My Roadmaster hit 200,000 miles last night.

[markd79ta]

My Roadmaster hit 200,000 miles last night. I am parking it to do some maintenance and save some money on gas while I drive the 4cyl Stratus. It is too bad that GM decided to kill the b-body; what a great car.

So, how many of you will buy from the new Government Motors? I want a '96 Impala SS and Vette, but that will be it for me. I doubt that I will buy any of their new vehicles unless my wife decides she wants the new Camaro.

[FroSSty]

Long live the b-body! Mine is not too far behind yours at around 180K.
I, too would like a clean DCM 96 Impala SS and a C5, eventually.

[Joe 1320]

I had an Impala SS. The roadmaster is put together a little better.

[gimp19]

My bros 95 9c1 caprice is/was a great car unfortunitly its been sitting for over a year due to an ignition problem. He hasn't but much effort into fixing it I think its the ignition module cause its a no start problem. guess who was the last one to drive it I got home parked and it died right there.

[FroSSty]

I had an Impala SS. The roadmaster is put together a little better.

How so ?

[Joe 1320]

How so ?

I bought mine with nearly zero miles brand new. Here's the rundown:

* left front headlight protruded slightly, needed to be remounted.
* Sharp rap coming from windshield to cowl mounting every time I drove over a speedbump. required lots of shop time to figure that one out.
* Trunk has super thin lining so anyting in the trunk will roll around and dent the rear quarters from the inside.
* trunk light bulb falls out of holder, lands on the spare tire cover and melts a hole.
* Interior grey panels all fade at a different rate so the interior ends up looking like it was pieced together.
* Rear control arms cracked with less than 10K miles.
* Cheap interior carpet
* Poor stitching in the leather seats
* side body colored emblems on the rear quarters will snag every type of rag/sponge when detailing and washing.
*Cheap feeling buttons and switches


other than build quality issues, it ran like a raped ape and was quite comfortable. It's the interior and fit/finish that tarnished the experience. A friend of mine had a buick of the same year. It had better quality carpet, he had only one minor issue with a couple trim items and everything stayed together for many years. I ditched the Impala SS after 25K miles before I even replaced the tires. It was a love/hate relationship. I really wish the car had been better quality.

[FroSSty]

I agree the interior leave a bit to be desired. On the other hand, it truly was just a glorified police cruiser. As far as the rest of the list, that kind of quirky stuff happened with almost all GM products in that era.

[markd79ta]

I bought mine with nearly zero miles brand new. Here's the rundown:

* left front headlight protruded slightly, needed to be remounted.
* Sharp rap coming from windshield to cowl mounting every time I drove over a speedbump. required lots of shop time to figure that one out.
* Trunk has super thin lining so anyting in the trunk will roll around and dent the rear quarters from the inside.
* trunk light bulb falls out of holder, lands on the spare tire cover and melts a hole.
* Interior grey panels all fade at a different rate so the interior ends up looking like it was pieced together.
* Rear control arms cracked with less than 10K miles.
* Cheap interior carpet
* Poor stitching in the leather seats
* side body colored emblems on the rear quarters will snag every type of rag/sponge when detailing and washing.
*Cheap feeling buttons and switches


other than build quality issues, it ran like a raped ape and was quite comfortable. It's the interior and fit/finish that tarnished the experience. A friend of mine had a buick of the same year. It had better quality carpet, he had only one minor issue with a couple trim items and everything stayed together for many years. I ditched the Impala SS after 25K miles before I even replaced the tires. It was a love/hate relationship. I really wish the car had been better quality.

I can count on one hand the problems with the Roadmaster:

CD player gave out at 120,000 miles.
Power antenna gave out at 170,000 miles.
Heater core gave out at 200,000 miles.
The side rubber moldings fall off.
Father broke the starter and trans fluid lines after jumping through a dip in the road..repairs involved (not the cars fault)

The rest was general maintenance and the parts lasted far longer then expectations...the fuel pump is original. After 200,000 miles the seats are perfect with no rips or significant color loss. The top of the door panels are faded. The car is just amazing. I ran the original opti 150,000 miles before changing the cap. The original opti is still in the car with the cap changed at 150,000 miles. The lights are the only garbage thing on the car.

If I get the Impala SS, I will be converting it to a 6sp and changing out most of the interior.

[Steel2686]

Power antenna gave out at 170,000 miles.

That HAS to be a GM record!!!

Of the seven GM power antenna-equipped vehicles I've owned, every single one failed at some point prior to 80,000 miles. It was never a huge deal as I just ended up replacing them with the GM black whip antennas most of the time.

[Performin Norman]

I can relate. My S10 just turned 200k a couple weeks ago. So, in honor, I bought an LS1 and a T56 that I hope make their way into the truck.

[Joe 1320]

I agree the interior leave a bit to be desired. On the other hand, it truly was just a glorified police cruiser. As far as the rest of the list, that kind of quirky stuff happened with almost all GM products in that era.

my 96 Crew Cab Dually had zero mechanical issues except for a wiper motor recall and crappy paint. Both were redone and the vehicle was worked for 85K miles without even a twitch. My 95 ZR1 had only one failure, the starter. I put about 30K miles on that one. I felt that even though the car was a Chevy, it should at least have had as good a quality as my Crew Cab.

[FroSSty]

Well, I can tell you from experience that those style pickups had a few problems... The interior door handles break because the door latches become sloppy and people like to tug harder on the handle. I can't tell you how many handles I have replaced. The cheap metal track on the door glass rusts out and the window falls inside the door. You can't buy just the track...So a whole window is in order. The mirror switches are touchy. It is nearly impossible to r&i the outer handle without scratching the paint unless you like spending an hour and removing the whole interior metal panel. Oh btw, unless you know the tricks... It makes me sad thinking about how many of those door I have torn apart...

[Christopherrr]

I can relate. My S10 just turned 200k a couple weeks ago. So, in honor, I bought an LS1 and a T56 that I hope make their way into the truck.

It'll awhile...4.3s are workhorses. Seen numerous Blazers and S10s with 300K on the clock.

Wanna loan me the LS1 and T56 till then...I figure out a way to get good use out of them.

[Rhode Island Red]

Glad to see your car made it to 200,000 miles. My '78 Grand LeMans (A-Body) had 246,000 miles on it and 27 years to boot when I donated it. I saw the odometer flip twice (no hundred thousands digit). The car was really built well and served me well from 15 and-a-half to my 30's. It was my first car (given to me - My first car I bought is my Firehawk ) When you drive a car to 200,000 miles, no matter what shape it is in you tend to treat it as a friend as it was reliable one for sure.

[markd79ta]

Glad to see your car made it to 200,000 miles. My '78 Grand LeMans (A-Body) had 246,000 miles on it and 27 years to boot when I donated it. I saw the odometer flip twice (no hundred thousands digit). The car was really built well and served me well from 15 and-a-half to my 30's. It was my first car (given to me - My first car I bought is my Firehawk ) When you drive a car to 200,000 miles, no matter what shape it is in you tend to treat it as a friend as it was reliable one for sure.

With a new heater core, timing chain, opti cap, brakes, and a windshield; it will be on the road again. I hope to make it to 300,000 before rebuild. It costs me little to nothing to keep the car on my collector's policy so I will continue to use it and keep the mileage on the other vehicles down.