29th Jul 2012, 07:19

Original poster. 159k July 2012 and still going strong. No issues to report. Still not using oil between changes. Still gets 27 MPG in mixed driving.

20th Mar 2013, 18:25

March 2013 Update... 167k and the alternator died. Other than that, the only issue has been the air flow from the dash vents was going mostly to the floor ducts. Parked on a hill, and then when I left, it was back to the normal flow pattern again. Still not burning any oil. Been a great car... almost four years and 50k miles on a car I paid $1100 for.

6th Dec 2013, 20:08

Update December 2013, 178k. Had the Michelin tires replaced with WalMart Goodyear Viva 2 tires. Bad choice of tire... loud and goes out of balance often... the Michelins never did.

Otherwise, the valve cover cracked when the mechanic tried to tighten it. It cost $40 for a new one. Otherwise, still going strong, still using no oil, and looks like it will keep on going!

19th Apr 2014, 09:03

Update April 2014, I have now owned this car for five years! The longest I have kept a car.

The tan paint is giving up the ghost. The clearcoat is failing. I got the car with 118k in April 2009 and it now has 183k. Still uses no oil between changes. I paid $1100 for it and thought if it lasted a year I would have gotten my money out of it. I suppose I owe IT money now! No plans to get rid of it any time soon. Hope to get to 218k on it so I can get 100k on an $1100 car!

13th Aug 2014, 23:50

Yet another update... August 2014. I have almost 189k on it with no issues. I have put 70k on a car I got five and a half years ago for $1100. How can I ever get such a steal again?

24th Apr 2015, 22:35

April 2015 and I am at 200k miles. I have had issues with those Viva 2 tires, but otherwise still going strong. Still has the oil leaks it had at 118k when I got it six years ago, and still not burning oil or leaking enough to add between changes. I paid $1100 for it in 2009 in April and hoped it would last a year or two. I am at 200k and hoping for a few more years. Never knew it would last THIS long. I guess I got more than my money's worth!

1st Aug 2015, 23:51

August 2014 update. Last week the Pep Boys alternator died... after about 2.5 years. It had been sitting all day at work and started right up... got to the bank and did my business and went out to the car... dead. Got a jump, but all the gauge lights stayed on... which I knew meant the alternator was bad. I got it for free, but had to pay $100 labor.

The next day the ABS light was on by itself... no other lights came on... went to Wal Mart and had them check the two year old battery... it was bad... and they replaced it for free! The car also had an issue with the radiator fan motor... had it replaced as well. Had the A/C recharged and it is now ice cold, and for some reason is all coming out the dash vents... whereas before I replaced the radiator fan motor, it was partially coming out the floor and the dash when set to dash only... no idea why it is fixed.

The car has 204k now... still going strong.

1st Nov 2015, 10:58

Yet another update, November 1 2015. Well, the last few months have been expensive. I had the battery replaced after the Pep Boys alternator killed it... got it free since it was under warranty... the battery. The water pump had over 200k on it so I had that changed as well as the serpentine belt... also had over 200k on it... both original GM parts since the car was built. Pep Boys seemed to rip me off for the cost of the water pump and belt replacement... was $500 parts and labor. The radiator I got put in five years ago was leaking and I had to replace it again. Original radiator had been replaced due to previous accident repair. The car now has 207k.

10th Jan 2016, 04:33

Just sold my favorite car ever this week for $1200 after spending $1500 on it last summer. The new owner says it drives great, shifts smoothly, rides well, and is quiet. I had kept all service records. I think I had $3600 (including original purchase price of $1100) in it over six and a half years, so my cost for six years was about $400 a year... beats $400 a month! It has 210k and is still going strong. I miss it already.