1998 Chevrolet Venture LX review from North America
"Lemon"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The usual stuff went on my Venture at the lower end of the mileage scale. The water pump went around 100 000 km and the plugs were finished at about the same time.
The biggest flop was the motor overheating and was finished at 135 000 km. After this I found out that the Venture and all GM models similar have the same problem.
The engine gaskets fail regularily and all of the coolant leaks into the internal parts of the motor. I have warned all the people that I have known and each and everyone of them has had to replace these gaskets.
An inquiry at the local Gm dealer advised that they are doing 1 vehicle a day with the same problem. More like an epidemic. I have known the same engines to verheat and blow with as little as 60 000 km.
General comments?
Plain and simple I have found that North American cars are junk. I have put an engine or transmission in every car I have owned.
No I am not hard on cars, quite the contrary. I put a lot of time and effort into the service and have been stung every time.
That is why my last two purchases have been a Toyota and a Nissan. Both extremely reliable to date.
Recommended reviews
| My opinion on this car isn't very good |
|
| If you buy, trade in before 80,000 miles. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 4.3 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 1 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 62000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 135000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Ford Contour |
| Date of Entry | 7th July, 2004 |