1997 Chevrolet Lumina Consumer Reviews

Best car for the Money Period!

Written by: Clark on 05/22/2009

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

Truly a car that will last if you know how to perform routine maintenance. I love this car! At 210,000 I redid the Intake Manifold gasket, water pump, and haven't had any leaks since. The only other problems I have had have been electrical from the wire rotting out. These are simple fixes, just hard to trace where sometimes. I run Valvoline Max Life Full Synthetic oil. In town mileage is okay, highway is better than most cars get today. Add an HHO system and you will get over 35+mpg highway.

Favorite Features

Mileage, ease of maintenance, and a body that will last longer than any thing in the car. I am currently at 256,000 miles with no worries it won't make it 300k.

Suggested Improvements

Cheap interior doors.., get an alternator with a lifetime warranty.

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Cannot Beat This

Written by: Hank on 03/29/2009

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr LS Sedan

Review

For the price I paid for this car, you cannot beat it. I've put well over 230,000 miles on this car since 2000, and it still has plenty of power, excellent on gas. Well better than most new cars today!!!! You just need to know how to take care of your car. For it to last as long as you want it to.

Favorite Features

Fuel economy,Reliability, Performance and interior Design.

Suggested Improvements

none

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Awesome car!

Written by: JBaz on 03/22/2009

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

I bought my '97 Lumina, two years ago at 160,000 miles! It still runs today, and I'm at almost 203,000 miles. The only problems I have had was the alternator needing to be replaced. Other than that, my car still has pick-up for having the mileage it does. It's definitely a great car, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Favorite Features

Comfortable seats

Suggested Improvements

Interior improvements. The plastic pieces the visor hooks into falls out of the roof.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Good Value For Money Car

Written by: mercara on 03/04/2009

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

I bought this car used in 2000 with about 35K miles. It now has 138K miles and still drives like it will go to 200K at least. As others have pointed out it gives great mileage. Had the alternator replaced but no manifold issues yet. Honestly for the price I paid in 2000, I have got full use out of this car. If it died on me today, I wouldn't feel bad since I got my money's worth out of this car. If you find a low mileage car that has been maintained well, it is a good value.

Favorite Features

Good mileage for a full size car. Mostly trouble free and comfortable to drive.

Suggested Improvements

Pointless since this model is not in production any more.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Love My Car

Written by: Grian on 11/06/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr LS Sedan

Review

I have owned my 97 Lumina for 3 years. It is the most reliable car ever and I have put 30,000 miles on it and all that it has required has been an alternator replaced and EGR ports cleaned and a MIL bulb changed. I would not hesitate to buy another one. These repairs where not costly and easy to repair (and I'm a woman).

Favorite Features

It looks great, it's roomy and comfortable has great acceleration, and for a car this size has pretty good mileage and the alternator did not cost an arm and a leg to replace.

Suggested Improvements

3 out 3 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Lumina is OK

Written by: Rob on 07/07/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

I've had my Lumina for 4 years and it's been a 6 out of 10 car. In the last 2 years I've had to replace the battery, alternator, starter and water pump. I've heard a lot of bad things about Luminas, mine has been alright. It cruises great down the highway and the gas mileage is decent for such a big car. My family and I feel very safe when we're in it. There was 82800 miles on it when I bought it and now it has 147000 miles. The transmision has some issues lately, I was thinking of replacing old betsy. For what I paid for this car, it has served me well. If you need a car and you come across a Lumina with low miles and a decent price, consider buying it. If not, buy an Impala like I'm going to.

Favorite Features

3.1 engine, gas mileage, and safety ratings.

Suggested Improvements

The seats are too hard in the Lumina and they are not much better in the Impala.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

My Chevy

Written by: My Chevy on 06/24/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr LS Sedan

Review

I never expected to drive this car to over 194,000 miles, but it's amazing what you can do when you change the oil every 3,000 miles. I've had the fuel pump replaced, 2 fuel injectors replaced, and the alternator replaced. Not bad for this many miles. Never had a problem with starting it up, even in the dead of winter. But the best thing is probably that I can still get up to 33 mpg on the road. And that's with a 6-cylinder 3.1 liter engine!

Favorite Features

The gas mileage is really awesome.

Suggested Improvements

The a/c no longer works, but it would be worth fixing on this car.

5 out 5 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

Cheap made vehicle or a Chevy

Written by: Chris on 04/28/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr LS Sedan

Review

This was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. Spend extra and by foreign. In my opinion GM is more worried about quantity then quality. I have had to replace a headgasket,two ball joints,Wiper engine, Service engine stays on because of the fuel. The only thing good about the 97 Lumina is that GM switched the paint used on the older Lumina's that did not stick.

Favorite Features

None

Suggested Improvements

Focus on quality and not cheap plastic parts.

1 out 7 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post

1997 Chevy Lumina LTZ

Written by: Petey on 04/26/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr LTZ Sedan

Review

Bought the car in 1999 w/ 63000 mi. on. Managed to get to 160,000 miles on it before giving it to my kid after driver's ed. It managed to get 2 1/2 more years out of it. Got to 183,000 before head gasket went. Only repairs in 6+ years was a water pump, manifold gasket, tires and fluid changes. Always started for me.

Favorite Features

Smooth ride, 28.9 on the highway, 23+ in the city. Reliable car.

Suggested Improvements

Only problem was a check engine light that never went off in six years no matter what was done. I think it was a head gasket that eventually led to the engine failing.

Report inappropriate post

3.1L need I say more

Written by: snake11292006 on 04/24/2008

Vehicle

1997 Chevrolet Lumina 4 Dr STD Sedan

Review

My girlfriend bought this car a little over a year ago and it was a very realiable car until about a month ago. The frist thing was the intake gaskets had to be replaced at about 115000 miles. We got the car back and it ran fine for a 3 weeks when a new leak devloped. Took it to a shop and found that the timing chain cover was leaking. So that will be another $350 to fix. If you don't want to sink a lot of money into a car then don't buy one with the 3.1 or the 3.4 they have nothing but problems.

Favorite Features

Lots of interior space.

Suggested Improvements

Don't use plastic gaskets or almminum heads on a cast iron block.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

Report inappropriate post