In our GM DS series, we’ve mainly focused on their products from a market-competitive viewpoint. Obviously, quality issues and the ownership experience were a huge factor too in the demise of the Mark of Excellence. The gen3 Camaro DS had a postscript by an owner who had to take his car back to the dealer 46 times in the first year. That may be something of a record, but I know many of you have suffered through painful GM withdrawal symptoms due to serious issues with the quality, reliability or other aspects of your GM cars. Here’s your chance to share them; hopefully it will be a therapeutic exercise.
The worst experience ? .
Waking up just before hitting a light standard in my sweet 1964 Chevelle four door sedan .
The light standard embedded itself into the passenger side firewall, neatly shearing off all the 230 CID i6’s accessories as it went .
I nearly died, I still wish I hadn’t ruined that fine little car =8-( .
-Nate
1982ish Buick Skylark (X). I got roped into cat-sitting for a teacher in high school, in return for use of this pile.
Outwardly it looked okay, it had a plush interior. Except my ass sank right through the fetid seats and into a sharp hunk of metal. (And before anyone asks, I was beanpole-mode back then.) And the brakes, fuck the brakes. It had the rear lockup issue in spades, but fortunately the engine was so ineffective it was difficult to get any speed up. Plus gas was leaking somewhere so the car stunk whenever you stepped on it, which was most of the time. Maybe that’s why the entire interior felt sorta greasy.
Easily the worst car I’ve ever driven, and that’s in comparison to some pretty primitive trucks.
But in terms of sheer disappointment, one time a rental agency gave me a free “upgrade” to a 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo. I don’t know what GM was thinking when they came up with this thing. It wasn’t sporty in any way. The interior was so basic and substandard there’s no way you could spin it as Personal Luxury. And the retro-themed styling was WTF, these two things do NOT go together. It was obvious at that point that GM was in financial difficulties, and mail-it-in efforts like that Monte Carlo just convinced me that GM was doomed and DNGAF.
Most of my company vehicles over the last 35 years were GM models, many of them on the DS list. None, not one, was problematic despite 30,000 miles a year and often running over 100,000 miles.
My personal vehicles were another matter. A 1984 Mustang GT that blew up its rear end at 10,000 miles and then again at 20,000. A1987 Honda Accord whose drivers side window shattered on its own, whose poor weatherstripping over the windshield allowed wind to buffet the car roof in deafening harmonics, and whose wipers detached at the first contact with snow. How about a 2001 Mercedes CLK 430 that went into limp home mode every time I took it out until I contacted M-B to get it fixed.
I could go on about the expensive and temperamental pieces of crap I’ve owned that were in the shop while I drove my plebeian GM deadly sin around without incident, but what’s the point? The DS list seems to be your raison d’etre.
My MGB’s driver’s-side window also shattered spontaneously, luckily while it was rolled down. Was it thermal or mechanical stress? I’ll never know.
Rear end failures on V8 Foxes were common due to the spindly 7.5″ ring gear.
The 8.8″ came out in ’86 and was much stouter.
Ive only owned 4 cars from the General, and they’ve been pretty good cars:
A ’77 Grand Prix that Ive had since 1989 that I’m (still) restoring went to 201K miles on the original Pontiac 350 and TH400 (It now has a new 455 and rebuilt transmission)
In high school I had an ’80 Firebird and I swapped the original 231 V6 for a 455. It was a good, fun, fast car until I wrecked it.
I had a ’78 Trans Am W72 400/4 speed for 4 years with that just turned 100K that was developing a rod knock when I rebuilt it but otherwise a fine car.
I have an ’84 Delta 88 with 77K on it; the original 307 and weak-link TH200 still work fine and car is very well built. I see a drivetrain upgrade in its future though.
My fiancé has an ’02 Saturn coupe with 260K on it and refuses to get rid of it.
With a 25-year career in the military and law enforcement, Ive driven dozens, if not hundreds of Suburbans and Tahoes, Caprices, FWD Impalas, full-sized vans, and various other fleet vehicles with no horror stories. My current issued vehicle is a 2011 Tahoe; its not the fastest, most comfortable, best built ride Ive ever had but it does what I need it to do.
I guess my closest association with a GM turd was a 1983 Buick Riviera that my Dad bought new. It had the 4.1L V6 and went through at least 3 transmissions that I’m aware of, plus it threw a rod at 70K miles despite his taking meticulous care of it. It was a great looking lemon.
