1991 Chevrolet Lumina 3.1 Euro/ 3.4 Z34 review from North America

Lets see… --I got my red, 1990 2-Door, 3.1 liter V6 Chevy Lumina in 96 or 97 for $300.00 from a friend. It was hit by a tractor-trailer in a parking lot and his insurance company totaled it!!!

After it was officially declared dead it astonishingly did the following:

The driver side door and rear seat window had to be replaced due to the accident. It also had the key snapped off in the ignition that makes it look like there’s no key in it. But just twist it and it starts. (I refer to it as “Key-less Entry”) Occasionally I’ve had to stick a quarter in the slot because it was cold and I couldn’t get a grip on the perimeter ring. And I’ve never fixed that. Also the hood lever was broken and was rigged with vise-grips that are still in place today as well. I got it as a winter rat and it’s been the lowest cost vehicle to maintain that I’ve ever owned. I’ve driven it winters only since 1998 and even sitting all summer the only thing I usually have to do every fall is refill the tires with air (aluminum rims tend to slowly leak) and spend a few minutes getting it started for the first time. Though the first few years of sitting all summer the rear disc breaks and calipers had to be replaced. (One a year) This was a common problem for GM. After that, I had them disabled and the car actually handles much better when stopping since (I drive in 6-18” of snow regularly and sticking rear calipers are more trouble than they are worth). And just to be honest I’ve treated this car like it was going to the junkyard the next day, for almost the whole time I’ve owned it. --- So here goes:

153,00 -Obtained the car with 153,000 miles and fixed driver side door and rear-seat window --- $300.00. I should mention finding the rear window wasn’t simple. The local Chevy dealership informed me there “were” 2 left in the US and the price tag was insane. So I went used, which still took some time.

165,000 -I replaced passenger side rear caliper, and pads on both sides $190.00 for the year.

178,000 -I replaced rear driver side rear caliper and pads on both sides 190.00 for this year as well.

190,000 -The headlights would randomly go out over bumps and such. My mechanic fixed them by wiring the switch into another constant (hot). It was less than a 10.00 fix. I’ve had to reconnect the wire once since then.

203,000 -The radio half died. ----The left speakers went out and the bass fader stopped working. Although I’d like to mention that the reception on this car is the best I’ve ever seen. It picks up radio stations that even the ($2,000.00 +) system in my summer car doesn’t, and by more than 20 miles!!

206,000 -I slammed the car off the road at 50+ MPH. - I was hung over and late to a final exam and crashed it into a bunch of small trees and brush on the way to the test. I had to replace the front right directional unit (28.00 aftermarket) and superglued (.99¢) the passenger side mirror back into on to the mount.

210,000 -The engine started to knock. With no oil changes since I bought it I couldn’t see why. ;) - (check the miles-lol)

216,000 -My brother rear ended a car and had to replace the hood and front end. Bought a front-end w/lights & plastics for 150.00 fixing the fender from the last crash at the same time. Radiator and whole engine compartment was fine.

222,000 -Engine FINALLY went. I got a sweet deal on dropping in a rebuilt one for 500.00 and said why not. I figured it would cost about as much to get another winter rat. (NOTE the engine knocked for 12,000 miles) –WTF? ---- But it’s true.

231,000 -I slammed it into a 4-foot snow bank at 45 mph and had to get a ball joint (90.00) and an alignment. (40.00)

238,000 - I finally HAD to get an oil change. When I started it up for the 2003-2004 winter the oil filter was so deteriorated and rusted that it burst, it was so sharp and rusty I actually had to get a potato to take it off, -hence I had to give it an oil change… still no tune-up.

241,000 - I left the wipers on intermittent one night when I came home from work, and my girlfriend started it up the next morning to warm up. So, with 13 inches of snow on the windshield and not knowing the wipers where on, 15 minutes later when we went to leave for work and the entire directional/wiper harness was COOKED. We drove to work with no wipers, my head out the window to see, and smoke bellowing out of the steering column. Later I came to find out that they want like 80.00 for the directional/wiper switch. That was more than the car was worth in my opinion so I had my mechanic wire in an on/off toggle switch for the wipers 10.00, so now the wipers are either on or off and I’ve got to manually blink the switch for left hand turns. Additionally the wiper motor was also cooked. I bought it from a junkyard and had it installed for 40.00 total.

So in conclusion, I’ve driven this car for the better part of 10 years for next to nothing. Most repairs where due to my own stupidity. I have since bought 2 more Luminas and am happy with both of them as well. I can’t say enough about this make/model of car, and it takes a lot to make me happy.

So if you’re on a tight budget and need the MOST reliable car in the world for DIRT CHEAP find a Chevy Lumina between 1990 and 1994. And to get an EVEN better deal look for one with “slight transmission problems.” I say this because I’ve owned 3 now and have gotten some RIDICULASLY good deals because when the coils/comp goes the car will jump between gears between 45-55 mph on the 3.1 liter and 55-65mph on the 3.4 liter (Z34). The seller thinks it needs major transmission work, which you can use to pick up the car for an insanely cheap price, and then just have the coils/comp fixed for about $100.00 and ALL PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED.

Making this the best ECONO-CRUISER ever made!!!

Recapping my first “Crackerised Lumina” that got me through college:

· NEVER had a key (Turn and go Technology)

· Patented “Vise-grip” hood release

· “Hard-wired Headlights”

· “Manual-Blink” (left-hand only) turn blinker

· “One-Speed Only” on/off wiper switch

· “Mono-Sound --Bassless, Rightless- Sound System”

· “Immortal-Life Design”-Despite Numerous Assignation Attempts.