I still like it

This car has over 200K so those of you who don't take well enough care of your cars, well, you won't be worrying about the things I had to fix, because you'll be onto another car by then. But if you keep your car forever, buy something GM like these A-bodies. The plethora of parts available at your local self-service junkyard will keep your Century or Ciera or Celebrity or 6000 or whatever, running until you can't stand to look at it anymore. This 1988 Century Custom sedan has the 2.5 liter four, which GM has been building since the late Sixties for Novas and Venturas. This one has throttle body fuel injection and gets about 88 horsepower. It isn't enough to make you feel good, but it will get you up and over 70 with no problem. The major problem areas I see are rust. I had to replace the following parts because of Ohio rust and corrosion: parking brake cable, gasoline lines, brake lines, radiator, engine cradle, shocks and struts, rear solid axle, exhaust system. But the car is great, and you would think a car with 226K on it would be long dead, but hey, if it is cared for it will be fine. I would recommend buying a V6 model for power, but if you don't need to drive hard, the four is fine to get around as long as you don't abuse it. The four also goes through valve cover gaskets quickly. I'm getting darned good at replacing them. Also, the engine mounts are made of an alloy and they shear apart easily. I wish they made a rubber engine mount for this car which would not break so easily under stress. The air still works, too. Cosmetically, it looks like death warmed over, but I like it that way. It needs a headliner. That says to me either the previous owners were smokers (they were) or they drove with the windows down (they did). Since both of these are true, the car desperately needs a new headliner. I also had to replace the radio a few times to find one that works. Serves me right for shopping for replacements on eBay. They made Centuries from 1982 to 1996 so upgrades and updates are easy to do. I changed the dash trim from silver to wood. I changed the front seats out with those from a 1993 model to get a center console armrest and power recliners. I swapped steering wheels with another Century to get a better style and also to get the horn working as the contacts in the original wheel had corroded beyond repair. Oh, and the car doesn't leak anything, water, air, oil, coolant, it is as tight as can be.