Generalized Questions

[gadkins74]

howdy!

well, Mom has decided to drop her Cavalier and is shopping around for a new car. Well, my efforts at convincing her to go for a Mitsu Galant (sorry everyone!) fell short and Mom has decided that she has her heart set on an Olds Alero, so I need to get cracking asap to find out what we're looking at.

So far it looks like she has a good line on a 2003 2.2liter, I forget the trim level. I want to say GL, but am probably wrong.

So what am I looking for here? I've kinda surfed the site to get an idea on things and also checked alero.org for some TSB info, but it doesn't cover 2k3. Altho the 2000 TSBs looked nasty, but I'm sure MANY corrections have been made, so probably isn't as bad as it seems.

The obvious stuff applies here in that Mom isn't looking to mod this beast or anything, she just wants a good point A to point B car. Mostly I'm here to get an idea of just what she'll have under her hood and what to look out for. Thanks much!

Oh, for the record.. I'm a 98 Eagle Talon ESi, hence my push for her to get into a Galant. :)

[ptrudel]

i personnally haven't heard many probs coming from the ecotech..maybe someone can correct me if i'm wrong tho...but for sure she'll love the car, no doubts there :thumbsup:

[misslindseysue]

The biggest problem with Aleros only happens to the 3.4L V6 (a leaking gasket). As for the Ecotec, I haven't heard any major engine problems at all. The wheel bearings / hubs go out from time to time, as well as brake rotors, and your normal maintenance.
I've had my 2000 for 4 years now, and I haven't fixed anything bigger than the hubs (which are $100 for the part, or $300-400 installed at a dealer). My V6 did have "the leak" but you wouldn't have to worry about it.
So as far as a car goes, the Alero, especially a 2003, will get you where you're going quite well. I haven't had any problems getting mine serviced since the demise of Olds, either.

[brsexton]

I have an 03 Ecotec with 22k on it. No major problems. I have had the brake pads and rotors replaced, and the steering wheel air bag replaced because of the horn getting stuck (go ahead and laugh). And one recall for the computer update. Thats all I have had problems with.

[gadkins74]

Good responses so far, thanks. Turns out mom is sending someone to auction to pick up a 2004 GL, which I think keeps it at the 2.2 liter mark, so it appears that any possible problems relating to the V6 won't be present here. So far everything seems to be good on this.

I noticed that it seems the Alero is the sister car to the Grand Prix. Is this so? If it is, then this is one more good point to list for the Alero as I had a Grand Prix for a bit and it was SO solid.

Thanks for the info!

[Final-Reality]

Actually it's the same car underneath as the Grand Am, not the Grand Prix...

[Redog]

The Malibu is too (up to 2003)

[overdrive75]

Originally posted by Redog@Jun 24 2004, 09:33 AM
The Malibu is too (up to 2003)
actually the 2003 body stayed on for rental, under the chevy classic name. so same as 2004 and 2005 chevy classic.