Faults:

The brakes on these cars really do wear out quickly.

Shocks/Struts, (a couple, not all)

Rust around the bottom of the doors and wheel wells.

Passenger window won't go down.

A/C doesn't work.

General Comments:

This car is just awesome. I got it off an older couple at 166,000 miles and it impresses me all the time. It has 183,000 miles on it now and runs like a champ! I've had it for 3 years now and it has never even thought about stalling/slipping/or dying on me. Comfortable for long trips too. Fast and powerful. The gas mileage isn't very good, but you can expect that from an old and powerful engine. It's just too bad GM doesn't make them like they used to...

Faults:

Harmonic balancer pulley, digital dash replaced, outside door handles hard to open, car leans to one side, lower panel rust.

General Comments:

Bought this car from a mechanic, it was in nearly perfect condition except for some rust. 70k miles later, it's pretty tired. Engine is still fine, but everything else is on the way out.

The ride has been exceptional, very smooth, no shimmy or vibration. For some reason it is really hard on front tires, I know all FWD cars are like this to some extent, but I've never seen one quite like this one. Not a big deal, regular rotation takes care of that, and I still get reasonable mileage out of a set of tires.

My major complaint about this car are the door handles. They are lightweight and flimsy. My doors froze shut in an ice storm, and just a bit of tugging on each door handle rendered them useless. I've had a lot of frozen doors, but never had the handles break from tugging.

The transmission seems like it is going out, it shifts really hard sometimes.

All in all a great car, wish I hadn't traded it in.

Faults:

Alternator went out at 161,000 miles.

Starter Went Out at 173,000 miles.

Transmission acts up occasionally.

Dash Lights Quit Working.

Power Mirror Switch stopped working.

Keyless Entry Module Shorted Out, Stopped Working.

Poorly made interior starting to break and crack.

General Comments:

The car's engine runs very good, very reliable. It is very slow though, especially compared with the much better 3800 V6.

The Interior Quality is horrible. Squeaks, rattles, everything breaks very easily. The dash is put together poorly compared to cars like the LeSabre, Later model Luminas, and later model Cutlass Supremes.

The handling of the FE1 Suspension has more body roll than a Trailblazer, even with new KYB Struts.

Faults:

At 139,000 miles, the car developed a severe leak in the rear main seal. All the oil leaked out in a very short period of time, which led to a spun bearing before I knew what was happening, and very quickly, a complete seize-up of the engine.

General Comments:

I bought this car off of an older couple about three months ago. I have a Civic that I drive regularly, but I was going to be working on a farm during the summer. I didn't want to drive the Civic on the farm (I have invested a lot of money in it) and wanted something to make a simple 10-mile round trip every day. The car made it through the summer with no problems, but then I also took it to school at the University of Maryland at College Park, because I was afraid of the Civic getting stolen.

I had the oil changed just before leaving for school, and there were no problems reported by the service center. Three weeks later, the car suddenly started making a knocking sound and cutting off when I tried to make a turn. The knocking sound meant the car was out of oil. I put three quarts in it, but it was too late. Ten miles later, on I-95, in rush-hour traffic no less, the engine seized up and died. Sure, I could have gotten it fixed, but I only paid $1100 for the car in the first place and it wasn't worth the money. I had owned the car for exactly three months and two days.

While the car was alive, it wasn't a horrible car. It was a bit under-powered, but it handled decently at highway speeds. The A/C worked very well, and I never had any problems with the digital instrument panel.

However, none of that matters when the car doesn't run. Now my Honda is sitting where the thieves can get it every night and I have learned a lesson: stick to my imports. I'll never buy a domestic again, at least not a GM. I know I only paid $1100 for the car, and I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it, just reliable transportation for a couple of years until I graduated. I barely got three months out of that pile.