Today I did some research on the best mid size American cars to buy for reliability,
and I came up with Buick Regal, & Chevy Monte Carlo as being
reliable. I think that the Lumina became the modern Monte Carlo, so I
am interested in Luminas too. Can anyone tell me more about these
specific cars? Have any of you owned these cars? How reliable are
they? I need as much info as I can get before I buy a car. Is there some good spots on the web to get more info? Any good books to buy on the subject?

I am trying to find out what will be a good car to buy. I need a
reliable car!

I was told Chevy Cavaliers or Pontiac Sunfires are good compact cars,
but when I looked them up online, I saw TONS of problems listed.
Everything from head gasket issues to starting problems & (typical for GM--) brake issues.
Can anyone tell me more about Mid size or Compact American Cars specifically GM and which ones are the best to buy?

I will only have between $3,000 and $4,000 to spend...so I expect some problems, I am trying to stay away from transmission problems, head gasket problems and other such large repairs.

I appreciate any help!
Thanks so much!!!:)

Just a side note. I, along with some friends over the years have noticed that the more reliable cars GM has produced are those that are in their final years of production before being discontinued in favor of a "newer and improved vehicle". It seems that when GM, ( or any other 'American' car manufacturer for that matter,) comes out with a new vehicle, it is bound to have problems and bugs that need to be fixed. Over the years of the production run, these problems seem to get fewer, until the final year of production, when the least amount of problems have been recorded. We used to joke back in the '80s and '90s that they weren't content with producing problem free cars, and when most of the problems have been solved, it was time to quit making that car and bring out a new one with a host of new problems, and start the process all over again. That is, I believe, where the comment came, " Never buy a new car in it's first or second model year of being introduced, until the problems have been discovered and fixed."

For everything good someone says about a certain car, someone else will say it is junk. You just have to pray you got a good car. Having said that, in my experiance, many mid 90s GM cars were pretty reliable. My buddy drives a 95grand prix with 180,000 miles. He just put in a tranny last summer. Another friend of mine got a 94 bonneville when he was 16 in 2000. It had a new tranny in it when he got it. It now has right at 200,000 hard miles and if he still needed it for a daily driver it wouldn't take much for it to be good as new again(it does drive though). My girlfriend had a 96 monte carlo that was plagued by all kinds of little problems but seemed to be reliable. Now she has an 03 impala that doesn't seem to be any better. I am a pickup man myself, so I say buy a truck.

I will put my vote in for the Buicks. I currently have a 98 Skylark (kinda mid-sized) and have had no problems at all. I bought it off lease with 25,000 miles on it and currently have 176,000 miles on it. I recently added up all of the receipts I have for it, it came to under $800. That includes normal maintenance items like brakes, oil and filter changes, tranny fluid and filter changes, serpentine belt, air filters and intake manifold gasket set. The intake gasket would have been the most expensive repair if I didn't do it myself (only $35 for the gaskets, the rest is labor costs), but even that would have been under $250 to change. In my opinion, a great car that is very reliable and easy to maintain. But then again, I got more than 160,000 trouble free miles out of a Geo Metro that people said were junk.....

Oh yea, 98 was the last year for the Skylark, so maybe that's why it is so trouble free for me.....

Late model low mileage Ford Taurus, cheap because they are so ugly, but pretty darn good cars. With late model GM cars you should get a new fuel pump assembly and a set of intake manifold gaskets laying in the trunk as part of the deal. You'll need them

ford taurus is a good car, but watch them, the transmissions are horrable, and as for the intake gaksets on gm's, yes it is true, they are plastic pieces of sh*t, and need replacement every 60k (gm's reccomended intraval) but, they have now got Aluminum instead of plastic at the dealer, not sure how good these will work yet, but weve changed a few at work and not one has been back yet, but the oldest one is maby 3 months old now

The monte carlo and the lumina are pretty reliable cars if thats what you have your mind set on than go for it........

Ive also heard that a buick regal is pretty reliable as well

Yes, I have heard that too, my brother in law had a regal that he drove into the ground at 220k+ miles, and he did not take care of it well. It still held up! I will look into those, thanks!

Why not look at the G.M. forums with the least amount of postings. If people aren`t complaining about them they must be good........Right..... LOL

I am a pickup man myself, so I say buy a truck.
Absolutely correct!
The most reliable vehicles I have ever come across are older Chevy S10 pick ups, especially with the standard transmission. The fewer options the better.

My last one drove perfectly with 410,000 km on it.

Older full size pick ups and full size vans are really good, too, but are a bit large and cumbersome for some people.

Absolutely correct!
The most reliable vehicles I have ever come across are older Chevy S10 pick ups, especially with the standard transmission. The fewer options the better.

My last one drove perfectly with 410,000 km on it.

Older full size pick ups and full size vans are really good, too, but are a bit large and cumbersome for some people.


If you are interested in trucks as well, try looking at older S10's, S10 Blazers, and older Rangers, even older toyota trucks. These cars get decent gas mileage. These are also the trucks you see that can be old beater trucks but hey they are still running. Find yourself a nicer one and try and stay away from power options, they are a pain in older vehicles. My car is mechanically immaculate but i have problems with the power windows