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Prices Paid: Buying & Leasing Experiences Prices Paid & Leasing Experiences Archive Oldsmobile Aurora Prices Paid and Buying Experience 
148 messages, Last post on Aug 18, 2008 at 10:31 AM
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| I live in Canada and recently purchased a 96 Aurora with 161,000 km (approx 100,000 miles). I am not sure if it has the autoban package yet but do know it does not have the bose sound system or the chrome wheels. I do believe it does have most the other options. It has a 12 disk CD changer in the trunk also. I am pretty sure I got a good deal on it at $5200 CAD (Apptox $4900 USD). I guess the main thing is that me and the wife are pleased with the car. She does complain some that I pamper the car more than her. I just recently had the windows tinted. I put 20% on the front door windows and 5% (limo) on the rear door windows and the rear window as well. That really makes it stand out. | |
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Couldn't resist. Purchased our 1998 Autobahn in 8/98 with $11.5K mi. for $28.5 vs. $38.5 sticker, was an Olds dealer manager's car, black over graphite (interior color name?). My wife drove it until 2003 when we picked up an 04 Infinity G35 Coupe, black of course. My wife drives the new iron and I inherit her castoffs, in this case the Aurora. Oh darn. The trick is to find a car YOU like and brainwash her over several months so she is always ecstatic with what she chooses and you eventually get what you want. Then make sure you maintain the car like hell so it looks and runs like new when you do get it. She still can't understand why I park in row Z99 in snow, sleet, and 5 degree temps at the mall or never get closer than 12 inches to a curb. The Aurora now has 79K miles and still looks stunning. People still ask me what kind of car it is and can't believe that it is 10 model years old, it looks that good inside and out. Sad to say it won't fetch more than $4K on a trade and not much more private party, I figure $6K. Hard to find someone interested in a 10 year old car. We use it daily (blankets covering the seats) to haul the dobermans to training, visit the vet, go grocery shopping, and other mundane tasks. It's the vehicle of choice in the snow. And we actually took it on vacation because we needed the luggage capacity and people hauling capabilities. If it makes anyone feel better, I've gone through the tire balancing issues read throughout the Aurora site, plus an a/c unit and clutch replacement last year at 74K miles along with all the stuff you replace once you realize what the labor cost will be to tear down the car again. I had the drivers door short issue, the slow running power windows (lubrication worked), and a stripped gear in the power antenna assembly. I too could not get the trunk to open with the fob or the interior dash switch until I found the valet kill switch in the glove box. It's running like a charm with original plugs, coils, and wires with and just a fuel injection service at 74K. Just routine maintenance. Conventional oil changes every 3-4K (1/2 qt. low). Transmission service every 25K. Radiator evacuation every 2 years. No exhaust issues. After a heavy rain there is a slapping noise with the sunroof open, probably a clogged drainage tube I need to get to. I'm still doing the blasts to 110 when "safely" merging onto a highway with occasional blasts to 120. I'm still on the original struts and shocks (next project), and am wondering where to get a rear a/c vent replacement now that one of the dogs has permanently "adjusted" the existing one. If you're looking for tires, I've got the V rated Yokohama Avid V4S. The Dunlops A2 Sports just couldn't quite be balanced to my satisfaction and the Michelins too pricey. If the tire's performance doesn't please you (rain, snow, dry), the price and NTB reviews will. It's sad to see this car passing into history. |
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I am interested in a 2001 Aurora (v6 3.5L) and it looks nice. The I checked the carfax report, it was first registered as a commercial lease vehicle. The current(second) owner told me the car was used as a company car for the CFO before he bought it. Since I am a newer to cars and the forum, could you give me some suggestions? Thanks a lot!
