Just purchased a 93 SE with 188,000 miles on it. Runs GREAT, once you get it started. Bought from private owner who was the second man to own the car. He took very good care of it; car is very clean and in beautiful condition cosmetically. Very little rust and signs of wear. The problem is that it is very hard to start. The car will crank, but will not turn over all the time. You have to attempt to start it several times (like 10-15) before you actually get the thing going. It seems to work better if you just hit the key quickly (for about a second) and then let off. Pushing on the gas does nothing for this issue...only seems to flood the car. Does anyone have ANY idea what could be causing this? The owner claims that the car would always start right up for him....apparently he knows the trick to getting it to start!

Thanks!

first off, welcome to BC. i found it and im officailly hooked.

anyway, my 1992 did that all the time........before the starter died @ 167,000mi. 180,000+ miles with not knowing how the previous owners drover her.... you might wanna save for a starter. im not a gearhead at all, but i do know a few things and the car not starting all the time was one of them when i had to replace a starter. Also, maybe check out that battery of yours...possible it might need replacing. keyword possible. probably not though

these cars are great cars as long as you maintain them. theyll run forever.

in your sig, post your year, trim and any mod'* done. i did. even though their just my new tires.

yeah, the starter is my main concern. I am taking it in to a gearhead tomorrow morning and getting a fine-tooth comb run over it. I really want to know now what is up with the car. the prev. owner stated that it has a new battery, a new water pump and new tires (and I believe him on this). but the mileage and it having an original transmission (transaxle) worries the hell outta me.

I will re-post after the mechanics look her over. I too am not a gearhead, but buying a 14 year old GM tends to get one under the hood fairly quickly ... in fact I just bought the haynes manual on eBay for $10. it will be here in 4 days!

If the starter rotates the engine to the proper rpm I wouldn't bother testing the cranking system any further.

I'd look into the fuel system, I suspect low fuel pressure.