Faults:

The light switch is messed up, you have to pull back on the switch to get the brake lights to come on. Happened around the 150500 mile mark though.

Also recently around 165000 miles, the wheel bearings need replaced. (Still haven't replaced).

The car stranded me once, due to the alternator going out. (Typical for a vehicle). This was about 100,000 miles.

My only major complaint with this car is, the back panel on the trunk, where the silver paint is on the inside of the plastic, is chipped and half gone. This makes the car appear unattractive. We tried to remove it to scrape and repaint, but couldn't. A dealer wanted to charge me over $200.00 to fix this eye sore. (I did not fix).

The wiper switch was recalled, and it did go out on me, which the dealer replaced no charge.

General Comments:

I loved this car from day one. It has been a smooth, comfortable ride.

The interior is excellent, no problems out of anything at all.

Engine still works perfectly. No transmission problems.

Only normal upkeep has been performed on this car.

Faults:

The metal cooling line went because it rusted on the welds. The tranny is a little erratic. It sometimes (rarely these days) works fine. Most of the time it almost skips second and goes right to third. It also holds the gears too long during downshifting, but never stalls. The fluid is good, so I don't know other than it needs to be rebuilt. Convertible top leaks like a sieve, but it is the original. Dashboard doesn't like rain. Speedo and guages go on strike and stop working. Power windows sometimes have a mind all their own.

General Comments:

I really like this car! It is very comfortable and has a good deal of power. I don't really care for FWD, but it does haul out pretty good. I love looking for little "Fast & Furious" type cars and dusting them. Not the ones with the turbos, just the ones with wheels and an exhaust. Love the five seat setup, I have three kids and love open air motoring, what am I to do? This is the only 5 seat convertible I can find that is modern with EFI, besides the Cavalier and Sunfire. It was CHEAP, $2100, and I think I could easily get that today. It also typifies everything that was wrong with Oldsmobile before its demise. Shoddy interior quality and overly complicated systems prone to failure. It is very difficult to work on because they squeezed 10 lbs. of engine in a 5 lb. engine bay. Overall though, I like the car a lot.

Faults:

The transmission went out on the previous owner, at approximately 85,000 miles.

Low coolant sensor has gone bad.

The brake rotors have warped much more quickly than other cars.

There is minor engine hesitation after startup in the 1000-1500 rpm range; this is intermittent and goes away after warm-up.

Cruise control cable tends to skip off of the wheel on the throttle body; this is fixed with duct tape.

General Comments:

The car handles and rides quite well.

Fuel economy is much better than I expected! I consistently get 31-32 mpg highway! 65 mph is the sweet spot on the highway. It also coasts well below 50 mph so to take advantage of that!

Engine power is good at the start, but sometimes it feels like there is no response at highway speeds.

I don't like the wider tires during our snowy Michigan winters, but they'll do.

There are lots of air leaks around the windows. It actually gets a bit noisy on the highway.