Alero vs. Intrigue

[cdp326]

I'm considering them. They're pretty inexpensive used now.

Should I dare with an N-body or be much better off with the W-body? Opinions on the two in general in comparison? How much better are the W-bodies? I would generally go with the W-body, but if the N-body wouldn't be too bad I may go for that. I some about the N-body reliability but some opinions from the techs would be good, too.

It would likely be a 3400 Alero vs. 3800 Intrigue.

If I could find a good Grand Prix I'd be looking at that, too.

Thanks.

[casket_demon]

Go with the Intrigue, it roomier and has a much much better engine.

[goochman]

3400 vs 3800 is the only question you need to answer.

3800

[paul8488]

I'm still a big fan of the Alero (and Grand Am). The Alero looked quite tidy; a little less garish than the Grand Am. My mom has a 3400 in her Grand Am, and I find it pulls nicely, and even has a decent growl. I personally like smaller cars, so would go with the Alero... actually you should pick up a 2-door / 4cyl / 5-speed! Hey, now I want one of those!

[zete]

We have an Ecotec powered Alero going on 7 years. Best car we've ever owned. We just did the brakes last year and we need tires this year. That's been it, other than oil changes. We find it roomy and comfortable, though a tad noisy. It also gets great mileage.

[t-rex]

Why not give the Aurora a look? They're incredibly cheap buys (I've seen '01-02s for as low as $6500), and I find them almost unbeatable in luxury-to-$$ terms. And they've shown to be pretty reliable too. It's the only GM (or American for that matter) car that I ever considered buying. But if you're choice is between Alero or Intrigue, I'd go with the Intrigue, although I'm partial to the styling. While I haven't read up on either in quite some time, it seemed the W-bodies tend to hold up better over time than the N-bodies do.

[iamwin]

Intrigue easily. If for no other reason than the crash test ratings. Alero is an absolute deathtrap compared to the Intrigue. I don't know much about mileage for what your looking at, but our shortstar equipped Intrigue gets a steady 25mpg in 60/40 city/hwy. That and Intrigue has dual zone auto climate control, power seats...

Links to crash tests.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=514
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=474

[roberto57]

I say go with the Alero. I have a GLS coupe and I love it. I think Alero's have one of the bes interiors when compared to other GM's of the time. The exterior in coupe form is nice too. My brother has a Grand Prix that's two years newer and it still has light gray buttons.

[cdp326]

Thanks for the replies, all.

I do know that the 3800 is generally better than the 3400, but I wouldn't mind the 3.4 so much.
No coupes, though. I'd much rather have the convenience of a sedan now and the N-body coupes had worse side NHTSA ratings. Plus, I've only found sedans, anyway.

Speaking of the crash ratings, yeah, I know about the IIHS tests, and that's one of the two main things that makes me skeptical of the Alero over the Intrigue. (The other being that everything I have heard has said

I generally wouldn't have looked for Aleros were it not for the real nice '01 GL2 V6 I've found for sale.

I would consider an Aurora if a nice one came across. There don't seem to be many for sale, though. I'm not sure if I want to pay to fuel it if it's the V8.

Was the 3.5L "Shortstar" standard in all Intrigues starting with 2000? I know it was first available on the 1999 GLS but can't find much saying what after that.

[eag]

3400's have LIMG problem; stay away from 3400!

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by eag

3400's have LIMG problem; stay away from 3400!

Yeah, yeah, I've always heard that.

But...I've heard of it with the 3800s too, and the Alero I'd be looking at has had its intake manifold replaced recently.

[IAMCANADIAN]

I've owned an Alero GLS Coupe and I currently own a 2003 Grand Prix SE. I would say out of both, get the Intrigue or Grand Prix.

The Alero's a nice car, but I don't think it's as well built as the W-Bodies and isn't as nice to drive either. My Alero has the FE2 Ride and Handling Suspension where my Grand Prix has the FE1 Soft Ride Suspension. Both have 16 inch tires althought the Grand Prix has 60 series instead of 50 series, but I will say, my Grand Prix handles way better than the Alero, even with the softer suspension and 60 R tires. The Alero leaned way more than my Grand Prix in turns, had sloppy steering and a firmer ride where my Grand Prix doesn't lean much in turns, has nice firm steering and feels comfortable over bumps. I also find that the W-Cars feel more solid and substantial than the N-Bodies as well.

I think the W-Body cars are some of GM's nicest front-drivers and I would definitely recommend that you get the Intrigue.

[rearden82]

A few years ago, I had a 2001 Malibu (same platform as the Alero) as a rental car. It had by far the worst suspension I've encountered on a modern car. The body leaned and the tires howled during very modest cornering. Which would have been understandable if it rode like a Town Car, but it was actually quite harsh.

Like everyone else said, I would by all means choose the W-Body. They're superior in every way.

[cdp326]

Originally Posted by rearden82

A few years ago, I had a 2001 Malibu (same platform as the Alero) as a rental car. It had by far the worst suspension I've encountered on a modern car. The body leaned and the tires howled during very modest cornering. Which would have been understandable if it rode like a Town Car, but it was actually quite harsh.

The Alero and Malibu weren't the exact same, though. The Malibu did better in the IIHS frontal crash test, IIRC, receiving an Acceptable rating.
Car and Driver had a comparison in September 1999 that included a Malibu LS and Alero GL. The Malibu was second to last, and the Alero placed third. The Malibu was a good value but no fun to look at or drive, but they found the Alero to be among the best to drive there; it was mainly let down by refinement, which they found lacking.

[sdotjoe]

Stay away from the n-body, aside from the intake gaskets you'll have to deal with warped brake rotors every 10k miles, warping dash material and door panel material, a s__tty tranny and a plethora of other problems that I cant even think of right now. Get the Intrigue if you absolutely have to have one of the two.

Oh and my sunroof stopped working too.