1990 Oldsmobile Ciera Cruiser S 3.3 from North America

Summary:

For 150 bucks, it can't be beat!

Faults:

Windshield needs to be replaced.

Exhaust from the manifold back has gotta go.

Front swaybar is unhooked.

1 or 2 bent rims.

ECM or some other sensor is faulty.

E-brake cables.

Needs a radio.

General Comments:

I bought this car a few weeks ago for 150 bucks. I haven't got it on the road yet, because I haven't done the repairs to it. I need to hit up the junkyard to find the parts I need. I know I will find everything there, because these A -body cars are so common.

Overall, the car is in nice shape. There's no holes in the floor or rocker panels. Even the rear trailing arms (a common Abody rust spot) are solid. A few spots on the floor are starting to get flaky, so after I get them taken care of, the wagon is going to get rustproofed.

The woman who owned this wagon before I did put a lot of money into it, judging by the stack of receipts that came with the car. Oil pan and gasket, water pump, starter, alternator, tie-rods, wheel cylinders and rotors, A/C converted to r-134a, remote starter, transmission filter and fluid were all replaced from 1999-2002 according the the receipts. Oil changes appear to have been done regularly, as well as tuneups.

Right now, I've got a bad O2 sensor, plus a bad ECM or something related to it that's causing an occasional code 42 to be thrown. When the SES light is on indicating the code 42, it really runs bad. Terrible idle, stalls in gear, coughs and backfires through the throttle body. This only happens occasionally, but in a way that's worse, as tracking down the cause of a random sensor failure could be maddening.

I've got 1 or 2 bad rims which make the car shake terribly about 50 mph. It's totally undriveable at that speed. Since a few rims needs replacing, I'm considering finding some 16 inch rims to put on the wagon (standard are 14 inchers).

Front sway bar is broken, so the car really leans in corners. I doubt it's real safe like that, so that's getting fixed soon.

It's a fairly big car, with a moderately big engine, so fuel mileage isn't going to be as good as my 88 Celica, but I'm hoping to get at least 25 mpg on the highway out of the wagon. I had a 1990 Ciera SL sedan for a few months, and it has the same drivetrain as my wagon. It got an honest 27.5-28 mpg on the highway at 110 km/h. It never had a tuneup while I owned it, so I suspect fuel mileage would have improved if I had done the tuneup.

A/C system was converted to R-134a sometime in '99, it still works, but doesn't seem to blow very cold. I'll get it looked at once I get this baby on the road.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th June, 2005

14th Oct 2005, 21:57

Yes I also had a 1990 Ciera (International).Had it 4 years put 40000 miles on it with no problems. I bought it with 58000 miles and traded it with about 95000 on it. Other than brakes and exhaust jobs it ran fine. My heater also had the crunchy noises though as I read in another review here. Take it out on the highway for a 100 miles or so and it ran better that way afterwards than pouring injector cleaner in the tank & driving around town.

1990 Oldsmobile Ciera from North America

Summary:

Long lasting cruiser

Faults:

Radiator and front brakes at about 190k.

General Comments:

This car is sweet. Never stops running and best part I paid $400 for it and its gotten me everywhere.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th February, 2003

1990 Oldsmobile Ciera International from North America

Summary:

A reliable domestic car

Faults:

The rear defrost broke the second year I owned the car.

The car runs poorly when the front defrost is activated.

The heating system makes crunching noises.

The gas tank gage is broken.

The "overheat" light fails to work.

The power lock system has malfunctioned.

General Comments:

Reliable car, good acceleration.

However the seats are very boxy and don't conform well to the passengers.

It has lasted a long time, but the wear and tear on the systems has been a drain.

I'd still trust it to drive long distances.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th December, 2002