1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL review from North America

No start condition fixed by replacement of battery and starter ($400 parts plus labor). Obnoxious rattle in back seat area fixed by replacement of rear suspension trailing arm, $50 part plus labor. (The bushing had worn out and snapped the bolt!) Power windows randomly inoperative, not fixed. (also, windows stick to weatherstripping!) Fuel gauge suddenly inoperative, I'm not bothering to fix it because I know it won't be cheap. I'll be fine using the trip clock to know when it's time to fill up... I hope. Many other random gremlins that seem to fix themselves as quickly as they appear, making repairs annoyingly difficult and/or impossible.

GM should be ashamed of themselves selling this car for $25,000. I bought mine 3 years old for $12,000 (does this depreciation tell us anything?) and now, for a 4 year old car I still feel slighted. (Further loss of value has left the worth of the car at $3,000 under any kind of retail, making it impossible to get out of this car without substantial fiduciary distress!) The car is a nice drive; handles well, accelerates superbly, and is definitely well thought out as far as that goes. (More than 20 mpg would be nice in the city though, esp. from a V6! The Taurus can do it!) The engine and drivetrain are beyond reproach. The interior, while nicely laid out, is put together cheaply, many seams and corners look crooked or misaligned. Seat comfort is good, and general driving manners are predictable and pleasing. For the money, I would opt for the Grand Prix GT, same wonderful drivetrain, but much quieter, smoother and far more solid. If you must buy an Intrigue, do not buy a 1998 (MANY bugs attributed to this first year model), and be sure to buy it used. It will depreciate anyway, you might as well benefit from it somehow.