I had several terrible Fords though.
Funny & coincidental this topic came across my news feed today! I’ve owned & maintained my entire family’s cars myself, my entire life. 5 out of 30 cars were GM.
Too many bad experiences to list.
At the moment, I am looking to buy a newer used vehicle for my wife.
Just this morning, I wrote in a text:
“Jeep= I will NOT buy any newer Jeep, period. (My bro’s 2006 has left him stranded 6 times due to electrical gremlin that puts vehicle into “limp mode” & has been at Dealership 1/3 of the time he’s owned it)
GMC= I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER GMC PRODUCT AGAIN.
Kia= not particularly interested
Hyundai= not particularly interested
I’m thinkin’, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Mazda… reliable cars with longevity & lower maintenance.”
Off topic: Any idea’s for a reliable, newer used SUV?
Okay… one bad experience… Replacing leaking heater core in 2000 GMC Envoy.
The ENTIRE dash needed to be removed= 17 hours to complete!
During:
I discussed this with a GM tech. from a Dealership. “The GM Tech. Book” called for about 17 hours as well! I saved about $1500+.
SEVENTEEN hours later…. completed:
To be fair it’s not unique to this car. Almost anything built in the 30 or so years is the same way-Even my A2 Jetta needed the dash out to do the heater core.
True. And its very variable depending on the car design. A heater core on my 97 Deville took 45 min. My 87 Mustang took 15 minutes . But my Grand Marquis takes all day.
Of course It depends on the make & model. I wish ALL auto designers made them easily accessible.
A BMW e30 (for example)… it slides to the left, right out of the center console, next to the gas pedal. (15 min) But, I’ve never had one of those leak, either!
My 88 and 94 Taureses also require complete dash removal and AC discharge for heater core removal. My 79 T-Bird? Open the hood, remove two hoses, unscrew four 1/4 inch bolts and lift it out. Takes 20 minutes. It’s all on top. We could probably do a CC article on on all the insanely difficult and easy heater core jobs.
+1 that would be fantastic!
My parents had a 69 Beaumont that would just stop running, I remember my Dad taking it to a couple different mechanics and they couldn’t fix it. One day it stalled in front of the local Pontiac Buick dealership and we had a new 77 Lemans Safari by the end of the day. Never had a problem with the Lemans except it had a target painted on it, got hit 3 times and the last was a write off. My wife inherited a 74 Malibu Classic that lived till 1986 when it was cut up at my father in laws auto shop. The only GM’s we have owned since are a 89 Grand Am and a 92 Sunbird. I really can’t say anything bad about either, they never left us stranded and we just spent money on maintenance.
Last gm car I had was a delta 88 royale brouugham 1980. It had horrible quality. The paint flaked off, the top of the drivers door fell of as did the trim and hood ornament that fell off and broke the windshield. It got 7 miles to the gallon, smoked on acceleration, drank oil. The seat broke as did cruise control, the power locks, the module failed. Driving in rain was like driving a Ford in 8 inches of snow. I sold it and got a much better in every way Ford Ltd
Interesting. My grandparents also owned a Delta Royal Brougham with the 307 but it was a 1981 and had the then new 200R-4 transmission. They bought used with only 30K miles, pampered by the previous elderly owner. The build quality was perfectly fine, the paint never flaked off, everything lined up as it should, the 307 was indestructible and it routinely saw 25 highway MPG on there yearly trips to Florida. The only thing that ever failed on that car was the transmission, with over 150K miles! Needless to say there were so pleased with that car that they bought another Olds, a 1985 Cutlass Supreme coupe with the same 307 motor that they kept until going into a nursing home in 1994. I inherited that car and it gave me many more years of trouble free service.
Both the Delta and Cutlass drove perfectly fine in both the rain and snow and were virtually the same as any panther car I have driven to date.
Oh boy. Have I got a story to share about THIS careless car manufacturer.
I bought a 2007 Chevy Cobalt LT sedan, 2 years old. It was very peppy, and had a sporty feel to it.
Unfortunately, this car was plagued by the faulty Ignition Switch, which led my engine deciding to shut off, while driving on a 2-lane road one day. It was a sunny day, with dry pavement.
I tried to steer the car as best that I could (I am no muscle man). The car swerved a full 360 degrees, landing me in a mud ditch, at the side of the road. Now I was facing the wrong way, in a ditch of mud, and my car frame bent in a V-shape.
