said by pnh102 :

We had a similar problem with my wife's 1999 Oldsmobile. GM folded the Olds division in 2003 and we needed new parts for it to pass MD state inspection. We had the worst time in the world finding these parts, coupled with the cost of getting the work done, that we decided to replace the car with a Honda instead.

said by Jim Gurd :

Why? Any GM dealership should have been able to get the parts. After all they are shared with other brands like Chevrolet, Buick and Pontiac.

said by pnh102 :

Well we were told to go to a dealer, but we couldn't find a dealer that was open when it convenient for us (Saturdays and Sundays) which was able to schedule us for a repair. I also did not want to spend $2000 on repairs either. I'd rather throw that into a down payment for a new car.

said by nixen :

If you went to any good garage - particularly one that specializes in GM vehicles - you could have gotten the repairs done for considerably lower than a dealer would have raped you for.

said by nixen :

Yegads: had you bought it used??

said by pnh102 :

The car was a hand-me-down. But a 1999 car of any make should be road-worthy for at least 10 years I think. Now to be fair, Maryland's state inspection is notoriously stringent and the Olds had been passing inspection in Pennsylvania (where we lived previously) for many years.

The funny part is our other car, a 2002 Honda Accord, had no problem passing Maryland state inspection.

said by nixen :

Sounds like the prior owner jacked it up.

said by pnh102 :

The previous owner was my late mother-in-law. She wasn't too big on aftermarket hydraulics for her cars though she was known as "Speedy Gonzales" to the local police when she was younger.