired. I would highly suggest that you do not apply your breaks hard with bad rotors. Trust me, the Alero does not hold up well hitting concrete walls at 30 miles an hour.
Brad
Western Pennsylvania
Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
Brad,
Skimann20@yahoo.com
Alero OSV (Oldsmobile Special Vehicle division)
2.4L Supercharged variant of the GM DOHC
230hp at 6000rpm
230ft/lb torque at 4100rpm
13in vented/cross drilled front disc
Approx. 3100lb Curb weight. Could be less or more, I'm guessing.
5spd
FWD
Coupe
Has anyone here actually seen the car in person? It looked lowered, had what looked like 17''rims on some serious rubber, and a bunch of ground effects stuff, was happy to see the lack of giant spoiler. Any rumors on a production date? I'm going to be buying 2003-05 with $2500-3500 in GM card earnings which makes this car very attractive if:
1) They actually make it.
2) It goes to production with at least 220hp, 5spd, giant brakes. I could care less about the rims and ground effect stuff.
3) Price is no more than $4000 over the loaded Alero GLS.
4) I would like 4 doors because of my 80lb dog and the fact that I'm too old to be a boy-racer. But I dont have to have them.
5) I would also like HID lamps as a $500 option but I can live without that too.
Would you buy this car?
Does anyone else have this problem. If so how have you solved it.
Thanks.
Rich
"For those who enjoyed the hotter OSV (Oldsmobile Special Vehicle) concepts for the Alero and Intrigue featured on the auto show circuit, have patience. The division is awaiting the final go-ahead and if approved, OSVs will appear in the 2002 model year."
As for the water noise in the passenger rear of the car, it's actually on both sides of the car and that the headrest is muffling the other side. This is normal and compared to other cars that I've been in, it's actually not as loud.
As for the fuel, I would stick to using 87 octane. Using a lower grade fuel could cause inproper combustion (knocking) in the engine. Also, from what my mechanic friends tell me, don't keep switching back and forth between different octanes as the computer will have to constantly keep adjusting itself. Mileage will inprove as you build a carbon layer to smoothen out the pores of the cylinders. You might also want to consider a product called Microlon to help reduce friction.
The battery aparrently had a slight leak and just died one day after drying up. The dealer replaced it no question. The other fustrating repair was a new intake gasket due to a small coolant leak. When I had it at the dealer recently, they replaced it again when they told me they found a small oil leak (sounds like some jag didn't do his job right the first time).
Anyways, I love the car and the stereo is far better than anything I've heard from the factory. If anyone is considering this car, definately get the rotors replaced with the redesigned ones.
If ever you find a green puddle under your car, that's a dead giveaway for a scrapped radiator.
I hope this helps.
The modern cars are using new engine coolant. It have orange (or rather rose-orange) color.
Problem is: I just bought a brand new '99 Ford Escort last year. I love it..it works great...just would like to have an Alero. Can anyone tell me if this would be a wise move seeing I have only had this car for about a year? Would the banks/financers look at that negatively? What about trading my car in? Would I lose? My car is in close to excellent shape, less than 16,000 miles.
Thanks for listening.
Every year, car makers come up with new and exciting models. The only strategy that makes sense financially is to keep your existing vehicle for as long as the cost of maintenance stays reasonable. Personally, I probably would have bought an Alero last year, a PT Cruiser this year and a Tribute next year, if I didn't make efforts to stick with my existing vehicle.
She had a problem with the "trac-off" light constantly coming on and techs unable to find a code and fix it. A few months ago the "service engine soon" light began coming on also and both happening more frequently.
9 trips to the dealer and no fix. But the car rode and performed just fine.
She contacted the BBB and notified GM that she wanted to arbitrate to get the car replaced. Well, guess what. No hassles, they offered to buy it back if she would agree to buy a new one.
But they said it had to be done at the same dealer it was purchased at. So we drove over to the dealer and looked at the inventory. The only color and one with the same equipment as the 99 was a Silver 2000 GL2 coupe. They gave her this car to drive for a few hours and I examined it thoroughly. I was surprised in the poor condition of this new car. It only had 80 miles on the clock; the factory plastic still covered the carpet and radio face. But there were no less than 5 paint chips (down to the black primer), the leather-wrapped gear shifter was loose, and the lower rear window molding was peeling away. My mom didn't really love the color - she thinks the silver is a drab color and after I pointed out the damage she was afraid to take it. The only other color that she kind of liked was Ruby Red. We returned it and at that point their only option was to order a 2001.
The next day the fast-talking salesman calls and says he got a fresh shipment and there was a Ruby Red now on the lot! We went over and he brought it up front, washed, so we could inspect it. Well, let me tell you guys, this one was almost as brand new as you could get and in much better condition (it had not been abused on test drives!!). The odometer had 5 miles and all the stickers were on, including the one that said the car was shipped from the factory loading dock on 8/7/2000 at 8:25am!!!!!!! Ruby Red/Grey cloth, with spoiler and feature package (15" alloys, leather steer wheel, remote keyless entry), and a CD player. I did not find any production damage but we did not drive it.
This dealership, Coral Springs Automall, has salesmen that lie. Beware. We had to spend 6 hours there as they haggled on the phone with GM about dealer service fees. The paperwork has to go thru GM before the car is released so we left the Lemon with them and drove up here to Alabama in my car and the Alero will be shipped on a truck later this month. The salesman marked it "hold do not sell". I can't wait to get it.
For Your info here are some changes and observations about the 2001s:
*The easy way to tell a 99 from a 00 or 01 is the rocker panel under the doors that goes from the front wheel well to the rear wheel well. It is more curved. The 99 is rather flat. I looked at both coupes side by side.
*The Remote Keyless Entry is included in the feature pkg now so nearly all Aleros will have it.
*The 99 hood had gas struts but the 01 has a simple prop rod. I looked at a cpe and a sedan and both have the rod. I don't know if the strut is only for GLS models now but that is a bad move. Any upscale car should have struts for the hood.
*All 2001 models have RDS radios. That's Radio Data System which displays extra info that the radio station sends like call letters & traffic info. Not all radio stations broadcast like this today but in a few years more will. This necessitates a larger LED display panel and redesigned face, including new buttons and dials which match the new designed A/C dials.
*Sticker price of the model my mom is getting is $19,935.
*Gold color is not available but a new one called "Sandstone" is - it just looks like a dull tan.
I realize a person shouldn't go around trading in your car every time a new model comes out. Just wanted some friendly, knowlegable advice..that's all. Thanks for responding.
Apparently, the drain holes at the bottom of the coupe doors are too small...during a heavy downpour, water pools in faster than it can drain out. So, the simple fix is to enlarge the drain holes, then touch up the paint. They had to take the door panels apart, but it was a quick and easy fix and NO PROBLEMS TO DATE despite the heavy rains we've endured.
So, for those of my Alero brethren with leaky coupes....if your dealers can't stop the leaks by simply replacing the deflectors (as GM recommends), try the drain-hole enlargement. It worked for me. Now I'm back to loving my midnight blue GLS again :-)