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  • mrsoul55

    July 13, 2009 8:24 a.m. mrsoul55 New Reader

    I may be replacing my 2002 Civic Si with a 2000 Chevy Impala LS. It's a family owned car that has been well taken care of. It has just over 50,000 miles currently and has the bigger 3.6 liter engine.

    My main reason for wanting this car are that is has 4 doors so it will be easier to transport my 2 year old daughter. I'm tired of throwing my back out getting her into the back of the Si. That being said, I only take her to daycare 3 days a week in the mornings so she doesn't ride in my car much. We never take my car on the weekends either. I also like the fact that it has been owned by my older parents since new and hasn't been abused in any way.

    I'm sure it won't be nearly as fun on my commute as the Honda so I'm concerned I'll miss that. I may end up keeping the Civic so I can start to do PDX and HPDE with it but I'm not 100% sure if I will.

    Anyway, Consumer Reports has a pretty poor used car opinion of the Impala. They black circle it on engine major, engine cooling, transmission major, and drive system. How bad are these cars in terms of reliability? My parents haven't had any issues at all but they rarely drive it. Thanks everyone.

  • pres589

    July 13, 2009 9:52 a.m. pres589 New Reader

    Should be the 3.8 V6 that came from the land before time. I've got a '99 Intrigue with that same engine and they're on the same platform so they're fairly similar cars. I've had a rear wheel bearing (expensive because it includes the ABS sensor hardware) die, the turn signal switch died, MAF sensor started going insane causing major driveability problems, and for the last year and a half the steering rack has an internal leak that causes "morning sickness" now and then (stiff when cold for the first few minutes) and a terrible rattle-like sound cause by fluid jetting past seals that no longer do. Racks are expensive and from what I've gathered to swap them involves dropping parts of the front subframe. So I've not messed with it.

    I don't know if that Impala has the variable boost steering or not, if not it might be more reliable. I keep the transmission fluid changed every 40,000 miles or so, it's easy to do and seems like cheap insurance. Every W body from that era I ride in seems to have a wheel bearing on the rear going out. Mine looses a very slight amount of antifreeze, maybe a quart a year, and I've swapped the car from Dex-Cool to "normal" antifreeze, the Dex was just starting to turn into milk shake in the coolant overflow bottle when I did the swap over.

    They aren't bad cars but at least the Olds is basically a throw-away based on resale value. Mine is going to be worse than normal because of slight body damage to the rear, that steering rack, and a Car-Fax is going to show a new top being installed after a tree fell on it.

  • Travis_K

    July 13, 2009 10:14 a.m. Travis_K HalfDork

    The transmissions dont necessarily last longer than 125k miles or so in those. They can, but its not always going to happen. My mom has a 99 gtp with about 125k, and im pretty sure the transmission is going to die in not too long (the fluid smells burned, its making bad noises, etc). They also have a habit of catching on fire, either from backfiring and exploding the plastic intake when you start it, or usually shortly after being driven and gotten hot then parked (hopefully not in someones garage) due to leaking gas or oil. There was a recall on some of them to fix potential valve cover oil leaks that could cause fires too.

    If they are the same as the grand prix, the solenoid in the shifter can stick so you cant get it out of park, and to replace the whole assembly, it is about $700 from the dealer (or do what i did and get one from the junkyard)

  • neon4891

    July 13, 2009 10:24 a.m. neon4891 UltraDork

    Seeing as it has low miles and you are getting it from your parents, by all means go for it. Go ahead with a tranny fluid and filter job and just drive it. Definetly try and keep the civic for the fun factor if possible.

  • belteshazzar

    July 13, 2009 10:25 a.m. belteshazzar Dork

    I've had reasonably good luck with them from a used car dealer perspective. Relatively quiet, decent riding, even fuel economy. The 3.4's can have a little piston slap on a cold morning that goes away. They'll do it for years without getting worse. 3.8's are great overall. Maybe a coil here, or a sensor there. nbd. Wheel bearings are a common problem. The only good news is you can generally choose when to fix them. If you're broke that month, don't do it and turn the radio up.

    Sometimes the intake manifold gasket will leak. not rocket surgery to fix. most things on the car aren't for that matter.

    I'd buy one if it had a good history and the right price, absolutely.

 

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