The Oldsmobile Aurora remains one of the more impressive vehicles GM has made in recent memory, but also a cautionary tale of how brand identity and engineering still rule the day at the upper end of the market. The Aurora was a bit of a moonshot from GM, and would have potentially done better if it was a Cadillac – but it was a heroic Hail Mary if there ever was one with four-doors and a Northstar V8. The Aurora shown here on Facebook Marketplace is not being repaired but likely undergoing routine service, as it’s offered for sale by the older owner’s mechanic. It’s also equipped with the intriguing Autobahn package.
The asking price is $4,500, which seems reasonable for a clean car with 112,000 miles. The Aurora was tasked with making luxury car shoppers who had never before considered an Oldsmobile suddenly want to walk in the showroom. The only problem was they were being asked to do this for the first time in recent memory after GM decided Cadillac was the gold standard of domestic luxury. If you considered an American luxury car over a German one, you went to the Cadillac dealership. Being told you now needed to shop at Oldsmobile was a curve ball many consumers didn’t see coming, and as a result, expectations of the Aurora were high.
And even with the car being quite expensive to build and seemingly having all the good stuff thrown at it, quality simply didn’t bear out against the competition. There were still rattles and panel gaps and buttons that didn’t click the way they did in a Mercedes-Benz, and this kept the import buyers away; meanwhile, the price was too high for the Oldsmobile faithful, and Cadillac buyers kept buying Cadillacs. It starts to make sense why GM began killing off brands as it simply had too many to choose from. The Autobahn package was a nifty idea, however, as it raised the Aurora’s top speed to around 140 thanks to 3.71 transaxle ratio and high-speed rated tires.
The Aurora still looks quite handsome today, and the Northstar V8 remains a powerful engine that can provide reliable performance when maintained. This could be the right car to buy, if the maintenance history bears out, and mature ownership is always a plus. Northstar engines can have their foibles, of course, especially if not looked after. With 250 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque, combined with the Autobahn specs, this should be a fun car to drive and one you won’t feel badly about driving in everyday traffic. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the tip.
Seems like a great deal!
Very clean Aurora, and a very fair price too. I remember seeing these here and there. When I worked nights at that old gas station years ago we had a customer with a black one with a tan interior like this. I admired the V8 and performance at the time. I’ve never heard of the Autobahn package, I’m sure its a blast to drive. The condition of this Olds doesn’t match the odometer, and I mean that in a positive way, even under the hood looks great. I always thought Oldsmobile should’ve somehow incorporated the name “Rocket” on these Northstar V8s.
What’s amazing about this car is the North star engine and it still runs. I would be curious to know how much the owner has spent on repairs over the years
It’s been for sale for 14 weeks. The Deathstar is the problem, and I think the transmissions are weak on these too. That $4,500 could quickly turn into $12,500 and buyers know that. Not saying it’s a bad deal but be prepared!
Wild “autobahn” pkg. Almost 140mph wow…Oldsmobiles last rocket 🚀 Seems a car Jay Leno might have in his stable.
Interesting that you suggest that GM might have done better to make the Aurora a Cadillac. The Aurora originated from a discarded design for the Seville.
Has a engineering flaw.there is a channel over the sending unit cover.Over time water can make it’s way into fuel tank..I made a diverter to reroute water.Miss that car All the deathstar haters,the engine is fine if your a capable mechanic
I guess the problem was, there weren’t enough mechanics that could afford the entry price of these, when they were new.
I have driven several and sold a couple brand new. And yes, these would 130 mph+! They drove and handled very well. I was a service manager at an Olds, BMW, Volvo store. (All three of those could be a handful) My GMdistrict service engineer (who I had known since he was 15 yo) and my GM service rep showed up at my dealership with some interesting equipment. It allowed you to attach sensors in various places to read harmonics. It was designed to locate vibrations. It also provided a readout of overall chassis stiffnes/strength. We ran a test on an Aurora that I knew had a tire issue and it verified my analysis. And just for fun we hooked up a BMW M5. The Aurora chassis/shell was 20% stiffer than the BMW! We were all amazed. Yes, the Northstar engine has its issues. My experience says they will always drip oil. But as far as reliability is concerned. You either get a good one or a not so good one. And the smaller Oldsmobile issue seems to be a little less problems than the larger Cadillac issue. (I later moved over to the sales side of the car business and Sold commercial vehicles along with Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac and GMC trucks) If in the market, I would honestly consider this car.
