History
The complete history of my 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme International (including Service History)

The Story
This is the car I inherited around March 20, 1994 during my senior year of high school. It was driven by my stepdad who purchased it in 1989 from a dealership in Kansas City. It was supposedly previously owned by an older couple who just loved how it looked, but ended up regretting that they bought a 2-door car. The car had only 15k miles on it! My old car had been totaled out in an accident on November 27, 1993. My stepdad decided he wanted a new pickup truck, so being the kind and considerate person that he is, I was handed the car free of charge with 110k miles on the odometer. While my stepdad drove it, it was very reliable and never gave him any problems in its 110k miles of life. Now that I have it, it also gives me very few problems. The car is good to me, so in return, I take very good care of it.

My car's Service History
I put this online so other W-body car owners who have similar problems can see what a possible repair might be. I have only included necessary, unscheduled repairs. Regular maintennance such as oil changes, etc. won't show up here. I don't keep the best records so sometimes I don't have a mileage, or I'm not sure on the date. This list is in reverse chronological order.
Date Mileage Symptoms Repair Repaired by: Cost
5/01/01 185,665 Coolant smell, pinhole leak in upper radiator hose Replace upper radiator hose Myself $12.00
1/25/00 168,766 Car runs really, really bad. Replaced bad coil. Myself $25.63
9/17/99 168,298 Coolant leaking all over the ground from a crack in the front head gasket. Resurfaced heads, replaced head gaskets, all gaskets & head bolts. Myself $121.21
3/26/99 164,357 Left rear strut been making clunking sounds for months. Strut completely dead. Replaced both rear struts, upper strut mounts, strut jounce bumper & boots Myself $175
3/05/99 163,832 Power steering pump leaking on motor mount Replaced power steering pump under Lifetime Warranty (see 2/26/96) Myself $0.00
2/26/99 163,581 Motor oil leaking, 1-qt every 2-weeks Replaced oil pump drive gear O-ring, replaced throttle body gasket (TB must be removed), replaced coolant hoses while I was at it Myself $2.45
2/12/99 16x,xxx Rear brakes don't work, seized Replaced poorly designed rear calipers with newer style 94-99 rear calipers & rotors (1" diameter larger) Myself $60.00
2/xx/99   Voltage too low Got refund for crappy Sentry Gold reman., replaced alternator with AC Delco reman. Myself -$14.00
(credit)
12/27/98 16x,xxx Rough shifting into reverse, motor mount deteriorated by power steering fluid Replaced hydraulic motor mount Myself $40.00
6/10/98 156,288 Rear tires worn, one of them leaking Replaced both rear tires Sam's Club $126.78
4/17/98 155,044 Squealing and grinding front brakes Replace front pads, turn rotors Myself $24.33
2/25/98   Replacement ECM intermittently runs rough and turns on Service Engine light Replace ECM under Lifetime Warranty (see 1/27/98) Myself $0.00
1/27/98   Intermittent stalling when stopped at red lights Replaced ECM Myself $79.11
9/xx/97   Alternator won't charge battery Replaced alternator under Lifetime Warranty Myself $0.00
8/05/97   Water pump making funny noise and small leak Replaced water pump Myself $19.28
5/22/97   Severe engine vibration while accelerating Replaced fuel injector Myself $47.59
9/16/96   Severe engine vibration while accelerating (and Bosch Platinum SUCKS) Replaced spark plugs with Champion Gold (FAILED to fix the symptoms) Myself $15.83
9/14/96   Severe engine vibration while accelerating Replaced spark plug wires and "dogbone" motor mount (FAILED to fix the symptoms) Myself $42.49
x/xx/96   Alternator won't charge battery Replaced alternator under Lifetime Warranty Myself $0.00
2/26/96 136,263 Power steering pump spraying fluid Replaced power steering pump Myself $70.66
12/28/95   Cracked windshield (was there when the car was given to me) Replaced windshield Carsten Auto Glass $231.81
6/29/95 128,933 Coolant temperature gets close (but not quite) to the red when stopped at red lights. Both cooling fan motors were rusted and seized. Replaced both cooling fan motors. Myself $98.53
5/xx/95   Alternator won't charge battery Replaced alternator with Sentry Gold reman. Myself $80.00
10/29/94 121,xxx Left rear quarter panel and trunk lid destroyed by backing garbage truck. Straighten quarter panel, replace taillamp and trunklid. Refinish.

Reliable Chevrolet

 $2600
(pd. by
insurance)
9/24/94 120,084 Tires worn severely Replaced all four tires Sam's Club $327.67
3/17/94 110,086 Stepdad buys a pickup. Car is given to me!!! I drive it home from Frotenac, KS to Springfield, MO
  9x,xxx Alternator won't charge battery Replaced alternator National Street Auto Repair $??.??
Between 15k and 90k miles the car required only regular maintennance, brake pads, tires, battery, and the brake lamp switch was replaced once (which ended up being a free recall, but my stepdad paid for it to be repaired before it was recalled).
1989 15,xxx Car purchased from dealership by my stepdad
Each row with the same color are related to each other (i.e. repeat repair of the same problem).

The alternator is a major problem item. I have gone through 3 Sentry-Gold remanufactured alternators from Western Auto (now Parts America). Since both Parts America stores in Springfield went out of business, I bought an AC Delco remanufactured alternator from O'Reilly Automotive for actually less than the price of the Sentry Gold. I drove down to Parts America in Joplin and was able to get a full refund on the purchase price + core charge. I hope the AC Delco reman will hold up much better than the Sentry Gold. Only time will tell!