This car is really starting to **** me off now. It seems to need repair after repair. Ok...I know it'* 12 years old and has a few miles on it, but in the 6 months that I've had it I've done the fuel pump, alt, front wheel bearing, power window motor, and oh yeah the engine And now it needs the other wheel bearing, a flex line for the brakes, and new gas lines...ugh. I bought this car cause I heard they were super reliable and held up very well, and also because I coulden't afford a new one, but now I'm wondering if I can afford to keep it. (vent mode off) Thanks for listening to my outburst guys. I guess if I replace everything then it'll be awhile before the stuff I replaced breaks

first good deed tip of the day: If it is over 4 years old, go used. Too bad I got rid of my '89 :( It had all that stuff and more i could have given you. I didn't have that kind of problems with my car at 229kms though. I had like 300K on it before it started to fall apart Try scrap yards.

Depend’* how you drive and how the person before you drove. Even if you drive normally the person before you may have driven radically different than you which can cause some of the problems you have experienced. The next tip is if you even feel remotely inclined to fix your car it is a good direction to go not only because it will pay for the tools you need but it will let you learn what is necessary to look for to be proactive with repairs instead of reactive. I love my shady tree experiences even the horrible ones. If you have no intention of working on your own car, then find a reasonable mechanic who you trust. The car you have is a very reliable car but after 12 years at any mileage they do fall apart and some things need to be replaced. I have a Toyota Celica that is doing the same thing. 14years old and I am redoing every part on it. Just itemize what you need and get only the best or you will be redoing it again way too soon. I could go on but I am sure there are more people with even more wisdom in this area.

TY

I have a 95 SSEi that has had multiple reoccurring problems. I bought it with 40,000 miles on it 3years ago. It currently has 112,000 miles on it. I have had to replace the intake gasket twice, alternator 3 times, and water pump at least 4, and 1 rebuilt tranny. I can attribute most of these repairs to my driving (1 defective water pump). In this case, this is mostly my fault. I drive my car like it is a Formula 1 racecar so I won't tell you how many tires I have burned up. Basic mechanical parts such as heads, pistons, CV joints, etc... have taken my abuse without any problem.

I now have a tendency to replace broken or bad parts with better stock or aftermarket replacement parts. Those parts that I have replaced like this have been problem free.

I have learned to do most of the basic maintenance myself which has helped bring down the cost of maintenance. It also helps me to figure out what is going wrong before it goes and ruins 10 other things with (EG: water pump took out all of my pulleys once). The down side is if you have only 1 car like me, it can be hard to have your car down for a few days while you fix it yourself.

Considering all of the other cars I have had the Bonneville still holds up better than any of the rest. 1st car (79 Malibu Classic) went to the junk yard (breaks fell off + alot more), 3 rd car (89 Continental) blew apart the entire air suspension and a split head (all within two weeks, OUCH!)

If the body of your car is still good and you know what is wrong with it, It is probably worth fixing it up with quality parts. Then you won't need to worry about it again for a long time and you will have a solid car.

heh, now you know why people make it a point to say in car adds that the car is LADY driven
But seriously I don't drive my car very gentle either...i'm a rally driver and always racing I've had the car for a bit over a year now and it has 195,000 KMS on it.
The only thing I have *had* to fix on it is wiper motor and oil sensor. (knocking on wooooooood.....) So I think it is great

Hey thanks for the thoughts and advice everyone. I can do all the basic things myself and have a buddy who knows cars, so I'm lucky there. Plus I do have a mechanic who I trust, just wish that he wasn't on my speed dial My previous beater car was an 86 Celebrity that went 317,xxxKm'* before it died, I drove it for 40km and only had to do brake pads and a starter. I was hoping for similiar results with the Bonny. Oh well, it wouldn't bug me so much but everything is happening so close together. It would be nice to go a whole month without replacing something. I calculated up EVERYTHING I have in the car so far, purchase price plus tax etc., new motor, repairs, parts etc. and I'm about just over $5,000Cdn. So if nothing else major breaks for a while and I can get another couple of years out of it I guess I can't really complain. L8r...Andru...oh and Tamara, when and if I do buy another used car I will be sure that it was lady driven lol

Well the best way to save money is get an older car like yours and do the work yourself.

My car just hit 150,000 miles and in my opinion it has held up well, original engine and trans, body is in great shape and so is the interior.

With an older car like some of our Bonnies you've got to realize stuff will break, I've replaced an alt myself, very easy to do and wasn't too expensive. I just had to redo the whole brake system six months ago (front and rear pads/shoes, drums/rotors, wheel cylinder). Only cost me a couple hundred in parts though since I did it myself. I'm also had to replace a bunch of suspension components, the front sway bar, a tie rod (broken sway bar sheared the rubber boot and wrecked one) and both my ball joints. But since I did that all myself I saved a bunch of money as well.

I don't abuse my car, but I don't baby it either. I enjoy working on it, it looks very good for its age, and its always nice when people say "Wow, that'* your car??"

As an ex-mechanic I've always done my own work! Now that I work for a Pontiac Dealership, I can get cheaper GM parts than aftermarket parts! The only money I've had to spend so far on my 92 SE was 2 weeks ago on the intake re-seal for $100 CDN! That'* everything too; fluids, paint; cleaner & gaskets for intake lower, intake upper & both valve covers.

I cannot complain at all about my Bonne. I've had her one year over probably 14000 Miles, and I've had to do brakes, sway bar links, intake and rocker arm cover gaskets, an oil sending unit, and one alternator all spread out pretty evenly. I have to admit, I go both ways when it comes to driving her around. Somedays, I baby her and just set the cruise control and go. Other days, I'm off like a bat out of hell, kickin her up into the 4'* on the tach at a light or whatever.

I used to drive a P.O.*. Taurus, never doing that again. Best car I've owned, and best I've driven. Just the other week, I was on a business trip in Hawaii and had a Mazda Millenia for a rental, brand new - less than 10,000 miles on the odometer. And my 129,000 Mile 1993 Bonneville handles better, in a parking lot or the highway, and has a lot more go.

P.*. She turns 130,000 next week

Yup that is why I put Mobil 1 in it ever 3k or so. To ease the guilt of redlining it all the time. Seriously, this car has a bulletproof powertrain, 150k and never a problem with the engine or trans. And I'm not babying it