Shaken and upset, the kind driver of the car behind me calmed me down. Then a police office showed up, as well as an ambulance and tow-truck.
The cop took a statement from the drriver behind me, and said that although it looked like I was trying to remain in my lane, but could not, he charged me a fine.
As well, this is now on my driver’s record as an at-fault accident on my part.
On top of that, my car was a write-off.
This occured 2 years before G.M. went public with their recall on their cars with the Ignition Switch failure recall (affecting many of their smalll cars). I have been receiving Recall notices now, and still today, since then.
I have sent in photographs to G.M. Canada about my case. They ignored me until I had a lawer get involved, sending my information and request for minor compensation: just to clear my record, and reimburse me for the small fine.
They told me that there is not enough proof for them to do anything.
They wanted to see the car, but it was sent to the crushers by then.
I am now enrolled in a Class Action suit regarding this, in Canada, with hundreds (if not thousands) of other G.M. car owner’s.
I loved G.M. cars and their designs. However, after this experience, of them ignoring me (it took them 2 years to respond), then simply tell me to “forget it and go away”, due to their own reasons, (“I have no proof of my car engine shutting off”), has turned me off from purrchasing another G.M. product FOREVER.
Oh, I just received yet another recall notice in the mail! And, I am not laughing.
Now, I am a VERY SATISFIED Ford Escape owner.
1980 Chevette (need I say more?) It would be easier for me to tell you what didn’t go wrong than what did.
My wife-to-be’s Chevette? featured self-detaching windows, water? leaks, various failed engine accessories. All not covered by the Extended Warranty, of course.
Just as the Car Guys warned against, she purchased it on her father’s advice. Well, one can’t expect an Okinawa veteran to recommend Japanese products.
A bit off topic but I had similar “nothing goes right” issues with a ’92 Mustang (yes, not GM but still a lemon – didn’t know if there would be a bare it all lemon theme for Ford too).
Anyway, I filed a lemon-law case and actually won! Ford bought the car back from me. In my case the lemon law, via the State of Florida, worked; don’t now how effective it is in other states.
My dad effectively “lemon-lawed” a 2001 Escort ZX2 here in Michigan. It had a severely rough idle that they couldn’t fix. After the fourth time in the shop (I think), they bought it back. Sadly, he bought that car (partially) with a $4000 goodwill “coupon” from his ’94 T-Bird 3.8’s blown head gasket. He’s still, however, a Ford man through and through because most of his Fords have been nearly trouble free.
All of the makes probably deserve a DS article or two.
My worst GM car was easily a 1980 Buick Skylark, it actually ran fairly well the first 12,000 miles or so-until the warranty expired-and then the troubles began. I can’t begin to list them all, but top of the list was the breaking of the bolts attaching the starter to the block. Between the breakdowns, recalls and numerous trips to dealers to have problems repaired, the car was an absolute disaster. It was worse than the Vega I once owned and that’s saying something. I got rid of it in 1984 and have not driven a GM car since then.
My parents had mostly GM or Ford vehicles while I was growing up and for the most part were reliable but there were a few issues that I remember:
1969 Buick Wildcat 400ci V8 and TH-400 – Bought new shortly after my birth, transmission locked up while my mom was dropping me off at school which was downtown, during rush hour, in winter, while raining.
1974-75 Ford Capri 3.0l V6 and four speed manual – Can’t remember if he bought it new or slightly used, but he loved driving it even more than his Gran Torino until it stripped all of the teeth off of the nylon timing gear.
1977-79 Chevrolet Impala 350ci V8 and TH-350 – Bought used (from a Chevrolet dealer) to replace the Capri, my dad was working on it one day and looked up while underneath it and found a weld line running across the floor pan; further investigation reveals that this car was actually two car bodies and a undamaged frame that had been wrecked and subsequently rebuilt from the remaining good parts, gone in sixty seconds…
1996 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.1 V6 and 4T60 – Bought new even after advising him to not buy a GM with the 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6 (I had already been there and done that), first thing to go was the well known intake manifold coolant leak and after that it was a service bay queen from that point on and the last GM product he would buy.
My own experiences with GM are:
1980 Chevrolet Z-28 350ci V8 and TH-350 – Bought used after my first car (1975 Audi 100 LS) was t-boned in a wreck, threw a rod after my mom drove it without oil while I was in California for a week. Replaced motor which promptly killed the original transmission, replacement transmission failed when shift lever broke inside the case and left it stuck between drive and neutral. Sold it to a friend before shipping out for a tour overseas.