Thank you for your comments. The Aurora was a unique build, and I applaud GM for doing it. My buddy, a very conservative dude, called me and told me to come over to see his new ride. It was a new maroon Aurora, and it is the ONLY car he ever bought at a dealership the same day. He called it his “lead sled” and it was a very good car, he still has it. Comfortable, handled, and to him it was worth the money. He sold his BMW 325 to purchase it. Never had an issue with the Northstar, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one, after an inspection of course. Great deal if it checks out.
I had a 2nd generation Aurora(2001). Constantly surprised at how well that big car handled. Lots of power, very luxurious. Big difference between the 6 cyclinder and the 4 cam, 32 valve”Baby Northstar” 4 liter V8(called “baby” because the Cadillac versions were 4.6 / 4.8 liters.) Working on the v8 was difficult due to a lack of space.
The car was underpowered and wanted to run at higher rpm to produce any power. Terrible fuel economy and handled poorly. Hard to believe it was first cousin to the Buick Riviera. The Buick was a far better driving car.
I’m betting you drove the
V6 version and not the v8 version.
I never heard anyone complain of a lack of power on one of these. I had a hot nodded high boost turbo Volvo and one of these drove away from me. And I was at about 135mph at the time. I personally have driven one to 120 with lots more to go.
Gen 1 Aurora’s only came with the 4.0 V-8. Gen 2 had the 6 or the 4.0 V-8. My son is detailing my Final 500 2003 Aurora 4.0 in the garage as I write this. 95K on it and will be for sale next week if anyone’s interested. All new brakes and coil pack. Runs great, no leaks.
Send it in so we can featured it on the site!
Had one, $1400 transmission failure and handled like a nose heavy tractor. Loved the look, room, and power, but not a road car…
The motor is NOT a Cadillac Northstar. It is an Oldsmobile Aurora V-8 developed within Oldsmobile and won Indy 3 times in the lare 90’s. It did not have the head gasket issues of the Northstar if maintained properly. My mother inlaw is selling her ‘99 now with 176K on the clock, still runs great. They have repaired the usual steering rack leaks, A/C service and a few other things, but nothing serious and have had tremendous service from it. They drove it from FL to WI last Fall with 170K+ on the clock, never missed a beat.
Thank you for the clarification! I remember the Aurora Indy engine.
The L47 Aurora version of the Northstar has the same cylinder head bolt problem as the others. Threads are too fine and eventually they separate from the aluminum block. It’s not a matter of if this will happen but, rather, when. The only cure is the expensive head stud conversion.
The last hoorah. I bought one thinking I was getting the re-emergence of Olds, another of the great TORONADO. Not hardly. When I told GM GOOD BYE. Experiment on someone else.
My wife bought a 99 in 2001. 11K on it. Most maintenance free car she ever had. Routine oil changes, tires and brakes. Drove it 11 years, had about 120k on it. Gave to my son, put another 40k. Great car to drive too
I think part of the Olds problem was the new names,,Aurora,Intrigue, etc,, I was an Olds loyalist ,,they were D good cars ,,engines and trans,then the name changes and people didn’t know what they were,,they knew the 98,,the 88,, Cutlass ,,even Star fire and Toronado,,they didn’t know & they went elsewhere.
Jeff, I agree with the identity issue. BUT I also feel that the typical Oldsmobile customer didn’t relate to the Aurora. Most of my Oldsmobile service customers were on the “Last Time Buyers” program. I had a service analyze my service records once a month in order to send my service customers reminders when their car was due for maintenance. One of the services they performed was keeping my addresses current. I was losing approximately 15 customers a month due the them passing away. I feel that the Aurora was a great car. But it was too late AND not promoted enough/properly. Once GM thinks they have a failure on their hands. They let the brand/products languish/die on the vine. Part of those decisions come from complaints from Chevy dealerships about compition. Chevy wants it all AND not have to work hard to get it. Chevy didn’t have anything to compete with the Aurora. And I’m betting GM higher ups got an earful. If DeLorean had been in charge of Oldsmobile in the ’90s. Oldsmobile would still be around today. But the fuddy-duddys at the top don’t allow anyone who might make waves with great ideas. Anyone who comes up in the ranks also has to be a fuddy-duddy just like Barra.
We had a 95 and a 99. We loved both of them and put a lot of miles on them. The only problem of note was they both developed an oil pan area leak. The 99 was kind enough to do it 500 miles before the warrantee expired at 50K mi.
That was an engine out repair. We never needed any suspension service even though we live in a pothole paradise and drove at 100 plus for many hours in Mexico.
I was at the scrap yard one day and they drove an absolutely clean one in to the crusher. transmission was going out, owner didn’t want to pay to fix it. What a shame.