Faults:

The only problem I have had so far with this car is the alternator. I believe the bearing inside it has gone bad and makes an awful screaming sound. I will rebuild the alternator with a new bearing.

Also the car previously had a 1.8 liter engine in it. The timing belt broke and destroyed the engine. So a new bigger 2.0 liter 16 valve engine was installed and runs great. Replace your timing belt every 50 000 miles (90000 kilometers) or less!

The seat belts have also been recalled in 1996.

I have also spoke to people who have had serious transmission problems with all-wheel drive Lasers. Also some horror stories about turbocharged Lasers.

General Comments:

I really like this car. It has been reliable and performs very well. I have replaced the old rims with 16 inch aluminum Y spoke rims which are much lighter and make the car handle much better. It also has been equipped with a filter charger, high performance Dynomax exhaust system, larger exhaust headers, steel braided tubing and a stereo system.

The body has a little bit of rust which I am going to cut off and replace with new metal which is common on the east coast of Canada (road salt).

It handles better than any car I have driven before.

It is also the fastest car I have ever driven before. How fast? I lent the car to a friend one day and told him to keep it below 140 km/h. One week later I got a letter from the Department of Highway safety. It contained a speeding ticket along with a picture taken on a highway by a radar gun/camera the police have set up. The pictured showed my Laser with my friend inside speeding around a corner. It was as good as a magazine picture. In the corner of the picture read the date, time and above all the speed the car was traveling. 238 km/h (149 MPH). We framed it and hung it on the wall.

Faults:

I have had to completely replace the brakes, once at about 30,000 and again around 60,000. The dealer finally told me about technical service bulletins issued on the brakes, but I couldn't get any of my money back.

I have had to replace both motors in the power windows.

The car burns about a quart of oil between changes.

Most recently the transmission had to be replaced.

The mechanic said that the alternator was bad that the clutch in the tranny would engage repeatedly while driving and it burned out. Replaced the alternator.

General Comments:

While I have had some problems with the vehicle, I do enjoy driving it. Most of the problems with the car I can live with. The reason I would not buy from this manufactuer again is mainly because of the way we've been treated at the dealership level.

I'm 6'2" and the leg room is adequate although being so low to the ground takes its toll when entering and exiting the vehicle.

The body has held up excellently for such harsh Wisconsin winters. The car looks good and is still very stylish. I have replaced the wheels with after market chrome alloys which really makes it look nice. Most lasers in this area still have the cheesy looking gray plastic rally wheel covers.

I have had problems with the performance which are usually remedied by an oil change. I recommend every 2000-2500 miles.