1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme review from North America

First off, I bought the car at 105,000 miles and only paid $3500 for it, so I wasn't expecting a lot.

The alternator went out the day after I bought it. Changed it myself in about 30 minutes. I think the alternator cost about $150.

Nothing else had gone wrong (other than NORMAL maintenance like brake pads) until 170,000 miles. At that point my AC compressor went out. That was pretty expensive (~$800).

At 175,000, my belts started squealing every time I turned the AC on. I changed the tensioner myself in about 10 minutes. I think it only cost about $20-30.

Other than those things my dash lights flicker a lot and the odometor light doesn't work all the time... not a big enough deal for me to want to fix it.

If you pay attention, all the bad reviews are on the 3.4L and the good reviews are on the 3.1L. The 3.4L, while being very fast, is a mainenance hog from what I have seen. The 3.1L is the most reliable engine I have ever owned. I can't believe how much more reliable this car has been than any other car I've ever had, including a 1967 Chevy Malibu, 1967 C10 pickup, 1979 Buick Century, 1987 Honda Civic, 1991 Chrysler La Barron, 1996 Mazda 626, and a 1996 Eagle Talon. None of these cars have even come close to the reliability of my Oldsmobile. I put more money in one year of my Mazda than I have in all the time I've owned this car.

As far as engine power goes, the 3.1L has enormous low end torque, but is lacking in upper end power. It will smoke the tires from a launch, but peters out a little once you get past about 30mph. All in all, pretty strong though.

It is also a pretty smooth ride, but the suspension is a little gushy. Don't try to take sharp corners too quickly with this car.