The 3400 isn't THAT bad. I have 176,000+ miles on mine and all I've had to do to it is the LIM gaskets around 50,000 and a water pump and that's about it other than tune-up stuff. Just replaced the fuel pump at 176,000. I admit I have a slight knock in it especially when I first crank it up but most of it goes away when it warms up. The key is you gotta change the oil regularly and flush your coolant and you'll get a ton of miles out of one without major problems. Of course you can't drive it like you stole it and expect it to last long either.
I think the #1 thing that totally SUX about our cars are the wheel bearing assemblies and the brake rotors! Now that's what makes these cars really suck if you want to identify something that is bad on them.
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