1982 Chevrolet S-10 2.8l V-6 TH-200C – Bought used and suffered from the usual 2.8 malady of coolant leaking into crankcase from intake manifold and a carburetor designed for a FWD application being used in a RWD vehicle (floods when turning in one direction and stalls when turning in the other direction), after having the engine and transmission rebuilt I did not have the $1,300 for a rebuilt carb so I pieced one working example out of 5 or 6 bought from the local u-pull-it wrecking yard. Swore to never own a vehicle with this engine or carb again.
1993 Chevrolet S-10 4.3l V6 and 4L60-E – Bought used with 46k on the clock, transmission and motor mounts crapped out before I hit 75k, plastic side tanks on radiator failed and exhaust rotted away before it hit 50k.
1994 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer 4×4 4.3l V6 CPI and 4L60-E Bought used and right out of the gate it started leaking oil from the rear manifold gasket (this is when GM had started using a caulk type sealer instead of an actual gasket), transmission crapped out before 75k and finally the Central Port Fuel Injection gave up the ghost last GM I have bought.
I will admit that I have never bought a new vehicle and don’t care to as depreciation sucks, especially on new cars but I would like to note that none of the vehicles above made it to 100k (and in some cases 50K) before needing major repairs, this is in comparison the the foreign or non GM cars that my parents or I have owned some of which I have highlighted below…
1987 Subaru GL Wagon 1.8 flat 4 and five speed manual – My dad bought this used in 1990 and after 286k and about 15 years of ownership only got rid of it because the suspension mounts were rotting away from rust.
2000 Acura 3.5 RL 3.5 V6 and 4 speed auto – I bought this used with 125k on it and drove it until well over 200k before it need a major repair (radiator, then struts) and sold it at 263k when the cost of repairs was going to be more than its blue book value.
2006 Lincoln LS 3.9l V8 and 5R55S – My current daily driver with 159k and has never seen anything other than scheduled maintenance.
Post bankruptcy GM does seem to be doing a better job than pre-bankruptcy GM in many ways but I think that the spectre of the bad old days and the way of doing things is still present within the current corporate culture, my girlfriend bought a Chevrolet Cruze new in 2014 and so far there has been 7 recalls on it and the number of complaints on the NHTSA website boggles the mind; she has already announced that another GM product is not in her future and we are both eying a couple of Not GM vehicles to replace our current cars when the time comes.
Bought a 1978 Buick Turbo Regal Sport Coupe in August of that year. Other than a terrible paint job (silver w/clear coat) that lasted around 8 months, everything went okay until around 75K miles, when the turbo and top end of the engine went. After one end of the passenger door strap that was used to close the exceedingly heavy door gave away, I removed the door card to make a repair and quickly saw evidence of lackadaisical assembly e.g., 2 screws used to secure things where 4 screwdown points were plainly visible. I had the car repaired and quickly traded it in for a new ’81 Honda Accord.
1985 Fiero 2M6 & 1982 Olds Cutlass 3.8 V6 w/T-Top. No more GM for this guy, ever.
The main thing that I recall about GM cars in my extended family was how nice interior materials were in the 60s era cars, compared to the self-destructing interior plastics they used in the 70s…my mom’s ’69 Delta 88 had beautiful vinyl seats and interior trim, while my dad’s ’76 Cutlass S had trim that started fading and falling apart almost immediately. The other thing that struck me about that Cutlass was that the front seat was not centered in the car…the gap between the seatback and b-pillar was MUCH wider on one side than the other. That car was bought new, so it wasn’t collision damage, it was a seat that was off-center, which also was hard to adjust…it took adults in BOTH sides of the front seat PUSHING with all their might, to get it to move on its rails, from the time it was new. Thankfully my parents were of similar enough height that the seat rarely got moved.
I wouldn’t DREAM of shopping a GM brand…I’ll keep doing cheap leases on new Hondas and be done with it.
I’ve covered the then-new ’77 Skyhawk ad-nauseum over the years. Worst car ever, and was bad from the start. Same for my dad’s then new 75 De Ville which rusted within 3 years. My hand me down 79 Grand Prix wasn’t terrible, I just didn’t like it. There was nothing really fun or exciting about it.
