Fill Me In

08-01-2005, 04:55 PM

Hello everyone. This is my first post. I couldn't really find a thread I thought this fit into, so I went here. Feel free to move it.

1st off. I do not have an Alero. My girlfriend is looking for a used car and we are leaning towards one.

We are looking at a 2003 GL (I think) It has the 2.2L engine. I neaver hear anything but good reviews on the car, but wanted to get the 411 from actual drivers. I've always like Aleros but I had a friend call it a glorified Grand Am.

I'd like to know common problems, Milage to expect, etc. I'm browsing around the forums but not finding a ton of info.

It has around 100k miles and 1 owner. I carfaxed it and it seems clean. I haven't talked to the dealer yet, he wasn't in his office today when we looked @ it.

My girlfriend has 1 year left of undergrad and then a couple years of grad school. She's only looking for a car to last about 5 years before she turns soccer mom.

Thanks

jackal2000 · 08-01-2005, 07:31 PM

its got the ecotec....great engine...i would think it should be priced around 4,000ish. check out the 2.2L part of the forums, but really i dont think anyone has much problems with them...

cherrington17 · 08-01-2005, 07:39 PM

depends on if the person took good maintaince care of the car while it was being used. w/ 100k already on it, if it was taken care of, it could easily last another 5.

if it wasn't, you might be looking at more then its worth in repairs a month.

Eh_nigma · 08-01-2005, 07:42 PM

2.2L Ecotec Alero... what can I say... what can I say?

Mine has 110000km on it, and to date, there have been no problems that I wasn't the result of as the driver... the car is very forgiving, it's STRONG and safe. A fun car to drive. If you want to keep it stock, well, it will hopefully fulfil all your needs. If you're looking for a car to add to, it's a great platform to do this with.

Its just like any other vehicle... don't neglect it, give it a little TLC, and it'll run great...

As for your buddy who claims it's a glorified Grand Am... everyone's entitled to their opinion... no matter how wrong it may be at times.

The best thing to do is to do a search using the search engine. The 2.2L itself has few if any common problems. It's a reliable engine, as I'm sure you'll find.

Either way, Welcome to the forums!!

08-01-2005, 08:59 PM

My friend has a 2.2 and it has around 130000 on it, He babies this thing, I mean if you take care of it. No problems man, I wish i had the ecotec or even the 2.2 but i'm stuck with the 3.4..jk.i love my car, fun car..just take care of it..very easy fixes as well.

08-01-2005, 09:18 PM

I have the V6, but I have heard great things about the ecotec. Several of my friends have older Aleros, and have had no problems at all with the ecotec. I would think it would still have a lot of life left in it, if had been taken care of.

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 08-04-2005, 04:50 PM

I agree with everything said so far. As for the Grand Am comment, Aleros and Grand Ams are mechanically the same, just different styling (and the Grand Am has a GT "performance" package).

johny_boy32 · 08-04-2005, 05:17 PM

I don't know much about the 2.2l because i have the 2.4l but the car in general is a great car. I did some checking on NADA, and retail for the car your described was still about around 8,000 depending on wether it was a coupe, sedan, and if it had a power seat and/or sunroof. Needless to say though, you can probably find the same exact car somewhere else for around 5 or 6. Alero's arent worth much so if this guy is asking 8 grand, tell him where to stick it. As far as the gas mileage goes, I'm getting between 32 mpg and 35 mpg on the highway but I'm not sure how that relates with the 2.2l. It should be pretty close.

08-04-2005, 10:16 PM

thanks for the info everyone.

I just found a V6. It's a 2000 GLS with 50k on it. wheels, spoiler, leather, sunroof etc for $8k.

still looking.

another question though. I've noticed this on a lot of Alero's so far. The front "bumper" around the headlights is not flush. There is a gap. Is this common? Are all of them like this? Some are worst than others, but ever since I noticed it on one I've noticed it on all of them after that.

Vtolds · 08-04-2005, 10:21 PM

$8k for a 00 GLS with 50,000 miles sounds about right.

What gap?

That my old 2000 GX, dont own her anymore.

jackal2000 · 08-04-2005, 10:23 PM

yea that headlight gap is coming and most of them have a warp of the bumper under the headlight too

Eh_nigma · 08-05-2005, 01:30 AM

With ref. to the "gap"... it happens in mine due to the styraphome underneath. I took the front bumper off, shaved the white stuff, and it fits fine now. Was it worth the effort? Not really... it's only an asthetic thing... nothing to do with damaged parts or what have you.

Also the Alero is a STRONG car. Going through the accident I was involved in (5 vehicles total, 3 totalled)... I walked out without a scratch, same with the passenger... wouldn't say that about most cars out there...

eag182 · 08-06-2005, 09:46 AM

about the "warp", search for the topic "what is this dip"

08-07-2005, 12:17 AM

I love Aleros, safe too. I got toataled by a drunk driver who hit me so hard his car spun around and hit twice. the FD had to pull me from the car and i excaped with no major injuries. they said i was lucky to surived. i liked the car so much i got another one a 2000 v6 after lookign for MONTHS. privious car was 99 2.4 aleros are a great value and a great car. unique too.