Faults:

A woman in the family cooked the engine.

Needed a Head Gasket at 135000 KM.

Gone through 4 Mufflers

Gone through 5 Starters

Gone through 3 Alternators.

General Comments:

This car has not cost us that much according to some other people. The old motor had died after a woman in the family literally cooked the engine, but we made a 1987 GT motor fit. The starters and mufflers tend to go, but the car doesn't go very far, but does it very often. Old motor had a dead Valve Lifter, but that didn't hinder the performance much. Its got a little rust on the rear passenger door underneath the trim, and tons of paint scratches, but it still looks great. My mother has the car, and she won't give it up, and I'm buying a 1994 Sunbird LE. These cars are extremely fun to drive.

Faults:

Clutch replaced once.

Fuel pump relay failed.

Computer failed.

Water pump replaced twice.

Replaced Timing belt twice. Car has a clearance engine, no damage when the belt broke.

Driver and passenger window guides and seals wore out.

Upholstery and headliner replaced.

Headlight actuators failing.

Interior plastic fading and cracking.

General Comments:

This car keeps me on my toes, but the cost of keeping it running isn't too much.

There's not too many of these cars on the road, and people take a look when they see one. (Why do they laugh?)

Faults:

Well, the guy who owned this car before me did not treat it well at all.

So far, I've had to replace:

- the muffler

- the catalytic converter

- the front bumper

I still have to replace the latch assembly on my passenger side door (it froze in the lock position, so the door doesn't open).

The car has no air conditioning, possibly needs to be recharged.

The fabric on the ceiling is starting to fall, creating odd looking bubbles.

Also, there's a bit of rust along the bottom of the doors and the wheel wells.

Most of this would not be a problem if the previous owner had taken care of it better.

General Comments:

All-in-all this car is a great way to get from point A to point B.

The acceleration and the handling are great, almost like a newer car.

This car was a steal at under $1000.

Faults:

Water pump blew one week after the warranty expired (1992).

This car chewed brakes! Replaced them 6 times in the ten years I owned her!

Replaced various portions of the exhaust system (especially mufflers) about four or five times over the ten years I owned her.

Had to replace the head gasket at about 85,000 miles (1995). Dealer mishandled the replacement and I was left stranded along the Baltimore Beltway waiting for a tow truck the following weekend!

Transmission got "confused" when accelerating uphill... wasn't sure if it wanted to stay in second or shift up to third. Solved by forcing a downshift (also gave more power).

Trunk developed a leak in the spare tire well that caused the bolt to rust... rendering the spare tire "stuck" in its home (1996).

Cassette player broke the first year of ownership... bumper-to-bumper warranty covered a new unit (1989).

A/C system (entire works) had to be replaced at 6 years of ownership (approx. 70,000 miles, 1994).

Oil gauge malfunctioned at 50,000... was told by the dealer the cost to fix it was not justified by its usefulness (1991).

General Comments:

Nice looking car. Very appealing lines. Designed before American cars started looking so tacky and ugly!

Engine was quick for a little four-banger... but really noisy under heavy acceleration.

Decent fuel economy, even with automatic transmission and air conditioning. Generally 25 city/35 highway.

Comfortable on long trips, and the nimble handling made it really easy to wind through city traffic.

Very airy greenhouse! Passing, lane changing and parallel parking were really easy with this car!

Faults:

The only thing that has ever gone wrong with my car is the transmission had to be re-built (because I was trying to speed shift) so that was my fault.

General Comments:

I got it rusty and it has gotten worse, that is the only downside about my car.

Faults:

Surprisingly little!

The two major issues both have to do with air-flow and climate control.

The AC (evaporator core) developed a leak within 3 years.

The mesh guarding the entrance of airflow into the interior is prone to clogging.

General Comments:

Amazing performance for a North American product. It is at 323,400 Kms and the engine (and turbo) are still performing excellently.

The body has started to rust a bit along the bottom of both doors as is usual.

Overall... a really super car! I wish they were still in production.