In response to viking427, I have the commercial Honda. It came with their "Micro-cut" blade system, which is 2 stacked blades. The top is basically flat, and the bottom has a fairly wide paddle shape with what I would say is pretty good lift. I've found a gator type blade by Oregon,and tried that too. It has to be used alone,with a spacer as the creases/bends in Honda's upper blade won't allow the 2 to fit flat together. The standing grass blade issue has existed since it was new, and grass free. Honda denies any issues, other than the pasty clumps you mentioned. They sent me a spacer to use in place of the upper blade, which also gave the same results. I've figured out how to increase the full throttle rpm a little, but I still see blades left uncut. Just can't figure out the cause. This has the BBC, so it is rather difficult to find non Honda blades whose holes are spaced the correct distance for this mower. Any other suggestions for non OEM hi-lift blades, or fixes? Thanks to all for your input.

I like the Alero. To me it looks like the new Dodge Avenger, which I also like. Try to find a four-cylinder, if you can. Not only will it get better gas mileage, but the four-cylinder in that car does not produce much less power than the V6, and it's a good engine. The V6 is not bad, but that series of GM engines has intermittent problems with intake gasket leaks, which is not an insanely expensive problem, but obviously you'd rather not have it. As for the other mechanical problems you have referred to, I am not sure what you mean. Most of the parts in the car went into a lot of other models; they are probably not the absolutely most reliable things you could get, but they're common. The car's powertrain is pretty solid, especially with the four-cylinder. The 4T40/45 series automatic transmission is one of the cheapest to replace, and it's one of the more reliable ones out there. I like Saabs, as well. They're different and just "quirky" enough that you're not driving something that's like everything else on the road. On the plus side, many have been owned by people who are relatively well off, including car enthusiasts who appreciate the car for what it is, and these types of people usually take good care of their cars. (This same factor, in reverse, probably accounts for a big percentage of the share of reported problems with less expensive cars, such as the Alero: People buy them as workhorses, treat them as such, and they have more problems.) One downside with the Saab is it has a turbo, which I am not fond of in older cars you want to keep a while, as it's an expensive thing to replace, tends to put the engine under more stress, and it makes oil changes crucial. (The heat of a turbocharger will turn oil into sludge very quickly if oil changes are let go.) So if you buy one, I'd want to see maintenance records showing frequent oil changes -- preferably more often than the minimum owner's manual requirement. One other thing about the Saab is make sure you have a dealer that's not too far away. Their dealer network is not that large, and some people who live in small towns might be 100 miles or more from a dealer. Everyone I've ever talked to who has owned a Saab says the dealers are great, they really know the cars, and that's ideally where you'd want to have it worked on. But if there's no dealer anywhere nearby, that could be a problem. In fact, if I were thinking of a used Saab, I'd probably take it to the dealer before buying it to have it inspected and use that as an opportunity to introduce myself to them and get a feel for whether you'd want to deal with them.

In my opinion, a locking gas cap door is much preferred to a locking gasoline filler cap. Contact your dealer to see if a locking cap door can be installed. Go for the mechanical cable release type, not an add-on electric release. With an electric release, the cap-door can not be opened if the battery is disconnected or dead, and the electric solenoid does not have the reliablilty of a simple cable release. I had a locking gas cap a long tme ago, but stopped using it while on a trip away from home when I realized that I had only one key with me. It can be big trouble if one looses the key, or can't get the cap to unlock. So, if you do opt for locking gas cap, make sure that you have more than one key for it; Keep the orignal at home and travel with more than one copy; and keep the lock in the cap properly lubricated. Of course, keep the second copy of the key in a different place than the normal location.

I think I should buy a used car report and look for the best car for your money. (most reliable!) That should be top on your list because I assume you won't have much cash to fix it up if there were something to go wrong and to buy a used car quickly can be bad sometimes. Please look into other cars than the pontiac grand am!!! I have one, bought it used. My previous car was stolen and I didn't have much time to research another car. I bought my grand am, from a dealership, and it has been terrible!!! (if you think 150 is bad, i would sink THOUSANDS into this car in a year!!!) I just had so many problems with the car. They are cheaper for a reason! When we look for a new to us used car we do alot of research first. First, we decide what type of car we need and then we research to find the safest and most reliable car for our money. I know you may feel that the way your car looks is important but I would rather have settled for a nice, not so stylish car that runs than one that is stylish that is a pos. If you still want that specific car I would visit an auction. I may consider buying from a private owner but I would quiz that person to death trying to figure out why they were selling. I think both are really risky, however auctions are usually cheaper.