1999 Oldsmobile Alero from North America - Comments

Replace rotors and brake pads at 12,000 miles.

Replace rotors and brake pads at 25,000 miles.

Dealership in Minnesota cut rotors and replaced brake pads (non warranty parts - while I am still under warranty) at 35,000 miles. Dealership absolutely refused to replace rotors - even though I indicated the car would be driving to Florida.

Upon entering the state of Florida - BIG grinding noise when brakes are applied! Dealership in Florida replaced rotors and brake pads (warranty parts) at 37,000 miles (warranty expired by now - however Florida dealership said rotors had been cut beyond manufacturers specs and did not charge - also put in writing - and stated that it was the worst work they had ever seen).

Minnesota dealership says (after my screaming tirade) that they will extend warranty to 60,000 miles.

Driver's side power windows failure at 47,000 miles. - Try to use extended warranty - however (stupid me!) no warranty extension was ever made. $350.00 out of pocket expense.

Replace water pump at 66,000 miles. (just over a month ago).

Waiting today for AAA to tow car - overheating again - water pouring out of vehicle -- I can hope it's the thermostat!!! :)

AND --- AND --- the brakes are making that old familiar sound -- AGAIN!

CD player refuses to eject Cd's when it feels like it!!

Passenger side speaker went out over a year ago - but cuts in sometimes - when it feels like it!

Speaker and CD player aside - these problems should not be occurring repeatedly. Oldsmobile should be ashamed of themselves.

I'm headed to the site for class action lawsuits and bad business bureau to see if this is a case. I encourage all those who have had problems to report them to every website they can find. I am sure that together we can make some waves. My name is Tammy and my email is tlc4247@earthlink.net - if you want web addresses to lodge further complaints I will do my best to provide you with a link.

I like the get up and go of my car.

I like the look and handling.

I hate pouring money down a dark hole!

I am the second owner of my 1999 Oldsmobile Alero. I bought the good looking car when it had 20,000 miles after the first year. I must say, after the first year or so, the car handled pretty well. When my car reached, 46k miles, the driver's side window stopped working (in winter) and I went to a local dealer to get an estimate on servicing the window and the part alone was $300.00+ excluding the labor. I felt like I had "sucker" written on my face. So, I bought the part from a second hand seller - the part came off a fairly new, but wrecked car. I replaced the part and within one and a half years, the same window part broke. In my opinio, there is a serious design flaw with their windows. I tell my wife and daughter to please not use them in fear of any of our window breaking - is this what Oldsmobile wants from their customers?

I purposely bought my car with a 4 cylinder engine hoping to obtain good gas mileage, and it has. But, my water pump has recently gone out on the car (the car only has 75,000 miles), and to replace the part was a 5-6 hour labor intensive job. If I would have bought the V6 engine, I could have been out the door for less than $175.00 in one and a hlaf hours. Once again, not happy.

The car seats are not very comfortable, and like many others writing on the website, my 1,2&3 poistion on the fan do not work and I have become so accustomed to it, I could not tell you for how long! I maintain this car religiously, and still have experienced some troubling issues since day 1. I was shocked to find this website and see how many comments were written specifically about the 1999 Oldsmobile Alero. To be honest, I was looking for reviews on a 2001 Honda Passport EX. I have found very little negative comments on any of the Honda reviews, and therefore will not ever consider Oldsmobile or related companies when it comes to buying in the future. I would never consider giving this car away to a friend or younger family member in fear of starting a fight or war to do it's unpredictable nature of failing parts and components.

When the car runs, it does "OK", but those parents trying to find a cheap, used mid-size car for the younger daughter or son - please do not be fooled by low price vs. reliability, quality and overall lifetime cost for the car.

I do not know what this will do, but if someone wanted to talk about my comments, feel free to email me at: michael.stec@volvo.com.

I work for Volvo in North America and will not wait for Oldsmobile to bring their quality to a Volvo or Honda.

BR,

Mike.