Hi guys, I'm sad to say that I will be parting with my Fiero because I just can't afford to do the repairs on it anymore and am sick of GM in general. I simply refuse to support a company that doesn't backup its vehicles and offers no support to the owners. I was wondering if anyone on the lsit has had a chance to drive a 300ZX non-turbo? There is a nice silver one in my area for $10500 Canadian and I have been offered $7500 for my GT (once I get it running!!) I was just wondering how reliable they are, and how easy they are to work on. The other two cars that I have looked at and have been impressed with are the Mr2 and Supra (nice little rice rockets!) I love my little Fiero more than any of you could imagine, but I just can't find anyone who is capable of working on it, and the constant guess work my the GM dealerships is draining my wallet. (I have just posted my latest problems in the tech area of the forum)I just feel that maybe I should cut my losses now and get something else, and then when I'm done school get a Fiero for a Sunday driver car. The price range I'm looking around is up to 11000 Canadian, any ideas?
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02:19 PM
PFF
System Bot
1FST2M6 Member
Posts: 3905 From: Dallas, GA. Registered: Jan 2000
since your in canada... find an Asuna Sunfire Turbo. they pull 6-9psi.. with an exhaust and intake upgrade, turbo timer and HKS EVC (about $1000) you'll have a car that will reliably pull 14-18psi and run mid 13s in the 1/4 mi. (400m) For those of you not familiar with Asuna its a Canadian version of Isuzu. Kinda like Honda and Acura... same people diffrent name. Once again you might have serviceabilty issues.. I'm not sure how the Asuna/Isuzu dealers are up there... Or an 86.5-91 Supra Turbo. I had a 93 300ZX-TT. Loved that car... let me walk away from a wreck... (60mph in to a van that ran a light) poped the airbags bent my new wheels and KILLED the car bu i walked away.. so that a VERY safe and STUPID fast car!
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02:50 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 41216 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Don't know about the others from experience, but I almost bought a (new) 1st gen MR2, in 85. Cornered like a slot car. Then I saw the GT, and fell in lust with the looks and the sound. If I HAD to choose a sports car other than the Fiero, it would prrobably be an MR2. <As I slip into my NOMEX suit>
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03:45 PM
GT Bastard Member
Posts: 2243 From: Rapid City, SD Registered: Sep 1999
If you're looking for cheap repairs, why go with an imported turo car? That would probably be my last choice. At least check other message boards for these cars and ask about it, but they're going to be biased.
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04:24 PM
87PegasusGT Member
Posts: 274 From: Portland,Oregon,USA Registered: Dec 1999
Having had this argument with myself at least once already and having driven almost every cool sportscar under $40,000, I honestly would go with a 2nd gen Mr2 Turbo or 300 zx twin turbo. They are not the cheapest to fix, but very fun and fairly reliable. They can also go much faster with $ but they already will stand up to a Vette stock. (Excepting a C5 of course)
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04:47 PM
Boodoggin Member
Posts: 93 From: Eagle, ID, USA Registered: Apr 2000
The only other car I really like besides fiero's are 5.0 mustangs the 87-93 style. I drove a 91 LX Coupe 5.0 police interceptor, and loved it. It would be my second chice after fiero.
I feel for you 87GT, but hang in there. The dealer the absolute last place I go for anything except to show the Fiero off. Isn't there anyone in or near your area to work on Fieros? Seems everywhere I go I find someone.
Last summer a local used car dealership had a red 94 300Z with T-Tops, chrome wheels, auto trans (a must in Myrtle Beach summer traffic ). It had low miles, so I decided to stop in and take it for a drive. Yeah I considered buying it, but not to replace my forever Fiero obsession. I was so unimpressed with the car, I returned it in less than 20 minutes. My turbo 86SE would run circles around it! It didn't handle very well either. My mechanic looked it over, he said don't ever bring this thing to me when anything goes! My insurance was going to triple! No thanks! Before I got my Fiero, I looked at a Nissan Pulsar, cool little car, but gawd-awfully sloow! My advice is, to hang in there! From your past posts it sounds like a sweet car! I regret selling my 85 coupe three years ago, you'll regret selling the GT!
What were your problems with gm.. I live in Calgary Alberta so I think we talk the same language.. I had a buddy that HAD a 300 zx.. the repair bills on them can be quite costly, even though I love the look of 300's.. very sweet ride. Kinda like a fiero.. just bigger.
I have a pearl white Z, love it. The repair bills are crazy and the parts cost out the arse. If you get one, buy the twin turbo. Trust me. Here is a link to some great guys that talk 1990+ Zs: (not a better group as us) http://www.twinturbo.net/ Check out the frequently asked questions.
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07:41 PM
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
Geo Storm? NOT!!! I had one of these. A yellow 1990 GSI. It was a "performance" model. It was not all that fast (1.9L dual cam w/5spd)and could not corner very well. My stock Saturn SL1 corners better than my Storm did. If you want a good sports car, I would suggest another Fiero. Once you get rid of your Fiero, you will miss it! I had an 86 SE V-6 4spd drove it for 163,000 miles and got rid of it because it needed work and I didn't have time or money to deal with it. I had 3 more cars after it. Then I sat in a friends Fiero and within a month I had an 86 SE again! There is nothing else that compares to a Fiero. Even if the other car is faster or handles better you will always compare it to the Fiero.
