Thread: How long should I expect my car to last?

if you keep on the up and up.... I can imagine 155K before a rebuild of the trans(clutch packs only last so long), and after that your set for a LONG time.

I can see well more than 300K...if well maintained.

again this is just speculation....

My car is still running strong. And never touched the tranny yet.

But I have done repairs sure. Can't even remember half of them because I just realize that it is the way it is for driving a high mileage car. Lets see....wheel bearings, brakes, pads, PS pump, PS rack, PS lines, water pump, alternator, trailing arms, tie rod ends (both inner and outer), rad hoses, heater hoses, all the pulleys, both belts, SC coupler, SC rotors, all the engine gaskets, knock sensor, IAC, MAF, exhaust system, tires, and so on...

You are going to have to do repairs. I can't tell you even close what you are going to have to replace. But all in all, it is much cheaper than a $300 car payment every month.

There are a lot of GP and Regal owners that beat the crap out of their cars, and run well into the 200,000 mile range. With the exception of the tranny, most everything is cheaply replaceable, especially if you do it yourself. I have 145,000 right now on stock tranny and engine internals. I avoided what could have been a huge problem by analyzing the oil at every change. The LIM started leaking around 125,000, and while there were still only faint traces of anti-freeze in the oil, I was made aware of the problem and fixed it before any damage.

Originally Posted by BlackGS

I avoided what could have been a huge problem by analyzing the oil at every change. The LIM started leaking around 125,000, and while there were still only faint traces of anti-freeze in the oil, I was made aware of the problem and fixed it before any damage.

Man! I am glad to find out that I am not the only one that anal about making sure everything runs smoothly. I run oil analysis on my car every time the OLM hits 0% which is usually around 7500 - 8000 miles. I too was saved by it spotting a coolant leak LONG before it got to the point of doing any damage. In fact, I was able to adjust my maintenance schedule due to that and as a result my lead numbers never went up and wear numbers were marginally higer at best.

I started analyzing every oil change from about 5,000 miles. I used to try to get 15,000 miles out of the oil (Amsoil 0w-30), but the analysis told me that 7,500 to 10,000 was a safer range, especially with my track outings. For me, it is actually less expensive to run premium synth oil with analysis then it would be to run cheap oil and no analysis, so it's a win-win!

Originally Posted by BlackGS

I started analyzing every oil change from about 5,000 miles. I used to try to get 15,000 miles out of the oil (Amsoil 0w-30), but the analysis told me that 7,500 to 10,000 was a safer range, especially with my track outings. For me, it is actually less expensive to run premium synth oil with analysis then it would be to run cheap oil and no analysis, so it's a win-win!

Amen brother, you're speaking my language. If not for the coolant leak that developed, I could have gone way past 15k on my oil change. But with the leak I dropped it back to about 7.5k. But I also have Amsoils dual remote bypass filter system installed as well.

Im currently running the 10W30/30 (ACD) motor oil. It seems to be holding up quite well. But I dont have any track passes on it either and right now the car is down for a tranny rebuild. I would love to see some of your reports if you didnt mind just to see how your wear trends with the track passes.

And I agree with the cost analysis well. Its what I try and pass along to people. Even with the cost of the oil analysis the oil is cheaper to run because you can get such long drain intervals out of it.

I sponsor a local drag bike racer that runs in the super gas class and indexes at 9.90. Its a dedicated drag bike using a Suzuki motor. He was changing the oil after every race. I got him on Amsoil 10W40 and a Amsoil filter and we ran oil analysis on it after every other race. Kinda added to the cost actually, but we established he could run all season on one oil change and his wear numbers have not increased one bit. Now he has two other bikes on his team. A Suzuki Hyabusa and another that escapes me, a CBR 9000 or something like that. All of them on Amsoil.

take care of the car. it will last forever.

Here's the full history of my analysis:

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3

oh boy.....now you have scotty on a role....

the more mods you have, the faster the trans will take a ****.

the engine can handle just about anything, as long as the tune is close

Scotty just found a new best friend....hehe

well I have a 01 that has 149K on it, and I am getting ready to make another cross country drive to Canada in the next couple of weeks. I use a synthetic blend and have a moderately modded car and cant stand to have a mustang in front of me, so I do drive it on the hard side. The ONLY real problem I have had is the transmission and the supercharger, other than normal maint stuff.

Things I have replaced to date:
Shocks
Brakes X4
Alternator
Front Wheel Hubs
CV shafts
Battery
Belts X3
Tires X3
Blower Motor
AC compressor lines
Plugs X a bunch
Air Filter its a K&N so as needed
Oil Filters X a bunch
Oil X a bunch
Supercharger Oil X2
Headlights X3 now have HID
Fog lights X2
Got rid of the DEX-COOL

I would get rid of the dex-cool, change your oil religiously with GOOD oil (my personal preference is Casterol synthetic blend, but I hear Amsoil is pretty good too..hehe)

As funny as it sounds it also depends on when your car came out of the factory. Mondays and Fridays are the worst for problem cars, where middle of the week cars have fewer problems.

The Trans is the weak link. You can expect to get around 100K before you have to look into getting someone to rebuild it. The engine is tried and true, and just about bullet proof as long as your are not moding the crap out of it and running it like a rapped ape.

webracin

I ended up doing my LIM gaskets at 62k miles. I had a slight coolant leak on the bell housing and was losing about a quart of oil between changes (normal 3k mile interval).

Other than that, up to my current 66k miles, I've replaced the following:

Front wheel hub
Both axles (only one was bad, inner joint passenger side)
Pads and rotors all around
Passenger rear caliper for seizing up
LIM gaskets
UIM gasket
Dexcool swapped for yellow Prestone universal
On my third set of tires (stock Goodyears sucked, uniroyal replacements sucked, Bridgestone Potenzas G009s are awesome)
Both coolant elbows (again, nothing wrong, but while I was doing my gaskets I figured I should)

Then there's the normal stuff.

Oil & filter
Changed tranny fluid/filter twice (1st at 45k miles with generic fluid, 2nd at 65k miles with Dex VI)
PCV valve (only use ACDelco, autozone brand caused me to lose a little oil, and the ACDelco was cheaper)
Air filter (but now I have a WizAired)

I've only had 40k miles experience with this car (bought it at 26k miles all highway). But, I've come to know it well and have been pleased with how things have held up. I did notice at one point that my power steering fluid was low. Filled it up with STP stop leak power steering fluid and it's been steady ever since.

Overall, I feel the W-body is a tried and true platform. The 3800 is the toughest engine GM has ever built with a nearly bullet proof (stock form) bottom end. I've only heard of one 3800 grenading its bottom end as a stock engine. He rebuilt it with better components and now has it turbo'd. (and I'm not so sure I believe it was stock to begin with )

On the Impala side, people by 9C1 (cop cars) all the time with lots of hard miles on them (100k+) and they just keep going.