Faults:
- Heater core at 86,036 miles; $184.64.
- Right rear wheel ABS sensor at 86,776 miles; $131.40.
- Idler arm at 98413 miles; $112.54.
- 4 shocks at 105,630 miles; $331.42.
- Coil wire at 113,630 miles; $41.71.
- Radiator and Thermostat at 116,809 miles; $462.95.
- EGR solonoid at 123,308 miles; $71.87.
- Spark plugs/wires at 123,979 miles; $112.50.
- Front brakes/adjust rear brakes at 127,778 miles.
- Spark plugs/wires, ignition wires, distributor cap, water pump, thermostat, serpentine belt, throttle position at 129,990 miles; $1,628.96 (yeah, that's freakin' right!!!)
- R&R EGR valve, left front wheel ABS sensor at 136,441 miles; $273.30.
- Battery; $74.80.
- Alternator (140Amp on LT1 engine) at 130,234 miles; $112.80.
- Used sway bar and heavy duty stabilizer links at 142,300 miles; $93.00.
- Driver side window motor at 142,459 miles; $269.45.
General Comments:
- Doesn't have a lumbar support built into the seats. "Bench-like" seats that are not very comfortable and may cause lower back pains during long driving periods.
- Slow acceleration due to heaviness of car (around 4200lbs...yowzers!), weak horsepower (only 200 horsies...boo). Although if you fully step down on the gas pedal anytime before 35mph, it'll getup-and-go...but anytime after that, when you stomp on the accelerator, not much happens. I found the hard way that you need a large gap of roadway if you plan on passing a car on a two lane road.
- Has an "old man" gear ratio, which means the car does not haul when taking off from a red light nor at highway speeds... a lot of articles have been written on the poor transmission in the L99's. Although I disagree, because it's just about the only thing on my Caprice that hasn't been touched...lol.
- I noticed that one of the three brake lights in the rear goes on and off from time to time. I also noticed on other Caprices the same problem with rear brake lights going out.
- Had the bumper repaired twice in the same two weeks, due to people failing to stop at red lights behind me!!! Also had the passenger side repaired (new doors, molding, chrome strips) last week... took three weeks to get the damage replaced because it was almost impossible to find doors for a Caprice. Seems like parts for the Caprice (other than the engine) are becoming scarce... well at least here in Toledo that is. Not sure around the Texas area where they were built.
25th May 2004, 19:37
Just sounds like you've found the lemon in the bunch. I once owned a '95 Caprice. I loved that car! It started out as a NYC taxi, I got it at a little over 200K miles. I got it up to 285K before I traded it in (Yeah, traded it in, and got $2500 trade in for it!). I had to put almost no work into the car. It ran perfectly, started every time, and I truly enjoyed it. Sorry you had a bad one, don't let it ruin the Caprice experience for you!