After trading the GP in 1987 on a 300ZX, I never ventured back to GM-land until 2009, when I bought a 2002 Tahoe with 89k miles. Traded it after less than 3 years of ownership because too many problems: defective catalytic converters (replaced them with a set from the junkyard as I had missed out on the GM recall), stereo that was both crappy and didn’t always work. Cheap plastic dashboard – you had to be careful not to scratch or crack it. 200r4 trans rebuild at 120k, driver’s seat and carpet was worn out. Idiot lights came on from time to time and could not be traced to anything. The kicker was reading in the forums about the “autoride” rear air suspension failures that typically occurred at 120-130k miles. Didn’t want to be stuck with the that repair too ($2500+), so dumped it. The Tahoe/Yukon was a great idea…poorly executed (go figure!).
1980 Pontiac Phoenix. I have listed its faults on these pages before. My only GM car. At least it was better than my ’75 FIAT 131, so that’s something.
My last GM car was a ’79 Monte Carlo. I bought it one-year old, used even though I thought it was ugly because it was one less ugly car I had to look at while driving it. The transmission was garbage. The power window switch failed. The adhesive on the trunk weather stripping came off on your luggage and your hands (try getting it off either). The carb broke. Radiator crapped out and you needed both inch and metric sockets to remove and replace it. Pull strap on the driver’s door broke. The paint failed prematurely. Even the manual adjuster on the non-powered seat broke. Very few things have happened in my life that made me happier than getting rid of that POS. I vowed never to buy another GM car as long as I live. It’s a promise that’s been very easy for me to keep.
My folks bought home a new ’78 Monte Carlo with the 305. When I sat in the passenger seat and pulled the door strap to close it, it came off the holder – no screws held it on. It had an intermittent shudder from the rear that no one at the service department could figure out. About a year after we traded it, we got a a recall letter from GM Chevrolet saying we were part of the rear end axle shaft recall.
My 81 Chev Bel Air that would stall or refuse to restart after a highway run. So, you get off the highway to pick up a coffee on your day long journey, and then have to wait 15-30 minutes for the thing to cool down so it would restart. Then I would drop it into drive before it would change its mind again.
I’ve already written in other CCs about my 96 Cavalier which had its transmission die along with the head gasket at 54000 kms.
Nary a GM product has ever, or will ever have a spot in my driveway since.
Then there was my friend’s 73 Cutlass Supreme, a beautiful car, that rusted out by 1980. I mean completely. He replaced it with another Cutlass, and guess what, rust-o central in a few years.
111 comments so far, Holy FUK!
1) 1978 Monza V6, had to rebuild motor, less than a year later it was acting up again.
2) 1999 Safari Cargo Van. On the way to DJ and on left turn the rear diff gears went. I transferred equipment to someone else. It had stupid 3:23 highway gears that were useless due to aero lag. Decided to put in 3:73 posi. Big difference, and actually better mileage in city and less strain on all drivetrain.
3) Also had water leak in front driver side of said 1999 Safari (not good for fuse panel) that was hard to figure out, did a lot of caulking and eventually sold it.
’95 Firebird. Glovebox broke on the way home from the used car lot. Transmission started slipping at about 80k. Belts slipped off or snapped constantly. Slid over water like a hockey puck. Loved the styling; don’t miss the car a whit.
When I was in Iraq a few years ago the contracting company had been issued 4 govie vans. 3 Econolines and 1 GM (Savanna?). No one on either shift wanted to drive the GM so it always sat at the airfield. One day I needed to go to main side for something and I took the GM. I remember the steering wheel was incredibly wobbly like it was barely held on. The trim rattled like it was going to fall off any second. Even for a govie it was bad.
I liked my 1980 Chevrolet Monza. Purchased new in September of ’79, it looked good and was stoutly built. However, two heater cores, a radiator and an alternator all going bad in the 67,000 miles I drove it proved a bit much. I’ve never seriously considered GM again.
Thanks Paul for letting us vent. I feel better already.
Next up should be one of these for Ford and Chrysler owners. I could write a book a mile long on the junk we both sold, traded, owned and saw at various car auctions over the past 25 years.
Paul needs to add VW to the que
I have two worst:
1) ’72 Vega. A total tragedy from such a FUN car to drive. Rust issues led to radiator falling out of its mount and going thru the fan, which led to engine overheating and oil in the coolant, coolant in water, etc…
2) ’88 Corsica. It, too, was enjoyable with a 5-speed but the all-new 4-cylinder engine…a 2.2 IIRC…had a bad thrust bearing. Engine was apart twice and was on its way to a third rebuild when we traded it.
