1999 Oldsmobile Alero GLS review from North America

Whew, so many things,

First, I bought it used from someone who said they only used it for short trips 2 or 3 times a week which was perfect as I do a lot of commuting and needed low mileage.

My first shock was it cost $1200 to certify it; it needed all 4 brakes & rotors, tie rods, new tires, water pump plus more that I've forgotten. I thought that was unusual since although it was 5-years old, it only had 51000Km. I've had other cars that don't need that much work after 150K.

Then after 3-months the main belt was wearing through and my distributor wheel bearing was making loud grinding noises so I replaced both, but that cost almost $500 because it wraps around the engine mounts so the whole engine must be supported and detached in order to change the belt (I've always replaced those myself, but did not have the necessary know-how to do that).

Then my brakes were squealing so bad while stopping I replaced the pads again after only 3-months, but the noise did not stop until I had put 20K on the new pads. An afterthought...I've never spent more than $30 on brake pads until now when these cost $65..EVERYTHING seems to be twice as expensive on this car as any other car I've owned. It seems to have been built to deliberately foil those home mechanics who can do minor repairs themselves to try to save garage fees.

(Like you absolutly CANNOT get to the rear 3 spark plugs so trying to change those yourself is hopeless) After 90K I'm told my manifold gasket is leaking and needs to be replaced, gasket is only $60 but labor is going to be $3-400...holding off on that right now as now I had to replace my ABS sensor & Security sensor as I was told A) car would not brake properly and B) Security sensor would fail and disable the car requiring a tow to nearest dealer... speaking of: sensors are only a dealer part& cost me $1000 (!) to replace cause part was $280. but labor is $400.

Oh..guess how many Security sensors the GM central parts had in stock??? 100!!!..What does that tell you??

I really liked the car.. lots of pick-up for highway passing, although gas mileage not as good as I thought-approx 450K's to a tank.

I kinda like the headlights automatically coming on when dark, but also wish you could shut them off when parked.

The Tracking is way cool during slippery weather, never had that before, but would give that up if I could get my $1000.back it cost to replace the sensors.

I'm also bothered by low tire light occasionally, only once was it telling the truth.

AND my 1-3 fan speeds & cruise control stopped working after 2-weeks of driving.

I've got 140K on it now and wish I could unload this before the next round of defects raise their ugly heads. I think I've spent over $2000. on this in just 1-1/2 years and under 100K.

I've owned many different vehicles in the past, even Hyundai's when they first came out, and 3 different Caravans with crummy rads & trannies, but they at least last 3-5years before I run up this much in repairs.

After reading all these comments at this site, I am really nervous the money won't be stopping anytime soon.

No wonder GM stopped making them.

I personally will never touch another GM product.