Value for my hard earned money
Had to replace the hazard switch since the turn signals stopped working. Next step is brakes, but that's a common problem with automatic transmissions, at least here.
Love to ride with this one. It's a nice ride even with long distance trips.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th February, 2008
As good as all my other cars and trucks
One brake job.
2 fan switches.
Broken drivers window (wife's fault; frozen).
After reading all the complaints that other drivers have had, I'm led to believe they either drive their cars too hard or just have bad luck.
I have had my Alero 7 years and have had no serious problems with it. I bought it with a standard transmission, so using the brakes lightly and in the country may be the key to longevity.
My GM dealer was (retired from the dealership) the greatest, most helpful dealer I have ever come across. My father in-law deals in the city (Richmond Hill) and has been taken to the cleaners ever time he takes his car in for the regular servicing.
I will keep my Olds until the wheels fall off; it's too bad they stopped making them.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th February, 2008
Piece of crap
This car was a nightmare. I owned it for 6 months and had to trade it in because of all the problems. It had relatively low mileage. The car is a good looking piece of crap.
The list of things that went wrong:
Tires would not keep air in them, even sealed.. poor hub design... I came out one day to 2 flat tires more than once.
Trac light, ABS, check engine light came on within 1st week I owned it. Simple wheel bearing, but cost $250 to fix... before I traded it in same problem again...
Left break had to be totally rebuilt twice- $300 each time, and my mechanic said rear breaks would need replaced within next few months, these were replaced when I bought car 8,000 miles ago!
Passenger side window stopped working, then that window magically began working again and drivers side window stopped working... mechanic said another $250 fix!
Dash board crinkled up like in everybody else's reviews.
Oh, I'm sure there were other things, but I kind of lost track, I was a nervous wreck, never went 2 weeks without some warning light going on and was in the shop at least twice between every oil change.
This car is a poorly made money pit and unsafe. Anyone who is thinking of buying this car should be warned... I will never buy another GM product again! Their engineers must have their head up their you know what!!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 19th January, 2008
I like it
First the rotors and brake pads had to be replaced all around, and also there are all kinds of weird creaking noises.
The transmission shifts weird; a little better since I had it flushed, but still very sloppy.
I had to have the power steering pump replaced, and I'm still having problems with it leaking.
Engine oil leak.
Driver side window barely goes up anymore; this is recent.
Outside door handles work poorly.
Interior is noisy.
The 3.4L V6 is quick and the car handles nice. I think the struts or shocks might be getting pretty worn out, because bumpy corners make the rear end squirt out.
All in all I actually like the car, but after reading these reviews I am a little worried about what's going to happen when my mileage gets higher.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 16th December, 2007
I own a Pontiac Grand Am, which is exactly the same car as your Olds Alero. It has been an incredible car, and has had far fewer problems than our family's Honda Civic did. I suspect that if you take care of yours you will have great service from it for years to come. Most all of the bad reviews on both the Alero and Grand Am are most likely from owners who take very poor care of them. Just use high-quality oil (preferably synthetic), change it BEFORE the recommended change interval, and never let the engine overheat. As a mechanic I take very good care of my cars and they last 200,000+ miles without any problems (except the Civic, which fell apart by 100,000 miles).
One tip: A common problem with these cars is the small plastic clip that holds the windows in place. A sharp jolt from the side will sometimes snap these, requiring the door panel to be removed and the clip replaced (incredibly minor and inexpensive if you do it yourself). I avoid this problem by simply telling my family members "If you slam the door I'll clobber you." Unless the doors are violently slammed the clip will last forever.
29th Jan 2013, 08:06
After my review, I had another problem with a cracking sound while turning full left. It was the flexplate, which was broken; a common issue with these models. The factory installed flexplate is too weak; replaced it with a Delco part, which is much better, since it's a bit thicker.
Also a water leak from the front side of the passenger side, which caused the car's computer to go down; also a common issue. Repaired it myself. Took out the computer, cleaned it and its connectors, and it worked until I sold it.
So, all in all, a nice car to drive, but some serious issues that everyone should know when buying this. I bought an older American car, which is much better choice than those sad efforts of American car making history, like the Alero is.