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Replying to: horizonsky (Oct 05, 2007 11:59 pm) I see you've already found the general Aurora discussion. The folks over there might be able to give you some specific advice about possible problems. regards, kyfdx |
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| Bought a white pearl 4.0L with 60k miles back in Feb for $8500. Got it at a dealer where my uncle works. I've read thru some of the forums here and there's alot of good info. I really like the car, but I am disappointed with the gas mileage. Maybe my expectations are too high? I've had it on a couple of long trips. Once to FL and back from KY and never got better than 24mpg from a tank on the interstate. This with maybe a 100lbs of luggage, 2 adults, and cruise set around 70-73. It runs good and doesn't seem to have an engine miss or any thing of that sort. It has the 3.71 final gear ratio and turns just under 2000rpm at 60mph. The 1-2 shift is a little harsher than the other transitions, but not too hard to be bothersome. It had a transmission flush done at 50k.(Uncle got the service records for me). I've been debating with myself if it would be worthwhile to buy an extended warranty or not. A bit pricey at about $2500. I replaced the front rotors right after I got it(knew the rotors were warped when I test drove it). I do most minor repairs myself on all the vehicles that I've owned. Any feedback on the MPG issue would be appreciated. Thanks | |
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Replying to: oldwino (Jun 29, 2008 8:07 pm) I bought my pearl 4.0L Aurora 2001 2 years ago with 4k (4000 kilometres) on it for 18900$. The car was still new as it was from a car collector who tradded it at the Ford dealership i purchased it from. For the gaz millage your gonna have to live with it since this car is a 4L and is pretty heavy. But in the end i would not trade it.  I am 26 yold and my wife is 23 and we both enjoy our ride. Most of our friends drive civics and sunfires but we decided to buy a more luxurious car a couple years old at the same price and it was all worth it. The only hic is the couple issues your gonna discover with time: Crank shaft sensor, rear bumper lights that burns real fast and are a pain to change, sound coming from the stearing wheel. But like i said we love the thing Let me know what you think. Sam |
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Replying to: oldwino (Jun 29, 2008 8:07 pm) Your highway mileage on an 2002 4.0 ltr V8 with the 3.71 ratio sounds a tad low, even with 100 pounds of luggage  70-73 mph and 2 adults. Your 2002 is I believe around 150 pounds lighter than the 95-99 Aurora at 3950 pounds. My rpm is about the same as yours, just under 2,000 rpm 60 mph. I believe my window sticker had an EPA 18/26 fuel mileage rating. The 1998 Aurora was purchased 7/98 used, dealer manager's car, with 11,500 miles for $28,300 versus the $38,310 sticker (no Bose) . We opted for the GM Major Guard factory warranty extension from the balance of the included 4yr./50,000 miles to 6 yr./75,000 miles. Extended warranty cost 10 years ago was $1,250 with the $100 deductible. Using national brand fuel (Shell, Mobil, Sunoco, Citgo, Exxon, Hess, etc), on a recent 120 mile trip May), my 98 Autobahn with the 3.71 ratio, 87 octane, 97,000 miles, totally original ignition (never tuned up) got 24.6 with 4 adults (810 lbs +/- 20 lbs. yup!) and 120 pounds of luggage (I weighed it) at 65 mph on cruise. On another trip of 1,200 miles on cruise we got 27.1 mpg with 2 adults (310 pounds) and luggage (90 pounds) with 89 octane at an average speed of 68 mph. Both of these trips with the windows up and the a/c on. I run 35 psi in the tires and swap out air filters with regularity. I don't see a highway mileage difference between octanes when driving longer stretches with the cruise on. I have read that the automobile fuel mileage reduction, with increasing speeds, drops geometrically (faster) rather than arithmetically (straight line). The wind resistance is the reason. Speed kills highway fuel mileage. I have also read that altitude, humidity, and ambient temperature can impact fuel mileage as well. I make a 120 mile round trip highway drive on Sundays where I get 1-2 mpg lower mileage going than returning, which I chalk up to wind direction more than anything else since there are no elevation changes of any import. What I see most are the reductions in highway mileage due to speed interruptions, such as tolls and traffic.  Or potty stops for the wife, especially when she wants me to sit there idling with the a/c going.  