Faults:

Nothing for repairs thus far on my Intrigue.

General Comments:

I bought this car privately with very low mileage for year. It wasn't my first choice of cars, but for the price I decided to take a look and bought it.

I must say that this car has grown on me since the getgo! It's so comfortable, easy to drive and roomy. I'm glad I didn't pay extra and purchase that 300M.

No regrets.

Thanks.

Faults:

Rear window regulator quit working.

Temperature control on the passenger side quit working.

Chrome rims started to pit on the inside, causing slow air leaks.

A/C recharge at 90,000 miles.

General Comments:

Bought this car new at the end of the model year. This was the last year Oldsmobiles were built. Runs great!

The leather heated seats still work and look new!

Getting ready to tune it up for the first time! Original exhaust system!

This has become my golf car because it has a large trunk and is a comfortable ride!

Faults:

ABS light, never got it off (hate it anyway, so I pulled the bulbs).

Ignition cylinder replaced due to security light.

Wiper motor parked upwards.

Headlight sockets melted.

Actuator that controls the left and right side climate control.

Secondary air injection code; hard to find the problem.

General Comments:

Loved this car so much that I have had four of them. I have had a 98, a 2000, and 2 2002s.

If you keep up regular maintenance, it will last except for the problems I mentioned.

For me, I own a scanner that links to my phone, and with Google they were all pretty simple and cheap to fix. Never would take my car to a dealer; they will rip you off hard.

The security light making the car not to start was a new ignition cylinder. Got it used for ten dollars; then the car ran great. It happens because there's too many keys on your key chain and the tumblers can't support the weight.

The ABS lights I popped because I hate ABS.

Wiper motors was a small tab that just had to be bent back (from using them first thing in the morning on a cold icy day LOL).

Didn't care about the actuator, because all the other climate control like A/C and heat worked extraordinarily well.

The headlight socket, I got for free at a junk yard; it takes two seconds to replace; it's because the metal sockets rusted.

And the secondary air injection code doesn't affect the car at all except e-test (here in Ottawa we are allowed to have one "not ready code").

The car runs amazing, the handling is just perfect, and I get great gas mileage. This car has literally saved my life twice. Once in a head on collision doing a hundred; I walked away with scratches. And two weeks ago I hit a moose doing 90, and if you saw the car I should be dead. My girlfriend was not even wearing her seat belt.

Just bought a 2002, fully loaded, everything but the sun roof. I've done a lot of research on this car. If you need any advice, feel free to contact me at Michael_harper4@hotmail.com.

Faults:

I have problems faulting the car itself for these problems, and instead place most of the blame on the previous owners. I bought this car used in a private sale for $2000, and the exterior and interior were in decent shape. The only complaint I had was that the gas consumption was absolutely ridiculous at approximately 7 km/L, and that was mostly highway!

Two weeks after purchasing the car, the check engine light came on. After scanning the computer, my mechanic got a code for the secondary air pump. But he also said that this vehicle hadn't had a tune up in years, which would explain the heavy gas consumption. After a tune-up and oil change, and a couple of fuel injections I put in myself, the car had exceptionally better gas mileage. A round trip from Newmarket to Niagara Falls, and the driving in between, only cost me $47, which was better than the Kia Rio rental I had before for the trip.

Alas, the engine light came on after a few weeks; again it was the air pump code. After taking the part out and testing it, it didn't work. With labour, replacement was $140. The muffler also was going at the time, so I replaced that at the same time, bringing the grand total of that whole repair to $350.

Then about a month later, light came back on for the secondary air pump again. By this time I was beyond frustrated with the car. After testing the air pump, there were no problems. The problem was with the relay between the air pump and the car, stemming back to the main CPU. Another $400.

In between the 'check engine' conundrum, my rear passenger tire blew out on the highway. The previous owners did not replace the tires when they needed to, since the tread was laughable. I was hoping for the set to last me until I had to put snows on. Another $250 for a set.

Front passenger rotor also went shortly after, and you need to replace both, not just one. Another $200.

Then, the engine light came back on. This time for 'emission' issues related to an oxygen sensor. The shop must have felt really sorry for us since they spent a long time on the car just trying to get a diagnosis (almost a whole day just diagnosing). The good news was that it wasn't an oxygen sensor. The bad news was that it was something more expensive (not even a surprise at this point!); an engine cylinder diaphragm. He also said the gas cap needed replacing, so I got an OEM AC Delco one to be on the safe side. $500.

On the bright side, this has been the last issue I've had with the car so far. My mechanic even said all of the engine issues can stem back to the fact that the secondary air pump needed to be replaced for a long time, and was instead neglected.

General Comments:

As I said before, the previous owners neglected basic care, which I think led to the mechanical issues I had. At the time, the only indication I had was that there were dog scratches on the exterior paint and a paint stain on one of the leather seats in the car. This car is a Final 500 edition, so you figure they would have taken some care to keep it looking somewhat nice.

I absolutely love this car, even with all of the money I had to put into it within the first few months I owned it. Even with the mechanical issues, the car has never once broken down on me, unless you want to count the blown tire.

Since resolving the fiasco involving the engine light, I've just had to pay for oil changes, tune-ups and snow tires, something all car owners have to do.

It is easily the most comfortable car I've ever driven, and the heated seats are an asset for cold Canadian winters. Leg room and ceiling room could be improved for taller passengers.

The car is very fast, has tons of pickup and handles like a new car, which is surprising for its age. Its tight steering has already saved my life when driving on the highway during a bad winter storm. You will not have trouble passing anyone on the road with this engine either; again, surprising given the age. This engine costs a lot in repairs due to its rarity (I believe it's also only on select models of the Aurora), but it is impressive when you're actually out driving it.

The car looks attractive and sharp with the W-body, and even more so with the Final 500 add-ons. Overall, a fantastic car if you have the patience to work out its kinks.