I'm a Newbie and am Buying a 1995

[thumpin455]

Lately I've had the hots to buy an early Aurora. I've been doing a little research on the web, have found this forum, been watching eBay, reading reviews, etc... etc.... all to learn as much as I can about the ins and outs of these world class cars. Last night a friend of mine, who has a used car lot in Atlanta just so happened to call and mention that he has a silver/black 1995 on his lot. After talking with him at length I have decided to buy this car and will be picking it up in about a week. He had the high-dollar dealer oil manifold update done as well as the 100k tune up. Also tires, battery and enough other stuff so that he's actually loosing money on this deal. This was the first Aurora he has ever bought and described it as a learning experience since he was not aware of the dealer only oil leak fix common to the 95-96 models. The interior leather is perfect (heated seats) and the exterior has only a few small blemishes as can be expected with any 8 year old used car. I am really excited about getting this car and am looking forward to the 400 mile trip back to Jackson MS. The car is showing 130K (smooth Georgia miles) and I'm told it's tight as new. He verified a few things I already knew such as the fact that I would not be turning my own wrenches on this Olds. When I heard the starter was under the intake manifold, that was enough to scare me off. I'll just baby it and keep my fingers crossed but I'm getting such a good deal in my eyes I should be able to handle a few repairs, drive it a couple years, and throw it away if I have to. Even if it dies completely I can just keep it for looks parked next to my 66 blk/blk Toronado.

Anyways, glad to be here and glad to be an Aurora owner in the very near future.

Thanks,
Paul

[jjdewd]

lol Did you know(I read somewhere) that the basic design lines of the body of the classic Aurora were derived from the 60's Toronado?

[97 silverbullet]

whats the odds of that happening, well we're all glad to have you here.

[dsatt12]

I own a black 95, you'll be happy with yours I hope.

One thing I'd recommend is to have someone check your a/c system. It was a costly fix when mine went out a little past 100,000 miles. The compressor died because there was too little refrigereant in the system (it was cold out and I couldn't tell until the next July). I wonder if evacuating and recharging the system and getting a fresh dose of the lubricant that goes in it wouldn't prevent that. I'd take $60 over $1200 any day...

I haven't found a lot of engine related stuff beyond oil changes I feel comfortable diving in to, but the brakes certainly aren't anything special. I don't know what the deal is but most repair shops just want to rape me with my Aurora for brakes, more so than my wife's car anyway. I just had a guy want over $200 to put new pads on the rear. A set costs me $12.95 at Autozone. Even the rotors are pretty cheap.

Just remember to grab the metric set when you take your own wrenches to your new baby

[Indy8]

All shops want a ton of $ for all brake work considering how easy it is. The reason is the liability insurance that they are required to carry. The premiums they pay are ridiculous, so they feel they have to pass it on to the customer.

[thumpin455]

Well it's been a week since my original post and I'm proud to say that as of yesterday I am now officially an Olds Aurora Owner. This car is even better than I expected. The 400 mile return trip from Atlanta to Jackson was an absolute pleasure. The car has brand new brakes, tires, and battery. dsatt12, thanks for the tip on the AC. My buddy told me the same thing you did about not letting it run out, he had already checked it and added equiv to one can.As I mentioned in my original post, this car also has had the dealer oil leak update done and the 100K tuneup. Cruising at 70MPH, 2300RPM, and 70 degrees outside; engine temp was just a needle width above 200. I got caught up in about 10 miles of stop & go road construction and had to idle for at least 30 minutes. Temps then rose to the next highest mark on the guage (220??) but quickly went down when traffic cleared and back up to speed. Hot oil pressure at interstate speeds was a steady 36lbs. During the stop & go construction, I noticed at hot idle oil pressure was only 12lbs. According to VIC, fuel econ averaged at 70MPH was 25.6 MPG.

The only thing not working is the fog lights. The indicator is lit but when you push the switch, the whole switch assembly wants to push back down into the opening. I also cannot figure out how to secure the jack with the plastic retainer as shown in the owners manual. Only trivial complaints so far; otherwise I think I'm falling in Love with this car.

Paul

P.S. I read that somewhere too about the basic body lines being derived from the 66 Toro. Now wonder why I love the looks of the early Aurora so much.

[kstrine]

Paul, you mention an oil leak update in your posts above. What is done in the update and how much does it cost to fix? My 95 leaks like a sieve. Every morning I see a couple of small puddles under the car from the oil leakage. When I jack it up I see a lot of oil on the bottom of the pan. It looks like is coming from in front and above the pan but it's hard to tell.

[dmorlow]

The crank cases are notorious for leaking in the auroras. It is extremely expensive to get it fixed. Luckily this happened for a previous owner of my car and they paid the bill. I saw the receipt though and I think the repairs were somewhere in the $2000 range. They had to pull the whole engine and replace a gasket between the lower and upper case of the engine. I guess about 50% of the engines are affected.

[gates455cutlass]

Don't forget that the 95 tranny's were a pain...they had problems and ended up fixing the problem in the 96's. I got lucky...I bought one that had a reman put it by GM and unlucky in that my wife's had to have one put in ($2000).