Avoid:
98-02 Accords with the glass automatic tranny
That would be the V6 model, and also the Acura TL and CL, Odyssey, etc
Avoid:
98-02 Accords with the glass automatic tranny
Any Cadillacs from that era with the caddy drivetrain we're garbage. Some had a Chevy drivetrain. Those were much better.
That 4.9 had to have stop.leak in the cooling system. Without it the coolant would drip into the oil. Absolute garbage.Can confirm. Had a 05 STS with the N* and it was nice when it was working correctly. 320hp RWD good looking sedan. When it left me on the side of the road in another state that was the final straw (timing chain tensioner failed motor trashed). I put less than 50k on that car and was working on it constantly. My nearly 20 year older F-150 was light years more reliable.
My grandad did have a 92 sedan deville with the 4.9 that seemed like a pretty decent vehicle. Terrible gas mileage, but it rode like a cadillac should.
Agree with the Acclaim. My best car was a 1992 Dodge Spirit, 2.5/ A403.My wife and I had a 1990 Plymouth Acclaim. It was pretty reliable and comfortable. Had the 2.5L. Decent power for the day and good mileage.
I bought my '92 Wrangler. Started out as a street Jeep, but never had any issues. Ended up turning it into the trail rig on the left.
I still run the 2.5L mated to a SM420 granny low transmission. The squirrels run p!ssah.
My wife bought a 1998 Chevy Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick) 4 door, 4WD auto. It was 100% reliable and needed only oil and filter changes until we were T-boned.
I had a '03 Silverado Z71 5.3L that was a cool truck, but had electrical gremlins.
We bought a '04 Malibu Maxx and ended up suing GM via the lemon law. The two worst issues were the electric power steering would turn off at random times and it had a hard/no start condition. You guys ever drive a hydro PS car without a PS belt? Multiply that by 10 and then picture my little Puerto Rican wife trying to turn on the highway. Scary to say the least. Haven't bought a GM since.
My 95 bmw is one of the most reliable cars i have owned.. my 1985 porsche 944 I bought with over 100 k miles and sold it 15 years later with 300 k miles. Plugs and timing belt and battery and brakes and tires.. new coolant and one clutch.. zero broken things other than wear itemsEvery Toyota and Honda, and most non-Subaru Japanese cars, the Saturn S-series
Worst: German cars, Subaru, Saturn L-series/Opel Vectra B
1998-2005 is the worst era for German cars. Poor reliability and expensive upkeep peaked at this point. Mk4 Golf/Jetta, E65 7-series, W211, W220, W203, etc.
American cars are cheaply made but reasonably reliable for the most part. Their nadir was of course the late 70s, outside the scope of the era defined in the OP
I had a 1989 Dakota that ate 3 transmissions in the first 60k miles. Avoid.
We had a 1999 Volvo S70 for 21 years and 276k miles. We both loved that car...
No, but it was the sport model. I would buy one if I could get my hands on one of those convertibles though, just to be different!Was your Dakota a convertible?
Any opinions of the Chevy/GM Tahoes and Suburbans of that era, specifically the 5.3L and 7.4L and I think they maybe had a 5.7L or perhaps I'm mistaken? I've got my eye on a 95 with the 7.4L that looks nice with 150k miles for around $7k.