Since I have owned this car I have replaced the transmission once and repaired it twice, each time a rather expensive repair.
The two transmission repairs were related to the torque converter. The most recent torque converter repair happening 30,000 miles after installing a new transmission.
It appears when the tail lights were installed, the robot or a technician that installed them overtightened the lower mounts and cracked them, the final and top mount recently broke loose. This is an expensive replacement part.
The power seats have deteriorated rapidly, the springs are sagging and long trips require additional back support.
Overall this is a fairly reliable car with good performance and speed.
The continual expensive transmission repairs are a major concern for owning this vehicle.
The cabin room is satisfactory.
Instrument sight lines and access are good.
Sorry to hear bout the tranny probs.. mine is great! I am rounding 180 000k and the tranny is good as gravy.
Mine just passed 100k, tranny shifts like silk. The only problem was the infamous plastic intake manifold failure. After that $500 repair, the car still gets 30 miles per gallon on the HWY and runs like new. One somewhat pricey repair in nearly 9 years is not bad if you ask me.
I also experienced failure of the plastic intake plenum,
other than that, this has been a great car 124k miles,
still runs great.
Hmmm - I have never had a problem with this plastic piece. What are the symptoms?
My 1995 Oldsmobile 88 Royale is at 118k and the only one major repair to be had was the intake manifold. Replaced it and it runs like new. When I took it to the shop the mechanic knew exactly what it was and had my car done the same day. It still gets nearly 30 MPG highway and 20 MPG city even with the mileage. If you are considering a solid used car buy, this is it!
I own a 1995 Olds 88 and I too had to repair the several gaskets related to the plastic intake manifold (coolant leaking at the top of motor is the sign and eventual total failure lockup will be the price if not repaired).
Help: my auto transmission quit shifting, does not make any motion at all in forward or reverse gears, happened after a gradual delay in starting off the line, sluggish in first, is this total tranny failure or just the torgue converter?
The eventual failure sounds like what I had with my '95 88 Royale. Ended up being the drivetrain PCM that needed to be replaced.
God that was expensive, but not as expensive as having the plastic intake manifold replaced... that was a $700 dealership repair that I was not ready for. : (
Happy owner of a 2000 Ford Crown Vic now :)
My 1995 Olds 88 has really done well. I blew an engine (my fault) @ 104K. It now has 190K. Still runs tight, but lots of little things every couple of months, i.e. master cylinder, brakes, O2 valve, etc. I'm torn about keeping for another year, or should I get rid of it while I still have $ in my pocket?
"Hmmm - I have never had a problem with this plastic piece. What are the symptoms?" On mine, it was running great. I shut it off to buy gas, and it wouldn't restart. Some first symptom! There was antifreeze in the cylinders and it turned out to be this. On the bright side, this was at about 140,000 miles and it'd just started burning oil, about a quart every 2000 miles, and after this repair it never burned another drop. I'd probably still have it if it weren't for the wreck.
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