I only had one GM car that had some well known issues. It was a 1979 Pontiac LeMans with the 301 V8 and 200 Metric transmission. The light blue paint was thin on the hood and deck lid and after about 7-8 years was starting to flake off. The 200 Metric failed with 80k miles. Soon after the 301 developed a knock but that was due to severe negligence from the previous owner who thought it normal to only change engine oil once a year with much city driving and short hops. That poor 301 was so sludged up you could scoop it out with a spoon. All of my other GM cars right up to present never left me stranded, never lost an engine or transmission, had reasonably good build quality and when something did need attention the local dealer was good at diagnosing and repairing the issue under the warranty if needed.
Of note all of my W-body cars were top notch for reliability, performance, mileage and suffering no engine or transmission issues. My A-body cars were virtually bullet proof. My current last 3 Impalas have gone as high as 172K miles with nothing more than one replaced Intermediate steering shaft and an alternator on the 2000. The current 2013 LT is approaching 60K miles with zero issues, my mom’s 2008 has 81K with nothing to report other than service and my close friend has a 2013 LTZ Impala that just got to 130K with nothing other than brakes, tires and a fuel pump regulator.
I also loved all of my A/B and B-body cars and never lost an engine or transmission in any of them save the 1979 Lemans which had little to no service for it’s first 7 years of life.
My 1979 Fairmont was a total pile in comparison and really soured me and the folks on Fords for years. My grandfather 1976 Granada was also a joke when it reached 6 years of age.
I actually can’t remember a GM car I’ve had that I hated as much as many of you. The people that hated one and kept on buying the same brand are amazing to me. Masochists?
Worst GM product? Definitely my ’84 Century with the 3.0 V-6. What a piece of crap that engine was. Let me tell you, that engine wasn’t fit for a lawn mower. Three rebuilds by 70k and I was done with that car. And I was pissed because overall I loved that car! In the mid 90’s when I was looking for an inexpensive car and my neighbor was selling a mint condition 1987 Century Limited with the ‘T’ package I decided to grab it. Loaded with every option including Twilight Sentinel – they had owned Cadillacs for years and wanted something smaller so he had special ordered the Buick for his wife. It only had about 75k miles on it when I got it. Knowing it had the SFI 3.8 V-6 made it an easy purchase for me. And let me tell you, that car could move! That car was so reliable it was ridiculous. Normal items went here and there, but overall it was bulletproof. I put well over 200k on that car before it started to rust and I knew it was time. Shows how the General can make a bad car and a good car out of the same platform! Only 3 years separated them and those two Buicks were like night and day!
My folks had a bad GM, too…our ’77 Caprice Estate wagon was a total POS. My Dad would often say it was built on a Friday at 5:00. It had rust all along the rear windows and it was only 3 years old!! The 350 was a good engine, but the rest of the car was a total joke. Moldings fell off that car daily and the paint was really cracked in only a few years. The power window switches never worked properly as did the cruise control. The digital clock was installed crooked and worked for a few years before stopping. Hubcaps flew off all the time. There were more things I cannot even recall. I know my Dad hated that car, and loved the ’82 Country Squire that replaced it.
My Mom’s ’79 Riviera was a beautiful car. The build quality was excellent, too. The only flaw was that it liked to stall occasionally at red lights and such. Made it a little unnerving to drive because you never knew when it would happen, but overall my folks really liked that car and were sad when it was totaled in 1985 (in mint condition with only 30k miles on it too!)
Dad had sworn off GM after the Chevy wagon, but when he was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 he said he was going to buy himself a Cadillac and he did. He got a 1990 deVille Spring Edition Coupe that he absolutely LOVED. Had it until he passed in 1993 and my Mom drove it until 1998. Never gave us an ounce of trouble. Ever. One of the General’s best, in my opinion.
Almost forgot – my then girlfriend now wife had a light blue ’86 Cavalier Coupe that she bought 2 years old with 24k miles on it. Fantastic little car. Never ever gave her any trouble. The funny thing was it wasn’t her first choice when she was looking. She had found another more optioned 1986 Cavalier at another dealer. It was 2-tone white and red with a pop-up factory sunroof and A/C. She went back to get it the next day and it was gone, so she ended up buying the basic blue one. Well, wouldn’t you know a friend of hers from high school bought the white and red one and had nothing but problems with it! It had rot on it in no time and was constantly being repaired for one thing or another. Honestly, my wife’s was basic but it was a great car. Once again – the General making two of the same car, one good and the other…..not so good!
