Faults:

Considering the miles, it is a great car. I bought it used on e-bay and have totally gotten my money's worth. She is a beauty and the great part about her is that she has a fairly large backseat for a convertible. However it has been a serious money pit recently. I have had many of the same problems that others have complained about with this car.

1) I have the problem with the driver's side window where it decided to just drop down and won't stay up.

2) When it rains we swim as we drive/ride.

3) The odometer comes on when it wants to which is rare.

4) The comfort for backseat passengers does not exist.

5) My radio went out and had to be replaced shortly after purchase.

6) Changing spark plugs is a nightmare as you have to remove the intake manifold to get to the second set of sparkies.

7) It's almost impossible to get a shade tree to work on them because they are too much work for simple tasks. Prepare to spend money when you have to have major work done.

8) The A/C went out and they tried to tell me that they have to rip out the dash and it was gonna cost $1,500 to $2000. Ah NO!!! Do your research and you can save yourself some money. I got on line and finally figured out that all I need to do is replace the freon for all of $40 bucks! We've replaced it twice beats $2000. Work around or be broke down.

9) Brakes squeak like crazy, quite embarrassing.

10) My roof is coming apart at the seam, but for a 97 it's not bad at all. It has held up very well for over 10 years. It's due to be replaced.

11) Some part of the trans thing went out, I can't remember the name of that part at this very moment, but it cost $400 to replace.

12) The trans acts like it's on it's way but we're hoping she holds it together and gives us another 2 years (the car that is... we know the trans is going to die...it's just a matter of when)

13) I can't believe I almost forgot one of the craziest nuances with this darn car... the battery... why oh why pray tell is the battery under the wheel well. No easy feat to get to in a crunch to replace.

14) Is now giving us starting problems and we're not sure what that's about. Had to replace the radiator cap, and is giving indications that we're going to have to drop a pretty penny into her in the next few months. Not looking forward to that.

So in conclusion. She has been a good car, but very very costly. I would NOT buy another one simply because she is very expensive to maintain. Good advice for anyone buying a car is to look under the hood. If you can't find major components easy, then it will cost you a lot to maintain it as it will always have to be serviced by the dealer or someone with a lot of patience and experience. Good luck out there in car land!

General Comments:

She hasn't left us stranded on the side of the road so that's a good thing. Her size for a convertible makes her very attractive. However, I like that the newer models have a self containing compartment for the top when it's down vs. having to carry around and put the "boot" on to cover the top. I wouldn't say it's the safest car, as it does not have roll bars. If you're going to buy this car, just use good judgment and have some repair money saved up.

Faults:

Of the two things that have gone wrong with the car, one was my own fault. The serpentine belt needed to be changed, and I forgot to get it done. So it finally snapped. This was a maintenance issue for a part that's not meant to last forever. So my own neglect caused this.

The other is that the odometer light has gone out. I've read that this is a common problem not related to maintenance.

General Comments:

This car has been very reliable for me. Perhaps this is because my dad taught me to maintain a car (excepting the serpentine belt I forgot to have changed, my bad!) rather than wait for problems to happen and complaining.

When I took the car to Burning Man, I had the correct high-temp oil put in and everything done to ensure the car would be fine in the desert. Before long road trips, I have the oil changed.

Tune-ups are done on a schedule. These things do NOT last forever, and it's stupid to wait for a problem that could have been prevented and them to blame the manufacturer. Maintenance is a lot cheaper than than repairs. My dad got this through his daughter's head. I don't know why so many guys and ladies out there don't get it too.