Just bought the wife a new rig and they had an insulting offer for the Olds in trade, so I decided to sell it myself.
It is a 2001 with 75K on it. Very well kept.
Leather seats – elec controls
new tires
in Maine – asking 10,500
I’m leaving on vacation in a week, so it may still be available in three weeks when I get back.
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Replies
Has the intake manifold gasket been replaced yet?
Nada.What would be the need? i sthat a common thing with these?All it has needed is front end - ball joints etc.
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Yes , it is a very common thing with that particular engine. (3.4 L v-6 if I disremember) My Olds Alero has the same engine as the Sillouette and has had the work done. If look at similar vehicles on E-Bay Motors you will notice a lot fo them mention having had the work done, that's how I found out it was a problem. Just so you know, you may have a hard time geting a decent price for the van. Ever since Oldsmobile went out of business, resale values have taken a hit. Some lenders will not lend on used Oldsmobiles anymore. Probably why the dealer wouldn't give you diddly squat for the van as a trade. I am looking for one, but Maine is stretch from Kansas. P.S. How many cases of Piffin' Screws does it come with?
The van just went through Kansas a week or two ago. Wife made a trip to Colorado.Could probably manage to throw in a case of Piffinscrews.Any clue what causes that manifold trouble?
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Not a clue. All I know is that you are constantly losing antifreeze but there are never any puddles under the car. Apparently the leak is in a location that allows the anitfreeze to leak onto the hot intake manifold where it burns off. So you are losing antifreeze and may smell it outside the car but you never see it. I think the mechanic said it was a poorly designed gasket. Of course the dealer would never admit to there being any deficiency you know how that goes. Good luck on selling the van, I'm not going to be in the markey for some time. Got a great idea tho, how about an auction here for a genuine Piffinmobile signed by all the Breaktimers like that motorcycle Leno's trying to get a million for?
now if IMERC were to drive it around collecting those signatures and the proceeds went to some relief agency like the Red Cross...
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DW bought a 2000 Silouhette a year ago. Had about 60,000 on it, just starting to leak cooling fluid. Our mechanic said she could get another year out of it probably, but would need to be fixed eventually.
IIRC the problem lies in that one part is iron, and the fitting is aluminum. Different metals Heating and expanding at different rates, causes the gasket, or part to fail.
She paid $9000 as is and had our mechanic do the work, along with the overall inspection. Mechanics bill was little under $800. dealership had offered the van to her at $9400 if they fixed it. (But other people have not been impressed with the dealerships work so that was not an option.)
Bowz
That makes sense. AL for engine parts has always bothered me. I know they've improved a lot since the first Vegas back in the early seventies, but they are fighting reality in the design process.I'd be leary of that dealership too. For such a minor price diff, they should have had it fixed before even listing it for sale and added it into the price and gauranteed it.Did she shop hard? There are a lot of them out there in that vintage for 8-12K.
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Kind of a story about my wife's car shopping.
She has major allergy and chemical sensitivity problems. So she researched and figured out a few different vehicles that would work, (she was replacing a '90 Lumina with 178,000 miles on it) and the price range she was willing to pay.
She let a few larger dealers know that if they were going to take one in for trade, to call her immediately, and DO NOT CLEAN THE VEHICLE, because of her sensitivities. This was the largest dealer in the area, with 16 different lots in various cities.
So the dealership did zero to the van. They took it in trade and a day later our mechanic looked at it, and the deal was done. So it was never really even on their lot. An older couple had bought it new, and she called them and talked to them. So yes I would say she shopped hard, and is a pretty fair negotiator.
Bowz
You hit it right on the button, was the gasket that failed. Cost me about six hundred to fix if I recall and mechanic said it was a major pain in posterior due to the location.
I know that it is a very common problem on this 3.4L V-6 from GM.
Piffin,
Don't worry about it if it ain't leaking now, just be prepared for it to sometime in the future. Seems to be mileage related as we have over 135,000 on 2000 but the in-laws live 250 away and want to see the grandkids so I'm not gonna argue with SWBO.
You tour may make sense but does it have leather inside? We all know that IMEC's shaggy sidekick sheds a lot.
I'm sure that there are days when both IMERC and myself each shed more than Oreo, who, BTW, has seen the inside of the van and didn't turn her nose up at it.All leather
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So out of curosity, what did you
get for a replacement?
To tell the truth, I was curious about when somebody would ask!A Toyota Highlander - 2005 - with four miles on it.
We shopped hard to find one we liked. Tried a Nissan Murano, a Buick Rendevous, A 2003 Toyota 4-runner with only 9000 miles on it, and a couple others. The Subaru Tribecka was interesting but on the small side for us. We spend so much time waiting in line for the ferry, we need plenty of elbow room while we read and sip our tea.
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Toyota.......good choice,....... unfortunatly! Between 2 brothers,sister and parents there are8 toyotas in our "family"
Re: Toyota HighlanderThat's a great car; wife bought one when they first came out, and we've had nary a problem with it. However, even though it's a smallish vehicle, the mileage sucks. I drive her old Camry, which is now about 11 years old. Same track record (only the mileage is better). Those Toyota folks have figured it out....................********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I'm curious about your mileage comment. I researched online the responses of owners who pretty unanimously gave it high scores, with the exception that while some considered it to get excellent mileage, others were severely disappointed, while all got around 19-23MPG. That led me to conclude that it was a matter of expectations...So, what did you expect to get and what do you actually get from yours?I klnow it varies by driving habits and maintainance too. For instance, my wife has a very soft foot and gets 18-19 in local driving on the van and 24-28 on long trips. In my Pickup, a Chevy with a big ole six litre, I get 14.5MPG in local driving since I changed engine and tranny to synthetic - that is a change from about 12.5 MPG.
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Our Highlander (6 cyl) gets about 16 mpg in the city, and my wife too has a soft foot. That seemed low to me, since my van (E250, 8 cyl) does almost as well in the city (14-15 mpg).And the 1996 Camry we have, admittedly 4 cyl, gets about 26-28 as I recall, but I haven' actually checked it in a long time.Still, both these Toyotas are great cars, since we have never had to put a nickle into either one, aside from regular maintenance -- and we follow those schedules pretty religiously. I'm sure you will like it a lot. BTW, did you consider the hybrid version, which I think is now available for the Highlander?********************************************************
"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
There were some of those on the lot and I briefly considerd them, but gas would need to be five bucks a gallon to amoritze the extra cost vs fuel savings.
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gas would need to be five bucks a gallon to.............Stick around, won't be long now
but by then, something better will be on the market.
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