ChuckDaMaxRider

maintenance on this thing sucks to put it nicely. I got my '97 back in April with 117,000 miles on it and I've so many problems to deal with. Here's what I've had go wrong:
CV axle torn
Steering column link 'broken'
Oil pressure switch leak
Rear main seal leak
Serpentine belt needed to be replaced
Blown O2 sensor
Starting problems on and off
Speedometer needle sometimes doesn't move
And the previous owner replaced the starter 2,000 miles before selling it.

Pappa Grande

For what it's worth:
CV axle torn - Very common - normal wear and tear
Steering column link 'broken' - Rare based on my experience
Oil pressure switch leak - Common, cheap to fix
Rear main seal leak -common, cheap to fix so long as your changing clutch
Serpentine belt needed to be replaced -common
Blown O2 sensor - very common, normal wear and tear
Starting problems on and off - common, maybe seller lied to you about starter
Speedometer needle sometimes doesn't move - rare - not sure what you mean


And the previous owner replaced the starter 2,000 miles before selling it.

rsly33

iTrader: (1)

Like Pappa Grande said, most of those are problems you will encounter with any type of car with your mileage. Nothing out of the ordinary.
If you had that mileage on an american car, you could expect to be putting a bunch more repairs on that list.

VQdriver

weird. at least one other person experiences the speedometer not moving for a while. and i thought it was my Gforce ECU..hmm. but ya, those items sound like relatively common repairs. my max has experienced or is currently experiencing a couple of those probs mentioned.

Ladzio

iTrader: (8)

Not at all. Simply previous owner did not do much maintainance obviously at all and dumped all this on you. Too bad for you!

Intel

iTrader: (2)

Just stuff you have to expect and look for when you buy cars. Most of that stuff is common and as long as you do the work yourself you are fine as far as cost is concerned.. When I bought mine with 128,000 miles it needed
Tuneup (Plugs, Oil, Fuel Filter, Tranny fluid) becuase I always do that when I buy a car
Brakes (New rotors and Pads)
Exhaust (Ok so I really wanted to get a Y-Pipe also but the muffler snapped off also)
New O2 sensors
Ball joint (While I was in their did all new bushings)
2 new tires for this wonderful snow
Battery (I dont screw around with batteries in this weather.)

Its all stuff that I didnt want to do but now that it is done I have a car that should run me through college. Might have to put suspension in soon (Illumna, Tein anyone?) .
So now I should have a pretty reliable car unless the tranny wants to die which I have money waiting around for a 2001-2002 tranny and clutch.

On the other hand my moms Oldsmobile and my dads Ford villager (does have a nissan engine in it) both throw fits and have half the mileage of mine. 3 Sensors for the GM, and a tapping noise,hard start condition,and a harsh shifting auto tranny on the ford (ford managed to take the VG engine and screw it up to save money.)

Ant96GLE

iTrader: (4)

Lets see what I"ve done with my car since I got it...

just did my rear valve cover yesterday.. taking off the intake is no joke!
02 sensors
alternator just crapped out
replaced starter
ball joints and control arm bushings
knock sensor
both cv axles
oil pressure switch
calipers
holes in exhaust so I got my catback
blown struts so I got a drop
water pump... what a nightmare
and alot of other things I dont wanna think of right now.

EDIT... I guess to add to that, with that much mileage you have to expect things to break down.. I bought my car in Jan of 03 with 27,000 miles and as of today which is almost 2 years, I have 83,000 miles.

ThunderMaxi

If you didn't want to do maintenance on the car, or expected a 117,000 mile car to come to you like a cream puff, you should have bought a new one or looked for a car with less mileage.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

damn in 03 a 96 with 27k? they person must have rarely driven that car.


But yes, as stated there will be maitinance to do on a car with that much milage, THe good part about repairing as much as you can yourself is, you save a lot of money on labor, plus on parts (assuming you scout around a little for the best price) so unless you dont like repairs or have to time to do them, then either having a shop do it, or getting a very low milage car, you would only have to worry about oil change, and rotating tires.

Ant96GLE

iTrader: (4)

Yea I do all my work except the water pump, I needed a lift.. I have a friend who owns a shop...

Honestly I was kind of disappointed with all the things and money I've dumped into this car.. and I still have to do my motor mounts, they're dead too.. they ripped the flex section off my Y pipe which I had to get done about a month ago.

The car was rarely driven because it was stolen and has a salvage title.. thats why I have brand new black leather and front and rear conversion

Jason R

iTrader: (39)

in the past 2.5 years here is what I've had go wrong:

3rd gear syncro went out - fixed
2 axles snapped in half - replaced
broken exhaust from launching too hard at the track - fixed
rear main seal leaking - fixed
fuel tank temperature sensor - soon

and its all woth every penny of it. i sometimes have to much fun with this car. can't wait until I send me TS ECU back to have the rev limiter raised and the '00 VI goes on the car.


oh and my car also has about 266k km on the odometer.

davey6693

Bought mine in May 2002 with 110000 km (68750 miles)

Since then:
Auto tranny rebuild (this was terrible but it made me want to learn about cars from that point onwards - if I knew more I would have noticed and not bought the car)
60K Tune-up
Brakes
B-pipe
Alternator
Air conditioner
Muffler
Driveaxles
Ball joints

I don't think it's been too bad apart from the last 3 things going in a week. As long as things stop going wrong for a while I'll be happy.