First off, I'd like to mention that my car has experienced about 85% in-town, stop-and-go driving.

That said, here is the life story of my white 95 Lumina.

My Grandfather gave us this one because our little red Toyota crapped out some years ago. Probably in 96.
In fact, most of the highway miles were driving to his place, which was a three hour ride. This car is NOT GOOD for three hour rides! You'll be stiff and sore, trust me. On the other hand, it's comfy enough when driving for less than an hour or so.

Since then, 60% of the paint has fallen off. I haven't researched this, but it's common to white Luminas. I should say, while the paint sucks, the primer lasted about two years before signs of rust popped up (Yeah, I don't feel like painting it).

At 68k miles, the trans died.


Pros
Pretty smooth ride.
It's not a sports car, but you can pass when you want to.
The trunk space is pretty good.
It takes a beating.
Radio is pretty good (except tape deck); offers a little more control than a lot of stock units. Has right/left balance, front/rear balance, bass/treble control.
Too bad there's nothing good on the radio.

Some time after that, the alternator crapped out.

Between then and now, the car worked good. Eventually (last year) I noticed my car operated funny in wet weather. I'm not sure who's responsible for this (car maker or car maintainer) but eventually i had to have spark plugs replaced and some other stuff, which would apparently get wet.

Not to mention, I ran outta gas one night because my parents didn't tell me that the gas gauge is cocked a quarter inch to the right. That's the most irratating thing about this car; you never really? know how much gas you have once you get to one eight of a tank.

A few months ago, the alternator crapped out again and apparently the battery with it.

It's been in three accidents. First one, my brother was playing with the radio and drove the car into the rear of an Explorer or something. The right front fender, headlight and corner of the hood got pretty beat up. Also, since the paint was already screwed up, this lead to the WHOLE hood losing it's paint over time (I sprayed it with primer since then).
Second, somebody hit close to the same area and caused mostly cosmetic damage. Since then the passenger door makes a nice BANG sound upon opening.
Lastly I drove into the back of a van, putting a large dent in the left fender and part of the door. The van had almost no damage (as with the SUV my brother hit).

Anyway, don't hit anything with this car. It's like a sodacan. (I'm not saying that's good or bad, thats up to you to decide).

Cons

Turns as well as rocks float.
It's turning radius is too wide.
It doesn't corner very well.
Moreover, turns like a car much bigger than it is.

The blind spot has a pretty big learning curve.

Tape deck is a pain in the ass. You can't use tape-headphone plug adapters, it spits them out.

The interior certainly doesn't hold up in the long run.

Electronics! It has a PASSKEY (transistor built into ignition key.) system on it.

The door remote door locks are goofy; the trunk opens from much farther than the doors do.

The trunk sticks when it's cold.

The power windows are iffy, particularly when cold.
They go down more reliably than they go up, sometimes getting stuck in the little rubber that is on the lip of the door (which is by no means stiff).



In conclusion, it's a good car, but there's a handful of annoyances that keep this car from being a really good car. Don't mind the pun but, your mileage may vary.

Condition: Used
Model Year: 1995
Model and Options: Lumina