2001 Oldsmobile Alero GL 2.4L Twin cam from North America
Summary:
Best domestic small car out there!
Faults:
I had to replace the right front hub assembly at about 54,000 miles, it is very well engineered, it only took about 2 hours for me to replace it.
Now, at 63,000 miles, the left front hub needs to be replaced. I think the quality of the bearings is questionable.
Other than normal maintenance items (brake pads, tires, spark plugs, fluids and filters), the front wheel bearings are the only problem I've had with the car.
General Comments:
I do all of my own repairs and maintenance, and the Alero is one of the easiest and best engineered cars to work on out there. Parts costs are cheap to reasonable, and parts are easy to find.
My Alero is used for pizza delivery (wide open throttle most of the time), and it runs better than most v6's I've driven (forget ricers, I dust them off on a regular basis), is stone reliable, and handles incredibly well.
It has a very ergonomic cockpit layout, and inspires confidence when traveling rapidly down twisty roads.
This is coming from someone with 27 years automotive tech experience (mostly import), and previous owner of over 60 cars, and current owner of two high end German marques. My Alero is more fun to drive than the Beemer OR the Benz!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 8th April, 2005
15th Nov 2006, 16:52
I have a 2002 Alero and I wish I never bought the thing! So far I replaced both front hub bearing assemblies. Both of my power window regulators broke before 100,000. I replaced the window regulators and they broke again. My cd player has broken. I had to replace all the rotors and change the pads every 12.000 or so. I just bought another set of hub bearings for the front (this is the 2nd time)! This car looks cool, but is made very poorly.
19th Apr 2005, 07:25
Having owned an Alero GL V6 myself, my cousin having owned one too, I must say that you are either very lucky with your Alero, or... very very unlucky with your german cars! Come on man, how could an Alero outperform a BMW or a Benz :)