9th May 2006, 16:24

We just bought a 2004 final 500 Bravada and I've got to tell you it's a great SUV. I was amazed by the power, and towing was great too - it will tow like 5000 pounds.

I can't believe Oldsmobile put 275hp in that little SUV. That's only 25 horsepower less than the '69 GTO.

For all you 2002-2004 Bravada owners out there, try this, get in your Bravada, get going about 45 and floor it, it will throw you against the seat.

Anyway, the Bravada has leather seats, which is good if you spill something. It's got a lot of interior room, and an available Bose system that sounds great. It's too bad GM phased out Oldsmobile, because that was my favorite car brand.

27th Sep 2008, 22:06

We bought our 2002 Bravada in Sept. 2001. While it's a nice car to drive, this is the most unreliable car I ever owned.

As ours was a totally new model, it came with many bugs. Rain sense wipers never worked right for 3 years. Now they are mostly OK.

The A/C compressor wouldn't come on above 40 degrees, so the windows would fog up. And of course those infamous mirrors.

Some software updates finally fixed the A/C and made minor improvements for the mirrors. THEY NEVER COULD FIX THE REVERSE TILT DOWN MIRRORS.

We used the Lemon Law when we lived in New Jersey. We couldn't get the car taken back, but the 7 grand settlement helped for what we knew would be a car needing a lot of repairs.

So here we are at 65000 miles, and so far have fixed the following.

Under warranty we have had 8 software updates for all sorts of issues. We also had 6 assorted relays and one window switch replaced.

Shift lever leather boot replaced under warranty.

A/C compressor under warranty.

Assorted engine and emission switches replaced under warranty.

Power window switch replaced under warranty.

Now the car is out of warranty.

We have the computer reloaded once a year at a cost of $100.00 so that the mirrors sort of work.

Partial tune up. OK, that's not so bad.

Replaced 3 boots for the A.W.D. axle joints, and one center axle. That folks is BIG MONEY.

Fan clutch. It's electronic and retails for $375.00 plus install.

Rear axle seal replaced today.

And now the power driver's seat has gone bad.

It has yet to need brakes however. But it should need them at 75K miles just to play it safe.

We have moved to North Carolina, and made many round trips to New Jersey and Florida. Other than a bit too much road noise, this car is great on a highway. Very stable even at 85+MPH. Those rain sense wipers are great in what we call a bucket rain down here. I have driven in bucket rains while doing 80MPH and the car laughed at the rain. But in a misty rain they constantly need adjustment.

Still I paid for bells and whistles, and some don't work. The best MPG we get is 17-18, and only with the cruise on. Add to that the many repairs and more coming, and well, I see a Highlander in my driveway soon.

When we bought the Bravada, we also considered a Lexus. The Bravada was 5K less out the door, so we figured how bad could it be? We won't make that mistake again.