And those spurts to 115 mph with the happy foot (no speed limiter on the Autobahn). Purely around town I expect 18 mpg max. Mixed 21-23 mpg. And this with a feather touch on the accelerator and driving the traffic lights. Add in a heavy right foot and the mileage plummets. If you ask me, the 73 mph and the interruptions are the culprit, though you may want to try a bump in tire pressure, a new air filter, and check the trunk for useless junk that adds unnecessary weight. On the topic of extended warranties on American cars, I am 57 and have never failed to at least break even with them. We buy low mileage 1-3 year old used and drive the car to year 10-11, phasing out the oldest car in the fleet. And the Aurora set-up under the hood makes the simplest of repair tasks labor intensive ones (expensivo). One trans and the warranty has paid for itself. One a/c job and you've got almost half your money back. Your choice, risk versus peace of mind. Jack
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Replying to: pscheid (Jul 31, 2008 11:05 am) Thanks for the reply. When I purchased I wasn't aware of the final ratio and figured that the mileage wouldn't be much different from my 98 Intrique with the 3.8L. 2K RPM on the Intrique gets me about 70mph. The trip to Florida was about 2 weeks after I bought it. Hadn't done any expressway running til that trip and I like to go when traveling. Since I got the car from the dealer where my uncle works, I didn't do a real extensive test drive and wasn't worried about getting a  . I am very happy about it's highway performance(other than mileage). Since my initial post, I've done some research in this forum and there's a couple of things I plan to do. First I've got to clean the throttle body and egr valve, which are pretty dirty and replace the fuel filter which has about 30k on it. Bought a K&N filter and plan to put that in after the cleaning. I'm hoping it'll improve the mileage a couple mpg. Right now the idle is a little rough, when first started cold. Isn't bad once it's warmed up. As for gas, I've started using Shell. They have a Shell Platinum Mastercard that has 5% rebate on the purchase of their gas. Found it on the Shell website. I have seen a little improvement in mileage just around town. I don't drive the car everyday, but try to take it for a spin at least once a week. Got a little KIA to go to work.The real test will be next month when we take a trip to South Carolina. I hope to get the maintenace done before the trip. I'm 50 and have owned GM mostly Olds and Buick all my life(KIA mainly for work and the price was right) and all from the same dealer. Never had any major issues with any of them(knock on wood) except the turn signal/wiper switch unit in the steering column on the Intrique(warranted) and an AC compressor on a 91 Ciera(not). The Ciera had about 160K miles on it when sold and my son has the Intrique and it's got 150K on it. The cruise quit working on it recently. Found a used set of service manuals for the Aurora on ebay for $65 and I've got them now. So I'm still debating the $2500 warranty. Will let you know how things go with the maintenance and the trip. By the way, great name. Jack
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Replying to: oldwino (Aug 10, 2008 8:06 pm) That's the best deal going.... You also get a 1% rebate on everything else you purchase.. The rebate comes off your gas purchases, the very next month.. I've saved around $1000, over the last three years... regards, kyfdx Host-Prices Paid Forums |
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Replying to: oldwino (Aug 10, 2008 8:06 pm) I've used the warranty--sunroof rattles, yes, rattles, replaced two of the stereo speakers (rear shelf defective when delivered and driver door speaker went haywire, so they replaced it), plus a couple of DIC sensor replacements. One "mechanical" issue; replaced a CAM sensor??? I believe it was due to hard shifts. Best climate control system I've ever had on any car. I drive the car back and forth most weeks from Northern VA to the Delaware coast and usually get 27 mpg (did max at 28.5 one trip according to the DIC); around town--16 to 20 mpg, depending upon traffic. A couple of rear bumper parking rashes to report, otherwise, looks as good today as when I drove it off the lot new. I've had the same Olds mechanic at my GM dealer work on the car since delivery; he wants the car when I'm done. Who knows, maybe a new Buick Allure in the next couple of years? Anyway, enjoy your ride! |
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