1996 Oldsmobile Achieva Reviews from North America

Alternator bolt snapped off.

Key sometimes sticks in the ignition.

Engine light comes on and stays on quite a bit.

More power than I expected from a 4 cylinder.

Comfortable ride.

Almost indestructible. I rolled it into the lake 3 years ago. Very little damage to the car and myself! A few dents and a blown wheel spindle. I sustained only a sprained neck.

Two months later, I 'launched' a deer off of the highway, a few more dents, and had to replace a headlight assembly.

I still drive it every day!

Bought e-tested/certified. Brought it into the repair shop a week later (for a check engine light) and got another $475.00 worth of work done. Dealer covered most of the cost.

Power steering pulley went, so the car wobbled back and forth. Brake lines are going.

Power window on passenger side went after 152,000 km. Power locks are semi-reliable (161,000), but it could be related to the key device. Repairable.

Most of these repairs were age related.

Great power and gas mileage. Excellent mobility in the snow. Interior has held up well for a 13 year old car. Few signs of wear and tear.

Not the most beautiful car, but it gets me around.

No complaints!

When I bought the car, most of the parts had already gone bad; the alternator, and water pump, but had already been replaced.

I've had this car for over a year now, and put about 6-$700 into it.

All of the power windows went out at 130,000.

My ignition switch went out at 134,000.

Had the brakes replaced 129,000.

This car is a great car. It has performance, fuel economy, and is very comfortable.

Maybe the body could have been designed for a sportier look.

The car has unbelievable pickup for a 4 cylinder. Keep up on your tuneups and such, and this car should last you a while.

I purchased my Acheiva SC in the Fall of 2001. It currently has over 100,000 miles on it and I really haven't had to do much repair. Three years ago I did have to take it to a shop and have some kind of thing replaced, not really sure what was wrong with it, but my car just would not start. First it would show all of the lights on the dash i.e. security, oil light, ets, emergency brake, all those lights would come on. Then one day it just died. So that cost me about $1,400 bucks.

Pre-existing was the passenger side lock does not work, but that's no big deal. Also, non pre-existing the driver's side window has fallen off the track (manual window) and you have to literally manually lift the window up.

At the moment, my air conditioner does not work, it has not worked for sometime, but I have not yet made an effort to get a diagnostic performed to see what it is. I'm getting that done this week and hope its just low on freon!

The alignment is kinda off too. But I think that may be from a little fender bender I had and that was one thing that was not fixed when taken to the body shop.

Overall, considering this was the first car I have ever purchased, it has been considerably reliable. The problems I have had with it are expected, it was a used car after all. I wouldn't mind purchasing a new car and when that day comes, I think a part of me will miss this car. Its been a pretty good car and esthetically its not too bad. It drives well, handles well, and has great performance (get up and go!).