1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 royale brougham 3800C from North America

Summary:

A great car. It has paid it's way 10 fold

Faults:

The timing chain had to be replaced at 180,000.

The FE3 suspension developed an air leak at 225,000.

General Comments:

I ordered and purchased this car in August, 1988.

You would never know that it has 311,000 miles on it. It performs pretty much as when I purchased it.

The main problem is the overdrive lock-up feature shudders very easily when applying an engine load. This has been occurring and getting worse the last 10,000 miles. However, I compensate for it by downshifting.

The headliner came loose about 2 years ago. I sprayed adhesive on it and stuck it back up. However, it does need to be replaced. The rest of the upholstery has held up quite well.

The clear coat on the paint turned hazy and started peeling at 80,000 miles. However, GM repainted it for me under warranty. That paint job only lasted about 30,000 before it started peeling. so I had it repainted again at a professional body shop. It still looks great as it has always been garaged.

Amazingly, it still has the original suspension and rides quite nice.

The factory sunroof started leaking at about 20,000 miles and I replaced the gasket. This fixed the problem. It still doesn't leak.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th May, 2004

1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royal 3.6L V6 from North America

Summary:

A fast family car that needs some TLC.

Faults:

My coil pack went out at about 191000 miles.

Drive side and passenger side arm rests fell of.

Muffler got rust holes it it at about 150000.

My half shaft blew out around 193000 miles.

Motor mounts broke at 150000 miles.

Rear bumper completley rusted through.

Starter went out along with the alternator at about 140000 miles.

General Comments:

This is my first car and from what I've seen from it so far OK.

The car has got me around town and even out of town reliably.

Seems that every month something has to be replaced.

The Oldsmobile has plenty of power taking off the line, low speeds, and at interstate speed.

Has very good handling for a family car.

All together an OK car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th March, 2004

1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham 3.8 V6 from North America

Summary:

I love it

Faults:

The only thing I have had to go wrong with it is a small oil leak which will cost about $2 to fix.

General Comments:

I owned a 1986 Oldsmiobile Delta 88 a long time ago & loved it, and then got a G.E.O. Prizm. I hate it, but we finally traded our other car, a Caprice Classic for the Oldsmiobile. I looked for about 2 years for one to come on the market.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th March, 2004

1988 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham 3.8 from North America

Summary:

A nice touch of luxury but requiring many repairs

Faults:

The front ball joints needed replacing when I bought it.

The air conditioning has never worked (nor have I fixed it).

The hood struts had to be replaced when I bought it.

Since then (in the past 5 years) :

The alternator has been replaced twice.

The heater core has been replaced twice.

The radiator and water pump have been replaced.

The passenger power window mechanism broke and had to be replaced.

There seems to be a problem with the electrical system, as the power windows are often slow, and in the winter when the window wipers, defogger fan and rear defogger are on, the battery indicator goes into the yellow zone.

The cassette player broke.

The heat & vents control panel had to be replaced.

The fuel line rusted and had to be replaced.

The trunk release doesn't work anymore, likely due to rust.

The trunk leaks.

Lately it has been stalling a lot, at stoplights. Occasionally it stalls out when I am driving, which is somewhat disconcerting.

General Comments:

Even with all its problems, I still like this car. The seats are very comfortable and the interior is plush and roomy.

The car itself has a classy look, with nice chrome accents.

The paint has held up well, and has only recently started getting rust.

It feels like a solid heavy car, which gives me a feeling of security when driving. The new cars that I have rented seem like cheap, toy cars, full of plastic.

This is my first car and even with the mechanical problems, I will miss it when I have to buy a new one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th October, 2003

30th Aug 2004, 13:18

It sounds like you bought a lemon (mechanically), but I'm glad that you are able to look beyond that and still see the car's good points. When you decide to get rid of it, you should check around for a buyer. There are enough Olds enthusiasts in this world that someone would be sure to buy it.