A Toast, To 15 Years Of Pontiac Reliability!

I will tip my glass of diet Pepsi for you

Tim or Linda wrote the following on 2/3/2006 5:33 PM:

Me too!

And how many 15 year old toyatas, hondas, kias, subarus, nissans and mazdas do you see on the road?

Here (Kent, WA) I see a lot more P> At some point during the day, Saturday, February 4, 2006 when your out

Oh, I see a LOT of 15 year old Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissians here in Nashville. I also see a bunch of Buicks like my 1990 Buick Century V6, which turned 166,666.6 miles when I pulled into the parking lot this afternoon. I'm the 3rd owner.

Kias, Subarus, and Mazdas haven't been sold in large numbers and I don't think that the Kias were imported 15 years ago.

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (Harry Face) wrote in news:19183-43E3D4FC-34@storefull-

Will do, and ditto! I have a 92 Olds 98 Regency with 279,000 miles on it and still going! The most that has ever gone wrong with it was a MAF sensor!

Just bought a 92 Park Avenue with 150K on it, hoping it will do the same.

You know, every now and then GM screws up and makes a car that actually runs well and lasts!

BigBob

Cheers, it is! My 97 40th anniversary edition is nearly halfway there, mileage-wise. Also very reliable.

Whiskey for my men and Beer for my ponies

Congrats, I will toast with an Old Dominion Ale. What was your maintenance schedule like ? Did you use a dealer, indie, or yourself for the maintenance and minor repairs? I have a new car and am strongly considering full indie service. However VW recently screwed me on a repair 1,300 after warranty expired, probably because I did not use dealer service. The problem was very likely caused by a faulty water pump that caused 2 overheats and 4 dealer visits to fix.

Message from Harry Face written on 2/3/2006 5:11 PM:

Looks like the mileage is climbing fast on the PA...

I anxiously awaited 300,000 miles with you...

Congrats on 15 years together...

news:19183-43E3D4FC-34@storefull-

Oh come on - no wheel bearings? Certainly an alternator or two in that time. Not that I consider those to be an excessive repair for that kind of mileage, but I've owned enough GM's that I've taken to high mileage that I can't imagine one not having required these repairs. And... I just *know* that engine is leaking antifreeze. But even that problem - persistent as it is over the years of production, can be something that remains at the nusance level for a very long time... it sometimes never develops to the level of a real problem.

Is it an Ultra? I kept one up to 250,000 miles. Simply loved that car. Wonderful ride, great handling, the supercharged 3.8 was an unbeatable engine, classic Buick appointments inside - you just can't beat what Buick does inside a car, and not a bad maintenance record over that time. Did put in a wheel bearing or two, crankshaft sensor, crank pulley, and occasionally put air in the tires. Admirable in my book.

They make a lot that last a long time. It's just that there are some problems that they should have addressed years ago instead of foisting them off on the public. I think GM's reputation would not have been impacted nearly as much if they had simply addressed the intake gasket issue and a couple of other high-incident failures across their product lines. The cars are great in so many respects, but that sometimes gets lost in the blur of some of these high visibility problems.

I'll drink to that!!

My 1979 Chevy Beauville G20 9 passenger window van is purring like a kitten as well.

news:19183-43E3D4FC-34@storefull-

I took MAF in school.

What size motor?

"Mike Marlow" wrote in news:2835f$43e4ac02$452896b0$ snipped-for-privacy@ALLTEL.NET:

OK, I meant by 'most' as in the 'most expensive' Sure, I have done the bearings, alternators (probably 8 of those) and brakes and what nots, but like you say, show me ANY car with that kind of mileage that hasn't.

Nope, the fully loaded standard model, but quite nice nonetheless. A great deal at $600. I am surprised to hear that you enjoyed the superharged 3.8 as most folks I know that have it only get about 180K out of that motor. Plus, I just prefer a plain old naturally aspirated engine.

AMEN BROTHER!

BigBob

I'm not OP, but 3800 v-6 is the engine. Possibly (probably, in my opinion)the best engine GM EVER made. Best of 4 worlds: power, smoothness, economy, and longevity. s

smoothness,

Agreed. Coolant leak issues notwithstanding. Still the best engine for the money out there. Supercharge it and it gets even better.

Congrats Harry on the LE's 15th birthay celebration !

Not to barge in here, but the Supercharger thing struck a chord... I've got an 88 SSE with the series I - 3.8 L, for it's 20th birthday I thought ugrading the Engine with a factory Supercharger would be an awsome idea. Do you know anything about the process ? What's got to be changed out, and what's the same ? Will the intake / SC bolt onto the series I ? Additional wiring ? Brain ? Would I be better off just installing the whole series II w/SC ? Will it fit ?

Thanks

RGuess