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Oldsmobile Alero

3012 messages,  Last post on May 28, 2012 at 5:28 AM

You are in the Oldsmobile Alero Forum.

What is this discussion about? Oldsmobile Alero, Sedan

Messages Page 188 of 302

#1863 of 3012 5 year warranty by Oldsmobile by gallen22

Jan 11, 2003 (7:40 pm)

Oldsmobile advertises a 5 year "bumper to bumper" warranty and also advertised 0%interest in the past.
     This lured me to the dealership and I bought a 2002 new Alero in the last quarter of 2002--new.
     I wondered if what I ran into was common practice??? My dealer said I had to pay extra above the advertised price to get the 5 year warranty ($700 more) and if I didn't, I would only get a 3 year warranty. I also was told that to get 0% interest that I would have to pay about $3000 more. WAS THERE A LOT OF FINE PRINT THAT I MISSED, OR DID I GET DUPED??? I am curious if this is an Oldsmobile policy that in order to get their advertised 5 year warranty that you have to pay a fee extra. Also, I was mailed what looked like an old fashioned "extended warranty" that had so many exceptions, I question the bumper to bumper. A lot of things were excepted that were what I consider more than normal maintenance that I have to do.
     HAS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE?? IS THIS NORMAL OLDSMOBILE POLICY?? This has caused me to not trust my dealership. I like the Alero I have, but I don't want to take it back to the dealership for anything because of my suspicions and what I consider a bad experience with them. IF IF FIND OUT THIS IS NORMAL PROCEDURE, I WILL TAKE MY CAR IN TO THEM FOR REGULAR SERVICE ETC AND WILL FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEM. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks
 
            gallen22

#1864 of 3012 5 yr warranty: Gallen22 by rebrab

Jan 11, 2003 (7:49 pm)

It is my understanding, at least here in Canada, that the 5 year warranty applies only to the powertrain. The rest of the vehicle is covered, bumper to bumper, by manufacturer's warranty for the usual 3 year/60,000km. It sounds like the extra $700 is an "extended warranty" that they want to sell you to add 2 more years to the original 3 yr warranty and like all extended warranties there are lots of exclusions and conditions on that coverage and often a deductible too.
 
As for the "fine print", the actual 3 yr warranty and 5 yr powertrain warranty were explained to me while shopping at the dealership. This information may (??) also be contained in the Alero brochure.

#1865 of 3012 5 year warranty by jpelder

Jan 12, 2003 (5:41 pm)

Gallen, the 5 year warranty is standard for 2002 models. Just after I bought my 2002 (Jan 2, 2002) they started offering an additional discount of $750 if you wanted the 3 year warranty instead.
 
Check your paperwork to see if you got an additional $750. Perhaps the advertised price included the $750 discount? IT seems to me that the rebate was $3000 including the 5 year warranty, but I may be wrong. I bought my car the last day of the $1500 rebate...they went up to $2002 the next day! Both included a 5 year warranty.
 
Do you mind telling us what you paid? I paid $100 over invoice, minus the $1500 rebate.

#1866 of 3012 rebrab / jpelder by dindak

Jan 12, 2003 (8:15 pm)

The warrany in Canada is not the same as in the US. You are right though, the 5 year up here applies only to the power train. In the US you can have 5 year BTB or $750 cash off and 3 year like jpelder said.

#1867 of 3012 Re: 5 year warranty by Oldsmobile by mikey00

Jan 13, 2003 (6:10 am)

Most Oldsmobile dealer ads I see in our local paper state in the fine print that the price includes a $750 cash alternative to the 5yr/60,000 mile extended warranty. So to get the warranty you would have to ad $750 to the advertised price. Also it doesn't seem that odd that an ad would state "0% financing or $3000 cash back" and in fine print state that the advertised price includes the cash back. Only way to determine if you were duped is to check your actual ad.

#1868 of 3012 Oldsman01 by badgerfan

Jan 13, 2003 (2:34 pm)

Yes, I believe I was in error about the placement of the cruise control on ALero. I think I was confusing it with the rental Buick Century I had a couple years ago, which still had the cruise control on the wiper stalk.
 
As I said, Alero seems pretty decent, however the rear seats are pretty bad, agreed? I assume Grand Am rear seats are about the same, since they are on the same platform.

#1869 of 3012 badger by jpelder

Jan 13, 2003 (7:40 pm)

Actually, I really like the rear seating of the alero. A few years ago, I sat in the back of my friend's alero and was surpised how comfortable it was for a 2 hour trip. At first, I was a bit surprised at the angle of the bucket-like seating position, but the seats really support you and keep you from swaying in the curves.
 
They fit me well, but maybe that is because I am rather small (5'8, 155#). However, you never want to sit in the middle seat, as it is rock hard and not suitable for a human tush!
 
I have a friend with a grand am, and his rear seats are very different from the alero seats. Softer and less bucket-like.

#1870 of 3012 back seats by dindak

Jan 14, 2003 (2:17 pm)

Never sat in the back before. I'll have to try it out.
 
My daughter is only 2 so it's not an issue anytime soon.

#1871 of 3012 positive report on 2001 Alero by chipleykk

Jan 14, 2003 (3:45 pm)

Like most people I usually lurk on these boards to determine what vehicles are causing problems so that I can avoid them at purchase time. I agree with some of the posters that this results in almost all the postings being negative. It would seem that we really have a responsibility to report positive results so that the boards are not dominated by the vehicles causing problems.
 
We purchased a new 2001 Alero GL V6 2 door coupe in June 2001. Car now has about 21K miles. It has been absolutely trouble free! The only time it has visited the dealer's shop is for a recall on some fuel pump gasket. I change the oil every 5K using Mobil1 and the only other service is to top off the antifreeze coolant when light came on this fall.
 
I really appreciate this little car being dependable transportation for my daughter commuting to the university. With the 60 month/60K mile warranty I think this is one vehicle in our fleet that I will not have to work on frequently.

#1872 of 3012 Re: positive report on 2001 Alero by evandro

Jan 14, 2003 (3:56 pm)

I've had an Alero '99 with the 3.4 V6 and my experience with it has been nothing short of pleasing. The car was fairly reliable, with only minor repairs.
 
However, I've never had to top off the coolant on it for as long as I've had it (3 years and 34000mls). Yours' 3.4 V6 may be plagued by a bad head gasket. Check out if the coolant leaked to the crank case oil, for it can cause severe damage to the engine if that's the case.

Messages Page 188 of 302

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