1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme from North America - Comments

This car was born wrong.

It could have been a really nice two-door Cutlass Supreme, but it ended up being a four-door.

This was my grandparents car for years. They always bought used low mileage four-door Cutlass Supremes. The trouble this car had while they were driving it was as follows:

Transmission malfunctioned on a trip across country and they had an Aamco aftermarket transmission installed.

The Olds liked to stall (and still does) for no reason. Even after many tune-ups and rebuilds this Cutlass always had that problem.

While my dad and I have been driving it we have had the following problems:

Brakes have failed.

Windshield washer failed.

Parking brake failed.

Starter failed.

All shocks have failed and the front end is swaying really low.

Exhaust system failed.

Transmission has finally failed.

However the best part about this car is we just don't care!

This Oldsmobile has been the best beater car EVER! I have taken the car all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey in all kinds of bad weather and until the other day the car acted like a car that only the owner could trust.

My dad is a Subaru master auto technician and is able to find the best prices for the few cheap repairs that kept this car on the road. The absolute lowest price for parts on this car was its saving grace. Brake pads were under $20. A cheap started was $17. The entire exhaust system was under $30. Two front tires that were made in Korea cost less than $40 and the snow tires that came with the car aren't just for winter!

The Cutlass is riddled with dents and rust. It has dead gray paint and missing hubcaps. The last time it was serviced other than an oil change (no filter) was in 1997. Its ugly and leaks oil and has a stench of raw fuel surrounds it. However, this car has been so good to me and my dad. It has a large trunk that can be used hard. The interior is shot, but the seat is still comfortable. It drives straight down the highway at high cruising speeds, the interior stays very quiet while driving. Except for the few times it would stall while merging onto the highway or sitting in traffic, it has been just wonderful.

Just this week the transmission has decided to fail seriously. Given the fact that for the past three years the transmission that is in the car has acted like no other trans I have had the pleasure of driving before. Holding shifts, slipping, shifting from first to third, and fixing itself and working flawless for weeks at a time. It is amazing.

I'll miss this car when it's gone!

UPDATE:

The Cutlass is still rolling along. The transmission, by all means should have dropped out of the frame and tumbled along the road, but it hasn't. It is still hunting gears and won't come out of lockup, but still works. If it slips out of gear while driving down the road I just put it in neutral and back into drive. I carry a cell phone with me every time I drive it and if it does decide to break down, I'm going to take the plate off the back and pry the VIN off of it and hope it never comes back.

It has gracefully made it past the 155,000 mile mark (about 4,000 miles overdue for an oil change now). It still starts up everyday and drives smooth and straight. I use it on the weekends to haul tools, a lawn mower, and weed whacker.

Did anything break or fall off of the car?:

The digital (rolling numbers) clock keeps time for 59 minutes and gets stuck on the last 10 seconds of the hour leaving the time set at XX:59, so at least it is right twice a day.

The rocket emblems on the hood ornament fell off.

The "fasten seat belts" light went out on the dash - cause broken wire in drivers seatbelt - repair status, not going to happen!

A concrete pole at a fast food joint jumped in front of me (and what seemed to be about 1000 other cars) bending the front bumper a bit. No damage to the pole.

New positives?:

I cleaned the car and found about $19 in change, plus about 60 or so water bottles and cans from over last fall and winter. (I can be a slob in this car - never in anything else I drive.)

It hasn't been towed away as an abandoned car (yet)

This car is doing a great job of staying out of the crusher. Yes. The 1982 Cutlass Supreme is a great car... to run into the ground.

Dead.

I drove it to the salvage yard on July 11, 2004. Its value, $25 and a took the battery and the one good wheel and tire.

It was fun while it lasted.

R.I.P.

11-81, 7-04.

This 82 Olds Cutlass Supreme proves something I've always known about older American cars. They can take a lot of neglect and poor serving, and still run and run. Watching Pimp my Ride on MTV in the UK-England is Great! I've seen a knacked old Caddy Deville with poor bodywork and ripped interior, with half is dashboard hanging out. It still runs. They even pimped a 1986 Cutlass Supreme Coupe which looked like it had just come from the auto breakers yard.

The cars GM, Ford and Chrysler churn out now are more like the Japanese/Euroboxes we see on our roads today.

Whatever happened to the distinctive American styling that made your cars so unique, that you could spot one a long distance away. Keep old American iron on the roads. Marty.

Yes they were quite distinctive. My dad had a 78 Oldsmobile Cutlass. A few years later I bought a 78 Chevy Monte Carlo when I started driving. even though they were basically the same car, they looked as different as night and day. you can tell them apart from down the road. Remember one thing: any Euro box, rice burner, or bland American car will go to 60 m.p.h in 7 or 8 seconds, not so in the 70's through the 80's Believe me I tried many times, but no use. It wasn't until the earl;y 90's that cars, even Cadillacs and other large American family cars, started performing decently.

I had an '82 Cutlass (4-door) with a stock 307 V-8.

It out handled the driver's ed car from my high school pretty easily! I took the driver's ed. car around the (fairly sharp) curve at about 35 mph, and nearly ran off the road. (The instructor had to hit his brake) I think it was a base model, late nineties Grand Am. My Cutlass took it at 45 mph, no sweat and could've done it faster. That stuff is part of the reason that I'm mostly against front-wheel-drive!

Keep up the good work, Car Survey.org!