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What are you going to do with it, the value is in the low miles. If someone is to use it as a DD it will require maintenance, cars don't like to sit for 30 years.
Also, it's over thirty years old. With such limited mileage over such a long period of time, I'd want to go through everything before I considered it roadworthy.
EDIT: ... and now having made a closer reading of the listing, I note that all regular maintenence and wear items to include fluids and even tires (yikes!) are "as delivered" ... meaning the purchaser has considerable work cut out for him before he can drive it away. Nobody should be laboring under the misapprehension the the low mileage makes this a new car.
Last edited by BangScreech4-4-2; Apr 26, 2026 at 11:30 AM.
So if one liked the early Aurora, and paid over 14k(it closed at 14 something without meeting reserve) and then put the maintenance into it, would you come out under what a similar new car would cost? I never really thought of an Aurora as a collector car.
I worked on a few of those back when they were normal cars on the road.. they were electrical nightmares along with all the other GM problems of the era. Neat car that showed GM still kinda had a pulse, but i can't help but remember them being total crap...
I see that it has a bid of $14,900 at the moment. That’s pretty good money, I think.
I think this would be a great car to own. The low mileage really does make it a new car, at least cosmetically, Yes, it would need a thorough going through before driving, but that’s true of any old car you might buy. The advantage with this one is that, when you’re done refreshing it, you really do pretty much have a new car.
1995 was the first year for the Aurora, so that makes it a bit more desirable than just any Aurora except for perhaps the final 500 cars.
There were two generations of Aurora, 1995 to 1999 and 2001 to 2003. There was no model year 2000 Aurora with the 2001 model being released in February 2000.
Probably because it was the first year, 1995 Aurora production was very high at almost 48,000 cars. Sales of the 1996-1999 models dropped by about half, ranging from 20,000 to 27,000 each year over those years.
The peak year for Aurora sales was 2001, the first year of the second generation, with almost 54,000 produced. The second-gen Auroras were seen as better styled, with softer, more rounded lines, a shorter wheelbase, and a half-foot shorter overall length, making the car feel more nimble. Also, in a bit of a surprise, Olds LOWERED the price of the ‘01 over the ‘99 by about $5,500. How often did something like that happen? The base price of a ‘99 was $36,899 while the base price of an ‘01 was $31,289.
Sales fell off a cliff after 2001, with about 11,000 built for 2002 and only 4,000 for the truncated 2003 model year. Production of the ‘03s ended on March 13, 2003.
Looking at the Aurora, you sure can tell it was competition for the Ford Taurus, similar looks for sure. Both had optional small DOHC V8's both with not so good problems. I regularly serviced a 3.4L V8 at the Ford dealer, I apprenticed at. That is a lot of money and if they had gremlins new, electronics don't get better with 30+ years of sitting in who knows what conditions. Expect thousands of dollars more, first day of ownership.
Last edited by olds 307 and 403; Apr 28, 2026 at 06:25 AM.
This may be one of those car models people avoid. I own an 04 DTS Caddy and tried to sell it last year. Almost to a man, every person who inquired about it mentioned the head bolt issue and the lifting head. The world knows the secret of this car and it's not a good one. I was offering the car at 7k and was getting bids of less than half that. I kept it. Still driving it w/ no issues. Fingers crossed.
Aurora? Wouldn't have bought one of these new. Certainly won't buy one now.
A friend said once about the Cadillacs, If you are a decent mechanic you can own one of these cars. Otherwise, steer clear.
Took it for window tinting. 35%, nothing dark, just classy. I had an airbag light on that I fixed by reconnecting the underseat connections. The window tinter said, "Good luck getting that air bag light off!" I got it. But, you can see the issues of buying a car this old w/ attendant known electrical and mechanical problems. I would guess that Aurora is the same way.
I always thought the 1995 or similar year Riviera was a much better looking car, 2 dr's and all.
As far as mechanicals, have no experience with either.
Looking at the Aurora, you sure tell it was competition for the Ford Taurus
I think that, if anyone at Oldsmobile back in the mid-90s had heard a comment like this, they would have had a heart attack. Oldsmobile did NOT consider the Taurus to be the Aurora’s competition. Yes, the Taurus came in a souped-up version called the SHO just like the Impala could have been had in a sporty SS version, but the Taurus’s place in the market was solidly as a mid-level family sedan. Oldsmobile did not consider such a car to be the competition for its newest flagship model. That’s what the 88 was for. Oldsmobile conceived the Aurora to be a competitor to import sport sedans from Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti.
As the history goes, Oldsmobile actually had an interesting plan in mind in the early ‘90s as it came time to replace the Toronado. 1992 was to have been the last year that the model was called “Toronado,” and, for the two model years following, a replacement called simply “Trofeo,” as in “Oldsmobile Trofeo,” was to have replaced it. Olds introduced an upscale submodel of the Toronado in 1988 called Toronado Trofeo, and it had a base price several thousand dollars above the base Toro. They were going to drop “Toronado” from the name and call it simply Trofeo starting in 1993. Then, after 1994, the Aurora would come out and smoothly take over for the Toronado as Oldsmobile’s upscale sporty luxury car.