Let me list all of the GM vehicles I have owned:
(2) 1941 Chevrolet Special Deluxe sedan
1963 Chevrolet Belair sedan
(2) 1969 Cadillac Commercial Chassis M+M combination ambulance
(2) 1972 Cadillac Sedan Deville
1975 Pontiac Safari station wagon
1977 Chevrolet Impala
1988 Buick Electra T-Type (best car that I have ever owned)
2001 Buick Lesabre Custom (worst car that I have ever owned)
I have no more GM vehicles in my fleet. After my experiences with the 2001 Buick, I feel strongly that GM should have been allowed to fail completely. I just gave the car to my in-laws a month ago.
I’ve had a 2005 Impala that was pretty bad, but so was the 2007 Ford 500 bought a few years later with comparable miles.
I’ve never owned a GM product myself, but I have rented a few. They’ve mostly been sprightly and comfortable, but ultimately undistinguished. One does stand out though… I did two road trips through the south-west USA in consecutive years, both times traversing Death Valley. The first time was in an ’04 rental Focus, the second time in an ’05 Malibu V6 sedan. The Focus was a delight. A willing and economical engine, fun handling and nothing broke. The Malibu… not so much. Although the 3.5 V6 was strong, the handling was flabby, and the brakes didn’t survive the Death Valley crossing. I swapped the shuddering pile for another Malibu in Vegas, this time a Maxx. What a ridiculous car that was. The malformed, truncated rear end on that car actually held less luggage than the sedan! What were they thinking? I also rented a 3.4 V6 Grand Am for a day in Honolulu that same year (2006). Even though it was Trump-level ugly, it was a pleasant enough way to get around the city, with a fair turn of speed when requested. And at least I didn’t have to look at it while I was driving!
As has been mentioned, some of us are masochists! My first two constantly-broken cars were 1980 Pontiacs, and even after the rolling crisis that was my family’s Buick Century, I just couldn’t stay away forever. I was in CarMax, looking to make a fast trade on a distance commuter, and was trading in my beloved black over black 2004 Grand Cherokee. I loved that Jeep so very, very much.
After looking at a lot of economy cars, I saw it. Glossy and shiny on the showroom floor. A nearly-new Pontiac G6! It was the I4, but that was ok. Burgundy with a black interior. It truly was pretty. I upgraded myself instantly, and took it home.
After a few weeks it needed the door adjusted as it may have had some bad body repair. Then it stranded me at my wife’s ex’s driveway, dropping off her kids. Nice. The battery terminals had huge, Bloomin’ Onion-looking growths of corrosion. Overcharging? Replacement cable and battery. That was followed soon by the dash Christmas-light display. The warning lights were going crazy all the time. It hurt to get into and out of, as the doors were too “swoopy” to fit humans easily. The issues just kept coming, and I think I only made it six months. It went back for cash, and I switched to a little ’94 Nissan Hardbody pickup to live without payments for a while. While I learned the hard way, my father gave in and purchased a Caddy SRX, which has been pretty reliable if ridiculously thirsty. So maybe they’ve finally got it under control…
Chevy Monza notchback, about 1980 model year. Can’t recall because it was a company car. Nice-enough looking, but a ridiculously low seating position that was never comfortable. Underpowered and noisy, it was terrifying at highway speeds due to vague steering. I nicknamed it “Lurch,” because it would just lunge when the pavement would grab it’s skinny tires. Handed it back to the boss and started using my own car.
My worst GM experience? Well, there really isn’t any, other than nit-picking stuff. My ’72 Cutlass had a flat spot just off idle that took many tries to fix, I cranked up the accelerator pump to keep it from stalling, but it took a simple fix to resolve, once the right guy looked at it. That car also ate starters for a while, but I think it was the shitty rebuilt starters my dad had them put on it. My ’82 Blazer was basically bulletproof, a trim piece, a headlight, and a battery at two years (Until well into the 2000’s, I never, ever had a battery last more than two years.) Sometimes, it was almost two years to the day, and it would die. The replacement Dodge Caravan had a lot of A/C issues, but it was ok other than that. It was replaced in 1988 by an S10 Blazer, another totally solid truck that went on to about a half million miles on the original short block, transfer case, and rear end. I guess the only “dog” GM vehicle I had was my ’86 Iroc Camaro. It had endless computer issues, all but one fixed under the emissions warranty after the bumper to bumper one had expired. My 2000 GMC Sierra had the worst stereo I’ve ever heard, period, and it wasn’t the base stereo. It had no power and just sounded like crap. A cheap aftermarket head unit showed a so called expert that it wasn’t the speakers, though I ended up replacing them too, later on. Other than the shiity stereo, and the BS “carbon” nonsense that GM claimed was causing the startup ticking (It was lifters, no matter how much they denied it), it was problem free until it was damaged in a wreck in 2003. I got rid of it soon after that, it was never right again.
