1996 Chevrolet Corsica from North America - Comments

All of the following problems occurred after 100,000 miles.

The transmission had to be replaced.

The head gasket blew.

The entire coolant system had to be replaced.

The paint job has begun to flake off and large rust spots are appearing.

The periodically, the service engine light soon has gone on and off and now will not shut off no matter what is done to the car.

Finally, the on board computer is dying.

This car ran great for the first 100,000 miles and required only normal maintenance.

The bucket seats caused my back to be thrown out after long trips (I am not old, only in my twenties), however a special back cushion solved that problem.

Last year alone, I had over $3,000 worth of work done besides the cost of normal maintenance.

I will not sink any more money into this car and go without for a while until I can afford a new one.

Well, I agree that it is a pain in the butt about getting these repairs done. I had a Japanese car with 100,000 miles on it and it needed the exact same repairs except the computer and the paint, although it wasn't the best anyway. It's normal, once a car gets to be that high of mileage, those things start to go, I know, it's been like that ever since I've driven cars. But if you're up to the replacement of those parts, you can drive it for many years to come and yes even for GM's. I've driven them for years too and have encountered the same things no matter what make.

Baloney. My 1996 Accord just rolled 170,000 miles having required nothing more than fluid changes, belts, a battery, CV boots, set of brakes, tires, tune-up, hoses and belts. a GOOD car should not have any major mechanical problems for at least 200,000 miles. There are more good cars built today than there were 15-20 years ago. Today, 100,000 miles on a modern engine is just getting started. Unfortunately, the Corsica was not known for it's quality or technology (it was based on a 10 year old design)

TO the last comment: Your right there are more, better cars on the road now then in the 80's and early 90's, but the best cars ever produced were in the late 60's and throughout the seventies. If a car were taken care of it could go for 200 000 miles. Here is the big reason though, After the motor went, you could rebuild the motor yourself or have it done cheap and drive for another 200 000 miles. Oil changes half as often, every part was and is cheaper. There were no necessary, routine repairs such as timing belts and CV boots. There were no computers that had to be reset, only the simplest of electrical and mechanical systems. My 79 Impala and my brothers 70 Pontiac Strato Chief (like the perisienne, Canada only) both recently had drive train replacements and will be on the road for a great deal longer. Todays cars are throw-away Ten years and they' re just about ready for the Junkyard.