Excellent value for the money
Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this car.
This car has proven to be very reliable. If you want a good quality, affordable and classy car (but don't want something as embarassingly common as a Corolla), definitely consider getting an Alero.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd September, 2004
Would Never Get One Again!
My dashboard is waving and bubbling. My crank shaft just went up on it and left me stranded. Fuses keep blowing left and right which left my heater out of commission this past winter for a few days. I occasionally hear squealing coming from my air condioning unit, like the fan blower is hitting something inside the dash. My brakes grind, but I can't even afford to look into that now. When it rains real bad, it will keep making chirping noises. The kind of chirping noises your car makes when you lock it with your key less remote.
I love the look of my Alero, but I am getting REAL disappointed in having to keep putting more & more $$ into a 2 year old car!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th August, 2004
Fast and Fun to drive
Not much, had to have a heater switch, 2 sets of rotors, one set of pads. Rotors on it have been there since about 30000 miles so they must be good.
Car is very very fast, would leave my Lumina in it's dust, although the fuel consumption of the bigger 3.4 is worse than the Lumina's 3.1.
Handling is o.k., the Lumina could definitely take the curves much better, but probably because of the weight.
Seats feel like they are made of carved stone, not as comfy as the Lumina.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th August, 2004
Don't even think about getting one if you value your life
I got the car at the end of October, 2002. By the end of December of the same year, the dashboard had wrinkled. Luckily, it was covered under warranty.
In June 2003, the motor of the driver's side window no longer worked. I had to have it replaced. This also was covered by warranty.
The knob on my radio broke and I had to have it replaced. This was not covered under warranty.
January 2004, my car began to have problems starting. The engine would sound like it wants to turnover, however, it doesn't until the third try. I took it down to the dealership's service department, and they couldn't find the solution to the problem. This has continued to occur and now it is August. I have taken it to the dealership numerous of times. I have replaced the battery and the fuel pump by suggestion of the mechanic. None of these suggestions have solved my problems.
I honestly think that the car needs to be recalled. The mechanics only true solution to my problem is to wait until whatever is causing the problem to break all the way down where the car does not work, so that they can find the problem. This is an inconvenience to me because I like to travel, however, my car is not reliable enough for me to venture out of state. It's barely reliable enough to get me to and from work. This is my first time using Oldsmobile and I promise it will be my last.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 5th August, 2004
The starter is okay. I asked the GM dealer about that on my Alero and the immobilizer takes a few seconds to register that it's the correct key. What I do is turn it to the ON position for about 5 seconds or when the chime goes off, then start it and it starts up without a problem. This seems to be common on a few cars, like my friend's Honda Civic. Try that and see what happens. Power Window motors seem to be a problem on the Alero's, but yours frankly isn't really a lemon, there are other cars with way worse stuff than that.
A crappy car? Maybe... But Life threatening? I don't think so.
When I bought my 2002 Alero I had trouble starting it too. Took it to the shop and they couldn't fix it either. So I did some looking myself. I found the problem to be a faulty fuel relay under the hood. Check that. Have had no problems since, but I carry a spare fuel relay. Love my Alero now. G.B. in Alberta Canada.
The problems you have described hardly would qualify as a lemon. I've owned my 2002 Alero since new (so about 7 years now), and it is a fantastic car. Sure there are a few quirks to it, such as the passenger side window working when it wants, and the paint flaking off the radio buttons. But the problems you've had are ones everyone has had, and as long as the car still runs fine, then why are you complaining?
The window motor can be annoying, and the radio.. to be honest it probably would've been cheaper for you to just go to Best Buy and buy a new deck.
25th Aug 2004, 11:38
I aslo have just purchased an Alero... so far my only complain is that I too have problems starting the car, it sounds like it wants to turn over, but it takes awhile.. this worries me... as far as the interior it is OK, but my factory stereo buttons are flaking off... I have become very skeptical of this car and am very worried... I think it might be a lemon.