How long will it go?

[dsatt12]

You can all have hope that you don't have to give up your Auroras anytime soon. Mine now has 171,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ. I don't feel too bad needing struts now (see my prev. thread). Here's a little list of what I've had to do to it:

Bought at 99,000mi. (in Feb.)
Starts stalling within a week, replaced EGR valve, cleaned out carbon.
A/C compressor as soon as July rolled around (~110k)

Olds dealer rebuilt water pump (about $150, saved big $ over replacing) (115k)

Not anything I can recall that got fixed for a loong time after that. I thing I threw $300 at my mechanic trying to figure out the whole intermittent clunking going from park into forward or reverse. I understand that is some sort of high pressure mode the tranny does when it detects a problem. Still have that about once every couple of weeks...

At about 150K my wife got standed 350 miles from home in it when the shift solenoid bracket broke in the transmission- is that a recall by the way, or just a generic known problem? Me being the nice guy drove up and switched her cars then drove home in second gear- there was a fun trip from Northfield MN to central IA. Took 8 hours or so. I console myself with the 5 mile long line of poeple behind me near the end wanting to throttle the asshole doing 35 mph...

New plugs/ wires at 160k fixed a misfiring problem. It did however knock loose a chunk of carbon that later lodged itself in a sparkplug gap causing more misfiring. I was startled to find THAT there let me tell you...

I had to get a new radiator when it developed a crack between the radiator itself and this little plastic tank on the side at about 165,000 miles.

I tend to replace the pads and turn or replace the rotors about once every year or so, but I drive a LOT.

I really do think my '95 seems typical though. Most or all of it's issues have been discussed in various places. I still get right around 23-4 mpg. Yes, mine seeps oil like eveyone else's and it hasn't turned into a gusher yet.

I love having a great looking car that GOES when needed, and is extremely comfortable. Mine does still look very good cosmetically. I hope it goes over 200k without anything too expensive to fix going wrong on it. I don't want a new car (well, unless someone has a 99 Aurora they are selling...).

[RorthStar]

Mine's at 163,000 miles, and only major problems were the steering column (broke off), and the transmission just keeled. Other than that, really pleased with the reliability of this car.

[Indy8]

Originally Posted by RorthStar

Mine's at 163,000 miles, and only major problems were the steering column (broke off), and the transmission just keeled. Other than that, really pleased with the reliability of this car.

For how many of those 163k have you owned it?

[jjdewd]

My "96" has 111,000 I bought it at 105,000 no major problems
Water surgeon from gm forums had 170,000 some odd miles and owned it since new.
I recently saw one on ebay with like 198,000 miles on it.

[RorthStar]

Indy8, I've owned mine for roughly 130,000 miles....and those problems above are the only major ones I've really had. The other small problems are just the typical annoying things that go on in these cars...lol

[Indy8]

Any time you buy top engineering whether it's new or a little older, you will always be happy with it. I have complete confidence in the engine and trans. It seems to be accessory life issues. If you have never replaced an A/C compressor, radiator, water pump, alternator by 170k mi, that's an exceptional situation. Not the norm at all for ANY car these days. I bought mine at 50k, and now only have 73k on it. The alternator and w/pump appear to be original, but I've been through a compressor, two radiators, and plugs/wires that were on the car(non-Delco crap). I'm hoping this is a service life door that I'm passing through, and should now be good to go for a while.

[97 silverbullet]

hey dsatt12 when your tranny went, the part that went was the shift solenoid bracket broke, and when you replaced that the tranny was fine. how much did that cost? cause my drive gear or 4th gear is out.

[bustedratchet]

I have a 99 but not selling it. Been a good car the only thing I've had to do with it was a left right front bearing, brakes I've been changing the oil between 2,700 and 3,000. Did a favor for someone and got some free plugs and wires for it runing good so they sit in the garage. Had to replace the plastic strip in the center of the left rear door I don't know what happened to that ! This summer I was at a meeting and watched some moron biff my door with his (his drunk girlfriend parked 18 inches away from mine while there was at least 6 feet on her side "go figure") I had to go bitch at him for a while. He said he would pay for it but the next day I cooled down and bought a "Ding King" and after 37 thousand tries it looked O.K. Works a lot better for Billy Mays. Another thing. Does G.M. have a paint warranty I have a small spot under the paint of my hood that is oxidizing ?

[dsatt12]

The shift solenoid deal ran me around $300 total. I think it was around 50/50 for parts and labor. That was a HUGE relief after thinking about having to buy a rebuilt 4T80E. I got the work done at Cottman Transmissions and was pretty happy. I think they charged a little extra labor since they tore into the main part of the tranny for a little while until one of the senior techs noticed what was going on and had seen the same problem before. They also had to clean things up a little since I sorta burned up the fluid going around 300 miles in second gear.

Good luck.