LSS dun let me down

[human]

So last night I was driving home from a music festival about an hour away from where I live. As I got to the outskirts of my town, the battery discharge light came on. It was a pretty desolate area, so I decided to keep going. Just as I got to the city limits, the instrument panel want totally haywire with panel lights dimming, random idiot lights coming on, and the gas gauge jumping all over the place. Yeah, the battery was dying and eventually the engine followed suit.

No problem, I thought. I pulled out my cell phone and called AT&T Roadside Assistance. They kept me on the phone for more than an hour before telling me they couldn't find me a tow. What a crock! I finally got them to call me a cab so I could get home, which they did. I called them back this morning to have the car towed to my mechanic's and they had a tow arranged in less than five minutes. When the driver called me, I explained what had happened and that I wasn't with the car and he was totally nonplussed. He said they were open all night and weren't that busy. If they'd called, they would have come and gotten me. Needless to say, once the tow was done, I got online and signed up for AAA and canceled AT&T Roadside Assistance.

Meanwhile, I'll get the LSS fixed in the next day or two and then I'm going to have to make a decision. Do I keep the car and continue with periodic, unexpected failures or has the time come to part company with the car. It only has 67,000 miles on it but its almost 20 years old, so breakdowns are becoming more and more frequent. My transportation equation the past couple of years has involved keeping two mid-'90s vintage cars running. The other one is a '95 Aurora. I've been working on the premise that I can keep at least one of the two on the road at any given time and mostly that has worked. But right now, I'm leaning toward thinking it's time to come into the 21st century.

[SuperHbody]

Meh, crap happens man. With low miles like that, drive, thrash and enjoy the crap out of it. I'd say only a battery issue is minor compared to some issues certain models have.

[1oldman]

New cars have been know to have recurring problems too. New doesn't guarantee trouble free transportation, just a car note.

Don't mean to sound like I'm down on your position as I've been where you are. - BC

[CMNTMXR57]

Car Payments over the next few years is a worse option than random miscellaneous repairs. With that low of mileage on it, I'd keep driving it.

Sounds like a simple alternator. Something you can do in about 15 minutes on a 3800.

[nos4blood70]

Car Payments over the next few years is a worse option than random miscellaneous repairs. With that low of mileage on it, I'd keep driving it.

Sounds like a simple alternator. Something you can do in about 15 minutes on a 3800.

That's where I'm at with Penny. I get to drive the car around for nothing more than gas and insurance... Of course, once in a while she becomes thirsty for money, but that's any car at this age. Luckily, anything for the 3800 platform is super cheap AS WELL AS being super easy to replace.

[Jfridge92]

Yep, I'm in the same situation, minus my car is maintenance related rather than breaking down. With only 67k on the car, I say keep it.

[human]

In an interesting turn, my dad called me out of the blue last night to tell me he's thinking of getting my mom a new car since her 2011 Impala's warranty is about to expire due to age rather than miles. He said he'd let me have that car for trade-in value, which would be a nice step up since that car only has 15,000 miles on it and is immaculate except for a few scratches on the rear bumper. The car is an LT trim level with every available accessory other than a sunroof. It's not a sure thing yet that it will happen, but if it does the LSS is definitely gone.

[1oldman]

Luckily, anything for the 3800 platform is super cheap AS WELL AS being super easy to replace.

Most of the parts and sensors for my ole '92 are $20 or less. That wouldn't hardly pay the sales tax on the 4 O2 sensors on the 2005 SLE. I just wish I was able to all the work myself. - BC

[human]

My mechanic called this afternoon and the car is fixed. Just the alternator as I surmised.

[CMNTMXR57]

Figured the same.

[nos4blood70]

Are you gonna keep it? While the Impala might be newer, I would certainly rather drive the older LSS vs that rental car.

[CMNTMXR57]

[human]

I picked the LSS up yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find another minor annoyance seems to have corrected itself in the course of replacing the alternator. The transmission has had hard shifts for the past year or so, but somehow, the rough shifts are now gone! I have no idea how the alternator would have affected that unless it had been putting out incorrect voltage for a very long time and that was affecting commands from the computer. But whatever the cause, I'll take it.

As to whether or when I'll sell the LSS, it largely depends on what my dad ends up doing with the Impala. He hasn't yet bought a car to replace it and he may end up keeping it if he can't find exactly what he wants.

While the Impala may be a darling of rental fleets, this particular one is far better equipped than your average base model rental sedan. It's loaded up with every gimcrack and gizmo you can put on one at the LT trim level, short of a sunroof; in fact, the only thing that really distinguishes it from a well-equipped LTZ is the 3.5L engine and the badging on the trunk lid.

[CMNTMXR57]

Probably because they disconnected the battery during the install, which is akin to re-booting your PC once in awhile. It resets everything back to base parameters.

Agreed on the Impala. Ours is pretty *dang* nice. Maybe a little too much on the harder plastics vs. the Bonneville, but still nice (and nice to the touch on other surfaces), the pleather is softer/richer than the pleather in Bonneville's, the design is clean and uncluttered, and some of the rear seat cargo abilities (if you flip forward the seat bottom, there is a storage tray area there. My main complaint when I drive it, is that I feel like I'm sitting on top of it, not in it, like a cockpit, like the Bonneville. It's like an old truck with a bench seat, and a flat dash down below eye level type driving experience.

