Don't ban me for this

[2blessedalero]

Moderators please don't band me for posting this. I am just a bit frustrated with my Alero right now!:mad2:

My elderly mother's 99 Alero is a piece of, excuse me for saying, crap! It only has 90k on it and she has invested so much into it to keep it running. She is on a fixed income. We have had problems with wheel bearings & wheel hubs, then the power windows fall into the doors, and the dash, let me tell you about the dash, it really needs an iron! Then a mysterious coolant leak, then it shuts off at the drop of a dime! She still says it is a good car, as I have seen from people on here. I must ask, why do you still think this is a good car? I am not being a smart a$$,I really am not, I seriously want to know why people think these are good cars? My mother purchased her Alero in 99, and I purchased my 99 Altima a year later. I have over 110k on mine, compared to her 90k and the only thing I have ever done to my vehicle was replace the brakes and change the oil. I have never had to do anything. My question is what is up with the difference in quality? I myself owned a Pontiac Grand Prix at one time, before I bought my Altima, and personally I thought I loved it, until I realized how much money I was putting in it to keep it running, but after owning another vehicle, I am not sure. My parents both have owned GM & Ford vehicles all their lives, until my dad got tired of the many problems and purchased a Nissan Altima for himself. I wonder could this be the reason GM might be going out of business? Personally I would never buy another GM vehicle unless it came with a 200k warranty and free service vehicle.

Again, I just needed to vent; I feel better now!:yahoo: I am not bashing GM vehicles, there are some that are better than others. My Grand Prix had over 200k on it. Please don't hate me, but please at least give me credit.

Thanks,

2BlessedAlero

[shez]

why would someone "band" you?

[2blessedalero]

why would someone "band" you?
Because I thought the moderators would get upset about me posting negative things about the Alero and comparing it to another vehicle. Again, I just had to vent. I tell you what, if you or a person you know likes to work on cars, this is the one for you! It always have problems that need to be fixed!

[99alerogirl]

You're situation sounds frustrating... I felt the exact same way about my old cars. Some people can pull 300k miles out of a car, while others can barely pull out 100k of the same model.. just depends on the car really. Sorry to hear about all your problems :( I hope it all gets better!!!

[Alerosaint]

some aleros are evil and some are great....Its all up to chance whether you purchase a non troublesome one or not really

[cherrington17]

its definitely a wide spectrum of quality on these. we've had some members who put every paycheck into it, to keep it running, and others who need to do NO work, until 150k miles.... its a coin toss.


and do you have a "band" preference, if they "band" you? :lol:
(its BAN... not band)

[2blessedalero]

and do you have a "band" preference, if they "band" you? :lol:
(its BAN... not band)

Sorry, I would know what band it was, if I didn't have to replace the radio in the Alero twice!

[[ion] C2]

My 2000 2.4L had over 190,000 miles on it before it was swapped for a built engine. Ran perfectly fine and withstood near 10 PSI of boost and lots of racing.. then I put a built stronger one in recently.

Power windows suck, I have crank. Many cars have issues with windows falling or whatever.

Wheel hubs are common for some reason, I haven't ever had an issue. The brand replacement seems to be the deciding factor on how soon it happens again.

Dash happens when you leave the car out in the sun, the glue they used wasn't that great. You can reglue it by peeling it back and laying down some real quality glue or using a needle to inject some and then smoothing it out and laying down a ton of phone books til it sets and dries.

Coolant leak's probably just some hose, you have to look.

Shutting off randomly is 99% likely the ignition cylinder/switch where your key goes, has a poor contact.

For your brakes, get www.r1concepts.com rotors and pads... NEVER replace the OEM brakes with OEM garbage.

[AGT]

You win some you lose some.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

it's a 10 year old car. there was a time when most cars weren't expected to last that long. It's amazing we're at the point where we're mad if they don't.

moral of the story: suck it up and pay for repairs...or get a new car.

BTW: that mysterious coolant leak...if it's the V6, it's the lower intake manifold gasket. there was a "recall" on that. should be a cheap fix at the dealer. And the dash vinyl curling up...that is also a common problem.

[shonky_alero]

If you drive a car everyday your eventully gonna have to do some maintanence. Give give your altima a few more years bet you it turns into a big pile of rust.

[Mr_Reed]

I agree with you make Aleros are pieces of shit. But they look sexy lol

[2blessedalero]

I agree with you make Aleros are pieces of shit. But they look sexy lol
Aleros are good looking cars. Except when u look at the dash board.

