Used 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera

"Great for College Kids!"

"I have a 96 with a V6. I bought it in 2006 with 67k on it, and 73k later, I have to say I am very pleased with the fact that it has survived through college so far! It just happened to be a miracle of a vehicle I purchased. It's front-heavy (most sedans are...) but this thing is like a tank. I've driven it through a dozen blizzards (with a foot or more snow on the road) and it's like it wasn't even there. With long hauls between home and college, I've always felt safe in this car with unfavorable conditions. It's very reliable...after I've put 73,000 miles on it myself after four years of ownership, it's only just started to give me problems (nothing has yet been the engine or transmission, both original and in great condition!) but I'm pretty sure I will continue to repair them so I can get this thing to last til next summer when I buy a "big girl" car :) It ain't pretty but it's big enough to make me feel safe on the road, small enough that I can actually FIT on the road, gets decent enough mileage for its size and age (26 avg), and aside from one time when I drained the battery, hasn't even refused to turn over when I put the key in. This would be a great car for anyone needing a decent bang for the buck!"

"Great first car!"

"This was my first car, and I loved it. It got fantastic gas mileage and has lasted me about 4 years, well through my high school years. It was a great car, it has been through 6 snowstorms, tornadoes, hail, flooding, mud, gravel, and pretty much everything Mother Nature has provided. It has never broken down on me, and it's just a reliable car. I moved on to a newer vehicle, but only because I needed a smaller car. I will DEFINITELY miss my Oldsmobile!"

"I'd vote against it"

"True this car can hold up for quite a while, but it goes through an alternator every three years, the transmission is sluggish and jerky, and the seats are not pleasant for a 250+ mile drive. Personally I wouldn't reccomend this car because of it's poor transmission performance, on top of it's difficulty to work on. Then to top it all off, after 120k miles, everything goes south, tape player dies, window motors start dying, Temp lever breaks, trunk lock freezes... the list goes on. Basically, the engine will keep going, while the rest of the car falls apart around you."