My wife and I bought our first new car in the fall of 1976. It was a Buick Century coupe with the formal roof of the Regal and the cow catcher grill. It had a/c (a must have in Houston), power windows, power door locks, am-fm stereo, tilt steering column, and probably many things I don’t remember now. Upon picking up the car the first thing I noticed was that the steering wheel was off by 90 degrees. There were other defects, I wrote a list and took the car back to the dealer a few days later. I guess they fixed all the items on my list because I don’t remember other problems. Up to this time our only car was a 1971 VW Type III fastback. It was slow, uncomfortable specially during the summer with those black vinyl seats. But it was very space efficient and didn’t consume much gas. I remember one day struggling to get the dirty laundry hamper into the back seat of the Buick. The Buick was a much bigger car I shouldn’t have to struggle to get that hamper into the back seat. I never had any problems getting that hamper in or out of the VW. From that day on I resented that Buick and it wasn’t long before we got rid of it. Never missed it.
This Buick was my last New car purchase.
As much of a GM fan as I’m not and as many GM vehicles as I’ve had I’ve never had a bad one. I suppose my only bad GM experience was with my ’89 Sedan DeVille which managed to eat 2 water pumps within a month and a half. Not a fun water pump to replace as the damned engine has to be jacked up on the passenger side to get at all of the fasteners. Of course, it may have been due to the elcheapo pump I used the first time…
2000 Olds Alero. Went into great detail in the COAL article, but it had…a litany of problems, not the least of which was the infamous ignition switch that would cause the car to cut off for no apparent reason while driving. Replaced that on my own dime as it failed well before the recall happened.
As a sort of cruel joke, we got a number of recall notices offering free replacment well after we’d gotten rid of the car.
It was bad enough to turn my wife off GM permanently. For herself, and I think if she had her way, for our family altogether. Though she had to deal with the car for four years before I met her (and it) and its antics had already begun.
Family member recently bought a 2007 Cobalt LS, 4 door automatic rental car special. Paid $2000. Had 120k miles on it, nice body, paint, and interior except for stains on the seats. She managed to rear end a BMW 3 weeks after she bought it in the rain, needed front tires and no ABS, I think it’s the last year before ABS was standard. Can’t really blame the car for the accident. I managed to get it repaired for $1200 plus $600 for body parts.
The airbag service light was cycling on from the day she got it, and they did not go off in the accident. The airbag lamp still cycles on and off, I doubt the bags work. Although if they had gone off, the car would have not been worth repairing anyway. The power steering was kicking in and out, along with the steering lamp coming on. Luckily it had not had it’s recalls done, and in addition to the steering motor replacement, had the ignition cylinder and switch replaced. The recall steering motor fixed that problem.
The front end rattles, the sway bar links are worn and loose, I got a pair of new links off Ebay for $16, still need to install them. At 129k miles the engine quit running, luckily close to home. Timing chain plastic guide broke, thrown the chain off 4 links. It was pure luck the interference engine somehow didn’t hit the pistons with the valves, so a chain kit with tensioner and a hell of a lot of work got it running again. There have been 3 tensioner redesigns, hers was version 2, now updated to version 3. It ran good for an 1800 miles California road trip. At 132k miles the battery went dead, it was the original so can’t really fault that. A month later the alternator died, just replaced that a couple of weeks ago.
It also has a check engine light on, but this was a result of cracks in the plastic air inlet manifold from the accident so can’t blame the car for this. Still looking for a used one, Cobalts are few and far between at U pull. Uses a quart of oil about every 700 miles.
Hope it behaves itself for a while, quite a few problems for the mileage even after excluding the accident related damage. Wish she would have bought the super clean original ’87 Jetta I bought with her in mind last year, she could have had it for $1000 from me, with the new tires and brakes I installed and running perfectly, but she is unwilling to learn to drive a stick shift. And I can fix the VW blindfolded, I’ve been keeping my ’86 Jetta on the road for the last 25 years and 300k miles.