Olds did something similar back the ‘80s with the Calais. It was originally introduced in 1978 as the “Cutlass Calais,” and it kept that name through the 1984 model year. Starting in 1985, “Cutlass” was dropped from the name, and it was called Oldsmobile Calais. It kept this name through 1988, and then, starting in 1989, Olds once again called it the Cutlass Calais, a name it kept through its last year of production in 1991.
But Toronado sales were so poor in its last two years that the decision was made to end Toro production altogether after 1992, continue with the Aurora for 1995, and make no attempt to connect the two models after the three-year gap. Some in the Toronado community consider the Aurora the successor to the Toronado. The Toronado Owners Association recognizes the Aurora in its bylaws, and the Toronado Chapter of the OCA renamed itself the Toronado and Aurora chapter some years ago.
This is a bootleg photo of what was to have replaced the Toronado for 1993 or 1994. The Aurora name hadn't been chosen yet. It does look a lot like what would later become the Aurora with the overall jellybean shape and four doors. No Toronado ever had four doors.
Another feature was to have been the re-introduction of a V-8 engine, last seen in a Toronado in 1985. Some at Oldsmobile felt that the lack of a V-8 contributed to the slow decline and eventual demise of the Toronado. The engine was to have been a 4.1-liter single overhead cam version of the Cadillac Northstar V-8.
That's surprising that it didn't meet the reserve at $14.9k They're asking too much.
95 was the last year that the 98 was available with a supercharged 3.8l and 96 was the last year of the 98. Leave it to GM to shoot themselves in the foot. Oldsmobile died shortly thereafter.
Olds was definitely taking a run at the higher end crowd with the aurora.. more like the germans
Very much so. But the problem was that it was a crowded market segment. The Aurora was always going to be somewhat of a niche vehicle just like the Toronado always was. It wasn't Oldsmobile's bread-and-butter model, and by itself it wasn't going to save the brand. They brought out models like the Alero, Intrigue, Sihouette, Bravada, and Achieva to try to do that. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
No I get the Aurora was supposed to be competition for the European cars. How did that work out? Another nail in the Oldsmobile coffin. The Taurus SHO has more of a following than the Aurora. The whole Northstar line failed GM miserably, definitely hurt Cadillac and Buick too. That Taurus SHO I mentioned went like hell and was much nicer than a regular Taurus inside, very similar to an Aurora for features. I think we had one Aurora come through on trade, don't remember seeing all that many on the road up here when new.
I always liked the styling of the first generation Aurora better than the second. We bought a used '97 with about 100K on the odometer for our son in college back in 2012. It was a great driving car & well equipped. We never had engine problems, but silly things broke, like the exterior driver's door handle & some of the interior bits. He drove it for 3 years before trading it on a new car when he got his first job out of school.
I always liked the styling of the first generation Aurora better than the second. We bought a used '97 with about 100K on the odometer for our son in college back in 2012. It was a great driving car & well equipped. We never had engine problems, but silly things broke, like the exterior driver's door handle & some of the interior bits. He drove it for 3 years before trading it on a new car when he got his first job out of school.
I'm curious here. In 2012, you bought your son a then 15-year-old car with 100,000 miles on the odometer. Three years later you traded in the then 18-year-old car complete with parts falling off of it on a new one. Exactly how much did your son get for this car? I'd be surprised if it was more than a buck and half!
Last edited by jaunty75; Apr 29, 2026 at 11:03 AM.
If I were in the market for another car, and I was considering an Aurora, I'd be looking closely at this "final 500" Aurora with 55k miles. It's on Hemmings with an asking price of $12,600
Hey, I turned in a Cierra Diesel in 1987 while buying a new 5.0, 5 speed, notchback, Mustang LX. The salesman said he could only give me $700 for the Olds. I yelled, "SOLD!" (no I didn't) The car was missing reverse by this time. I couldn't get rid of that pos fast enough. BTW, that Mustang was $12,200 out the door.
Cars for my graduating college kids? I always went to Carmax and had them pick out a model 2 years old, w/ around 20k on it.
No I get the Aurora was supposed to be competition for the European cars. How did that work out?
Pitifully.
Creating another Halo car on a sinking brand. When their original halo car, the Toro didn't carry the brand.
Originally Posted by BangScreech4-4-2
note that all regular maintenence and wear items to include fluids and even tires (yikes!) are "as delivered" ...
Yikes indeed.
Originally Posted by oldcutlass
What are you going to do with it, the value is in the low miles. If someone is to use it as a DD it will require maintenance, cars don't like to sit for 30 years.
Exactly.
Guys if you are looking to get into the older used car market. Extreme lack of use is a detriment not a positive. It's fools gold. Cars require a minimum of 20 miles of occasionally lively usage per month for their existence, to be properly maintained. And the upkeep that comes with it. Otherwise its just a life-size Matchbox car.
If this Aurora was 10,000 miles and properly maintained throughout its existence. It would be a far better buy than 1000 miles and untouched for 30 years.
On top of that, Oldsmobile history has proven that time capsuling an Aurora is a worthless endeavor...
Originally Posted by z11375ss
The car bid to $14,900 and reserve was not met. I would say, take the money and run!
