My vehicle is a 1997 Buick park ave with 140,000 miles. I'm the second owner. My in-laws were the original owners. I got the vehicle from them in 1999 with approximately 9000 miles on the vehicle. Therefore, I know the complete car care history of this vehicle. Yesterday, September 1, 2008 my granddaughter was driving this car and she lost control of the vehicle due to lost of steering capabilities. No one was injured nor body damage due to her low speed when this incident occurred. The tow truck operator indicated that the engine cradle split into pieces due to rust and this caused the steering to fail since the steering rack is mounted to this engine cradle. The rust through of this the engine cradle (or engine frame) was confirmed by the repair shop today, September 2, 2008. The repair shop indicated that the 1997 Buick park ave's had a steel engine cradle and that the moisture and salt gets caught within this box frame due to it's position directly behind the wheel wells. The repair shop indicated that 1998 park ave's( and after) have aluminum engine cradles but that the 1998 part will not fit the 1997 Buick park ave. The only repair is to find another used engine cradle from a 1997 Buick park ave which costs approximately $400 to $500 just for the used part. The other alternative is to buy a new engine cradle from a GM dealership for approximately $1200 to $1400. It seems to me that this engine cradle is a very critical part of the frame of the car and should not rust through within 10 years. All of the steering controls are mounted to this part and when this engine cradle fails all steering capabilities are lost. Please review this web site for the same part failure by other 1997 Buick park ave owners (www.allworldauto.com/comments/1997_buick_park_avenue_comments_and_complaints_C42-256-1997-312-1.html.

- Grand Blanc, MI, USA