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10:00 PM
Apr 16th, 2000
frontal lobe Member
Posts: 9042 From: brookfield,wisconsin Registered: Dec 1999
Cooter, I wasn't flaming you, buddy. A Honda Civic is an excellent OTHER car. Just not a substitute for a fiero.
Oreif, I was just joking about the Geo Storm. Sporty cars should have engines bigger than motorcycles (or in the Storm's case, mopeds).
Spyder, NO WAY!! A new Vehicross, AND a 300zx in the stable??? Way to go!
Loafer87gt. Saw a '91 mr2 turbo red 5-speed with leather interior 43000 miles for $7900US (don't know what that translates to in Canadian) in the paper today. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
frontal lobe The Z is more my wife’s than mine. It’s her baby….. that I have to take care of. (ie. Repair bills) The only time she lets me drive it is when she wants to drive my truck....huh...women.
Thanks for all your replies. I was kinda in a bad mood when I wrote this first post. I have been without my Fiero for around three weeks now while it has been in at the GM dealership getting repairs done. My "bad experiences" with GM are that they are plain rude to Fiero owners. When I took my car in to have it looked at I was told that the Fiero is car Pontiac wishes never happened. How much more inconsiderate could they get?!! I love my car to death and comments like that hurt and are unnecessary. This is the same dealership where the car was purchased new back in 87 as well. I have been going to the Pontiac dealership because the Chevy dealership refused to work on my car. I am really confused on what to do, I have done $1300 in repairs so far this month and they still haven't found the problem, and I don't really want to go to another dealership and have to have them start right from the beginning trying to track down the problem with the car. As I posted in the Tech section, the car is stalling out, and the the engine is really surging only running on three cylinders. It does this if you run the car for around a half an hour, turn it off for 15 minuts, and fire it back up. So far they have replaced the alternator, ignition module, coil, cap and distributor, ECM, plugs, plug wires, cleaned the injectors, and the car still dies on me on the way home from the dealership. It really is psiing me off, as I have had to pay over $300 to get the damn car towed back to the dealership the four times it has dies on me. They have now had the car in there for a week and a half and still haven't found the problem. I'm getting real impatient as this is my favorite time of year to have the car out as spring has finally come in Canada and I love to show off my car at the university campus! Oh well, I'll keep you guys posted on the latest happenings. I took the 300 Z non-turbo car out for a test drive and was very impressed with it, the seats are very comfortable and the car has the same sort of feel as my GT. I was doing some research on the car and from what I've read the non-turbos are more or less bullet proof, and they are 160 pounds lighter on the front because of the lack of a turbo so they handle quite a a bit better then the non-turbos. First things first though, I got to get my GT fixed before I can do anything.
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04:22 PM
PFF
System Bot
Apr 17th, 2000
phillip No longer registered
Report this Post04-17-2000 07:14 AM
phillip
posts Member since
i have a '74 corvette. i think people think they are more expensive than they really are. repairs are kind of costly but most of mine are things to improve perfomance or personalize it. remember mechanialy it's just a chevy. every body and their grandma either drives one fixes them or sells parts for it. plus with mine being non cat converter an no computers and millions of sensors i'mless intimidated looking under the hood than i am with my 4 cyl. fiero.
it was only a daily driver for about 10 months but i never had a break down.it was all i had running at one time last winter and i ended up driving it in snow. no blizzard but it's possible. if your're pretty good about not wreaking cars it keeps it's value. it looks good and if you get the right style ('68-'77 or '78-'82) it will look like the fiero. or is that the other way around?
[This message has been edited by phillip (edited 04-17-2000).]
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07:14 AM
DJRice Member
Posts: 2741 From: Merritt Island, FL USA Registered: Jun 99
As far as easy to work on goes, I don't think that any of the cars mentioned would be easier (or harder for that matter) to work on than a Fiero.
Its a shame that the dealer you chose has replace everything to eliminate where the problem isnt. The "Whatever's left must be the problem" mentality is very expensive. At the very least, you shouldnt have to pay for a part at all if it does not solve your problem.
If I were going to get rid of my Fiero, and find another ride, I'd have to go with some old school horsepower. a '67 Camaro, maybe a 65 Impala SS, any year Chevelle SS..thats what you need.
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09:17 AM
Apr 18th, 2000
lowCG Member
Posts: 1510 From: seattle,WA U.S.A. Registered: Jun 99
Dont know how you would feel about somthing alittle bit larger, but I used to own a Murker XR4TI, same drive train as a mustang SVO but its got the germen influence. A thousand CDN will get the car around 200-250 horse. Another thousand on suspension and the car will corner with the best of em.
My pick for "Best Sports Car Under $5000 That ISN'T a Fiero" would be a Porsche 944. They look cool, they handle great, they stop on a dime, and they hardly ever break down (but when they do, look out...$$$).
Runner-up would be the 2nd Gen Mazda RX-7, provided you can find one that doesn't need apex seals. They didn't look all that cool, but they were fast and fun.
Heres the latest scoop, I got offered 7000$ for my 87 GT by a friend as soon as I get the car running. The good news is that a Silver 88GT just came up for sale in my city. I think this might be a sign from god or something. I'm going to go take it out for a test drive this weekend. By the way, I stopped by the delearship to pick up my car yesterday and I managed to drive it for a full three hours without the engine cutting out on me. It must be some lose connection somewhere in the car, could be fun trying to find where it is though. The bad news is that when I was taking off my glass top on putting them in the front, my latch mechanism broke on my car! One of the roller mechanism that keeps the latch closed broke. SIGH.....