If you drive a car everyday your eventully gonna have to do some maintanence.

Maintanence yes! I totally understand. Repairs to a six (6) month old vehicle, come on! Major repairs.

Give give your altima a few more years bet you it turns into a big pile of rust.
Please don't speak this against my car.

it's a 10 year old car. there was a time when most cars weren't expected to last that long. It's amazing we're at the point where we're mad if they don't.
This has been a very rough ten years with this vehicle. It was given us trouble every since she got it! $21k for a new piece of junk!

[Midgear]

let me start off by saying im 20 years old, and that i drive the living shit out of my alero almost on a daily basis-

while im not one to bitch at every little detail that goes wrong with my car, i will tell you that alot of it is poor quality from the factory, alot of which can be fixed with aftermarket / new parts, like the brakes and rotors.

the window ordeal is quite annoying though, all 4 of my windows dont work, but come tax time they will- at least they hold themselves up lol, do some research when looking for parts, mabey browse this website for parts that others have used, or steps others have taken to fix problems, cause every problem you've mentioned, ive seen a fix for on this website-

[Redog]

I fixed my dash. Got a dash kit on ebay. Looks stock, except it's plastic and not leather.

Altima's aren't all that great. My wife had a 96, with no problems, but my uncle has a 97 and it's nothing but problems, and I've seen the mystrious vacuum leak on a 2000. It's nowhere to be found with 2 techs, myself, and 4 hours of our time.

OEM GM rotors suck, just plain suck. I bought the Summit Racing brand and they are the best I've ever owned. They are cheaper than OEM, but are slotted and cross drilled, so they cannot be cut. Once they are done, they're done.

Coolant leak on the V6, well this isn't just Aleros, this is an ongoing problem that GM just didn't fix. Every 60* V6 motor pre-2003 has this problem. Still waiting on my Dex-cool lawsuit refund, but I'm not holding my breath

[2blessedalero]

I guess I am just confused at why I see/hear people say these are good cars when they have all these problems, and repairs. What are they comparing the Alero to? Personally I have never seen an Alero/Grand Am at the top of anyone's top quality list.

[chevymuscle218]

I would have to say, I am having better luck with my 220,000 + mile 96' Z26 Beretta. I owned my alero for about two years now and it had 68,000 miles on it when I got it. It now has 83,000 miles and so far I replaced brake pads, starter, and blower motor resistor. Also, the dash is messed up and the ignition is messed up. The Z26 has never given me a problem, but I like the Alero better!

[Midgear]

personal preference I guess, if she likes the car, help her fix it if the funds are available, if she doesn't like the car, trade it in on an altima :lol:

[[ion] C2]

I guess I am just confused at why I see/hear people say these are good cars when they have all these problems, and repairs. What are they comparing the Alero to? Personally I have never seen an Alero/Grand Am at the top of anyone's top quality list.

What problems?

My rotors warped. It happens. I replaced them with R1Concepts drilled/slotted rotors for $120. They work better, look better, and last far longer than stock.

My cat clogged. It withstood running way rich and way lean with poor tuning and 180 some thousand miles. I replaced it for $60 with a universal higher flowing converter.

My dash is rippled. Big deal. I'll reglue it.

The car's 9 years old with 191,000 miles on it. Runs perfect, holds up fine to near-10 PSI of boost and lots of racing. What do you expect? All of your problems can happen to any car. Also the reason I like my car so much is it's tweaked to what I want, and it gets better as I go.

[shonky_alero]

Aleros are good looking cars. Except when u look at the dash board.



Maintanence yes! I totally understand. Repairs to a six (6) month old vehicle, come on! Major repairs.


Please don't speak this against my car.


This has been a very rough ten years with this vehicle. It was given us trouble every since she got it! $21k for a new piece of junk!



its a 99 so its a little more than a six month old vehicle there einstein. I like nissans nothing against your car but dont come on an alero forum and talk about how big of a piece of junk yours is because you dont take care of it

[AGT]

I admit I had the 99 GLS and I loved it. It had sensors that would go out but I replaced em myself and no big complaints. The only mechanical I did to mine was TB, CAI and Thermo and then the lowering and that was my choice.

I used pure synthetic oil all the time and babied it. It was a good car when you took care of it. Altho I did get rid of it for what I believe to be a bad torque convertor