Is a Used Lumina a good buy?

[becscar]

thanks for al the good and helpful info about Luminas, I really appreciate it!!

[tblake]

Originally Posted by Street18

yea my lumina has 276k miles on it and still strong

the last year they made the lumina was 1999

are you sure that was the last year the lumina was made?

[cheryllephillips@m]

1990 Lumina purchased in spite of stalling problem since car started right back up during test and it'd sat for 2 yrs. Now car wont start at all! I say NO older model used Lumina not good buy!!

[silverado122775]

They were making Monte's in 99. 97 was the last year for the Lumina.

[sassyasskitty]

I now own my second Lumina. First was a '91 4dr that I adored! Drove like I stole it, never had an issue beyond basic maintenance and an alternator. Drove over 2000 miles in 5 days through the hot South and never an issue. Some idiot drove through a redlight at 55 mph and straight into my right front tire. Totaled out my car and his Chevy pickup. But mine just looked a little like a baseball bat got it, and his was literally a twisted pile of metal. I managed to not end up with much other than a few bruises and a scar, and was on the hunt for another Lumina. Anything that runs that well, and wrecks so safely i will definitely continue to own. The second one has been almost as good, no major problems, just oil changes and brakes. I like the fact that it rides like a grandma car, drives like a sports car...and some mods can be done to make it what I want. Plus I can do some of the work on it myself. Also used to own a Z34, wouldn't give up my sedan for the Z ever!!

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by silverado122775

They were making Monte's in 99. 97 was the last year for the Lumina.

Wrong. I guess you missed that he's driving a 2001...

[sassyasskitty]

Originally Posted by jeffcoslacker

Wrong. I guess you missed that he's driving a 2001...

OK to end this one....the sedan and minivan were intro'd in '89 for the '90 sales year. The APV became the Venture in '97. In '95 the were redesigned, the Monte came back and replaced Lumina 2dr, and the Euro was dropped for the LS. In '00 The Impala replaced the Lumina. Luminas were available only for fleet after the '00 year. The final date of production was April 26, 2001.
Unless.......In Australia you could buy a 2002 Lumina, in the US it was called a Pontiac GTO.

[needmoemoney]

NO. It is not a good buy. My uncle gave me a 1991 Chevy Lumina Z34 back in July 05. In October the alternator went out on it. It costed $600 to replace by the shop. A week after getting it out of the shop, one of the fuel injectors got clogged/went out. That cost me $65 to replace. This past december the timing belt went out. The shop estimated $500 to $1000 to replace. Now the damn car sits in my garage with a layer of dirt on it. Instead of getting it fixed I went out and bought a 1998 Dodge Ram. I have had 0 problems with the new car.

[silverado122775]

Originally Posted by sassyasskitty

OK to end this one....the sedan and minivan were intro'd in '89 for the '90 sales year. The APV became the Venture in '97. In '95 the were redesigned, the Monte came back and replaced Lumina 2dr, and the Euro was dropped for the LS. In '00 The Impala replaced the Lumina. Luminas were available only for fleet after the '00 year. The final date of production was April 26, 2001.
Unless.......In Australia you could buy a 2002 Lumina, in the US it was called a Pontiac GTO.

The Impala did not replace the lumina.. it was the Monte that replaced the Lumina.
The GTO was not brought back until 04 I think? The lumina is Chevy the GTO is pontiac. GTO is a different animal and not be compared to the lumina.

[Manny_boy]

Originally Posted by needmoemoney

NO. It is not a good buy. My uncle gave me a 1991 Chevy Lumina Z34 back in July 05. In October the alternator went out on it. It costed $600 to replace by the shop. A week after getting it out of the shop, one of the fuel injectors got clogged/went out. That cost me $65 to replace. This past december the timing belt went out. The shop estimated $500 to $1000 to replace. Now the damn car sits in my garage with a layer of dirt on it. Instead of getting it fixed I went out and bought a 1998 Dodge Ram. I have had 0 problems with the new car.

ummm... I'd have to disagree with you there. Everything you listed except for the alternator is due to a lack of maintenance. If you tool around, $150.00 and 45 min. with a wrench in your hand would have taken care of your alternator. The timing belt isn't much harder, and costs about the same for the timing kit ($150.00 - two idler pulleys, tensioner pulley, actuator, and timing belt) The service manual recommends changing your timing belt every 60,000 mi. not because it looks pretty in print, but because it will shred and leave you stranded - like any car with a timing belt.

I'm gonna ride mine 'till the wheels fall off...

...and then I'll buy another.

[needmoemoney]

First of all, my uncle gave me this car with 175,000 miles on it because the car dealer wouldn't give him squat for it. I wasn't just going to keep sinking money into it for it just to break again. This "45" minute install is if you are a mechanic. It's not like all you have to do is take it off and put the new one on. You have to take a whole bunch of shit off to get to it. Same thing with belt. It's just not that simple. This car is not even worth the time and money. This spring I will break it down and fix the belt myself, just to sell it for $750 to another sucker. Besides, I am a million times happier with my truck. If you want to take a look, here it is http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2113403

[Daghara_terry]

I own a 97 and a 98 and they have both been dependable for me. I have owned both of them for about 3 years and have not had any problems. They are good on gas and run smooth. I would stay away from the z34 because they have issues with timing. My uncle owns one and he has changed 3 timing chains and has tried to figure out what the problem since he bought it.

[silverado122775]

I had 1991 Lumina chevy Lumina Z34, except it was a stick. sweet car, and plenty quick. I never had anything go wrong with it.. just the general maintenance upkeep