[human]

I agree with you about the Bonneville's cockpit styling. I like the way it cradles the driver. It seems like GM borrowed heavily from that when they designed the Aurora. Yeah, the styling of the Impala is a bit on the bland side. So is the LSS, for that matter. The Aurora style seats are definitely its best feature. Its slab dash was originally designed for a bench seat configuration. It only took GM three years to figure out they just needed to change the modular radio surround to allow the dash and center console to meet. It gives the dash a whole different feel from the earlier version, which had a freestanding console that originally appeared in the late '80s Bonneville SSE. Its surprising to me that the Impala's interior, especially the dash, actually looks quite a bit nicer than that of its Buick sibling, the Lucerne.

Since my parents got the Impala three years ago, I've only driven it once or twice and for very short distances. The one thing I noticed that I didn't like was the way the headrests on the back seats obscure about 80 percent of the rear window. I'm hoping they're removable. Either way, it's a good thing the side mirrors are big.

Agreed on the Impala. Ours is pretty *dang* nice. Maybe a little too much on the harder plastics vs. the Bonneville, but still nice (and nice to the touch on other surfaces), the pleather is softer/richer than the pleather in Bonneville's, the design is clean and uncluttered, and some of the rear seat cargo abilities (if you flip forward the seat bottom, there is a storage tray area there. My main complaint when I drive it, is that I feel like I'm sitting on top of it, not in it, like a cockpit, like the Bonneville. It's like an old truck with a bench seat, and a flat dash down below eye level type driving experience.

[human]

Okay, Dad has found a Buick Lacross for Mom, which they will be getting in the next week or so. That means the Impala will be coming my way and the LSS is officially for sale. I'd love to see it go to someone who truly appreciates it so I've posted the details on it in the For Sale or Trade section. I'll post it locally on Craigslist next weekend.

[human]

Well, the LSS is now sold (got my asking price, btw) and I'll be going to pick up my Impala next Friday, 10/31, which for me will make it "Impalaween".

[human]

I've now had the Impala for a few days and it's starting to grow on me. Sure, its kind of bland looking. But for the spoiler on the trunk lid and the 17-inch alloy wheels, it would be indistinguishable from a state motor pool vehicle. But hey, there's sometimes something to be said for not standing out in a crowd. The interior is comfortable and reasonably well thought out, although only slightly more exciting than the exterior, but at least the cupholders actually do what the name implies. The Bose audio system not only sounds great, it's Bluetooth connectivity is brilliant. I took several calls on my cell today just by pushing a button on my steering wheel. And I think I'll be enjoying those butt warmer seats as winter sets in.

The car handles much better than I thought it would, considering it has FE1 suspension. While the 3500 V6 is adequate, but not exciting, it's definitely fuel efficient. Bringing the car home Friday, I topped off the tank, reset the DIC and was pleasantly surprised to watch it deliver 34.5 mpg with the cruise control set at 70 mph. It was interesting to note that the engine maintained that speed while only turning about 1,800 rpms. Driving around town for the past three days, the car has maintained an average fuel economy of just over 24 mpg. I really can't complain at all about that. All in all, I feel like it was a good move.

[1oldman]

While the 3500 V6 is adequate, but not exciting, it's definitely fuel efficient. Bringing the car home Friday, I topped off the tank, reset the DIC and was pleasantly surprised to watch it deliver 34.5 mpg with the cruise control set at 70 mph. It was interesting to note that the engine maintained that speed while only turning about 1,800 rpms. Driving around town for the past three days, the car has maintained an average fuel economy of just over 24 mpg.

Are the fuel mileage figures from the car, or did you do the calculations yourself, "long hand"? My personal experience is the vast majority of the time, the car lies, big time. My personal experience is that the 3.5 gets great fuel mileage, the 3.4 even better. - BC

[human]

It's from the DIC. I still haven't refueled since I topped the tank off on the way home from picking the car up. I understand what you're saying, though. I've experienced the same discrepancy with both my Auroras. The DIC on both of those cars calculated mpg a bit more generously than the manual method. But then, how do you know you've filled the tank to exactly the same level each time? A certain margin for error exists either way. I'll be filling the car up again probably tomorrow, and I plan to do a manual calculation to compare against the average mpg displayed on the DIC. It does appear, however, that the car is getting better fuel economy than anything I've owned in the past 15-20 years.

While the 3500 V6 is adequate, but not exciting, it's definitely fuel efficient. Bringing the car home Friday, I topped off the tank, reset the DIC and was pleasantly surprised to watch it deliver 34.5 mpg with the cruise control set at 70 mph. It was interesting to note that the engine maintained that speed while only turning about 1,800 rpms. Driving around town for the past three days, the car has maintained an average fuel economy of just over 24 mpg.

Are the fuel mileage figures from the car, or did you do the calculations yourself, "long hand"? My personal experience is the vast majority of the time, the car lies, big time. My personal experience is that the 3.5 gets great fuel mileage, the 3.4 even better. - BC