In terms of fairness of price. I never really owned a car for myself as the SE is a hand-me-down, and my mom drives a crappy 88 Taurus that has seen better days than it does now. So I thought id get an SSEI for myself and give her back the nice SE since its still great sans some severe body rust at the bottom. I am really exicted too because I have about $2,000 in cash on hand.

Car # 1
Car # 2

Anything I should look out for? ANything "hidden" I should check? I dont want to be stuck with a lemon obviously. Id really like some buying advice and opinions, thanks!

ya the 93 is the best year to look for, and i and others say this for many reasons. You can pull the codes, for the SES and the ACC, there is no CCR and the valvetrain is revised from 92, if you in to modding there is a chip for the 93. I would make sure that all the electronics work, take a look at the seats for wear. look for rust in the rear wheel wells and along the rear doors, take a look at the rear struts and the compressor and listen to the coupler on the */C is it rattles at idle then it needs replacing and that is a easy job to do your self, and you can bargin on that fact too

and dont be afraid to bargain the price down for everything you find wrong. If something is wrong we can fix it on here

Ok now I am really hyped. My folks agreed to set time aside this weekend so we can look at the two cars tomorrow after I renew my liscence. I think I see myself in a new Bonneville by the end of the month. The following emoticons shall express my current state of excitement:

BTW: How do you pull the codes? I hear you can do that without the GM Tech One but never knew how.

correct you dont need the Tech 1 to pull. look the DLC, you need to put the car in the run postion and jump pins A and B. The cooling fans will come on to let you know that the car is in diagnostic mode

I just came back from seeing that white car and here is my assessment. I want your opinions.

I am not excited with the car and suspect that the supercharger does not work, because the performance of the car is not impressive. I can accelerate just as good with my SE. For a supercharged car she is definately sluggish. On top of that, the boost gauge goes towards the negative side on idle. I never had a car with a supercharger so I dont know whats the proper readings for the boost gauge is supposed to be. In fact I have not paid attention to it much because I was looking at other things. After I took it around the block and looked at the hood in such a way as if I knew what I was looking for (and I did!) the guy came up and pointed at the supercharger saying "this thing makes some noise, but I dont know whats wrong with it". I think its faulty. Last time I browsed these forums I read that a rebuild costs around $600.

For me to brake, I had to put my foot down way farther than on my SE in order to brake decently. The guy said the brakes were done recently. I suspect the rotors need to be changed. My car still has origional rotors and it does not need that much pressure and depth to brake decently.

The hood did not pop, the guy had to wrestle it open. I had a similar problem on my car but it was because the latch lost its spring.

If you look closely at the picture (zoom in reeeeeal close), youll notice two bolts holding the right mirror on to the body. It had broken completely off. So rather than fixing it properly he did a half assed job of bolting that thing to the body, dilling holes and all. And it shakes! Replacement (GM interriors are a pain in the @$$ to remove!!! Ill never do that and sooner trust a proffesional to do that) will probably cost me at least $400.

And the windshield has a crack. But other than a rust spot on the roof the car has a nice coat of paint (looks new) and looks damn good sans the mirror and minor rust spot and a crack in the plastic on the fender. I take it the windsheild replacement which has a HUD is going to be worth $400 in replacement.

The guy actually had this for his girlfriend, and she likes to keep the sunroof open. Well theres some rainwater stains on the interrior and my mom is worried that theres rust in between where you cannot see in the sunroof. So this car has been under a woman driver most of its life (not descriminating, just noting )

So altogether given the estimates on the work that definately needs to be done, to me this car is only worth $1400 compared to the asking price of $3195. However I think I should pass altogether. My mom was willing to help me pay for it and even go behind my dad'* back to do so because she was excited too, but after the visit she is not excited at all!

Im looking for another car because I want a supercharged model before they get harder to find down the road, and id like to get my mom something to replace the rust bucket that is the Ford. Next year in the fall I transfer to the university in the fall anyway so she will probably be driving the SE anyway, but I imagine the 93 SSEI'* will be harder to find once I graduate, because honestly its the only car I give a damn about. That and the 99, so mayby when I graduate instead of a 93 id get a 99. But the upper intake issue, UGH! Thats why I wanted a 93 in the first place.

So whats your take? If I explain this to him and he wont take the $1400 (prolly cus he wants to find a sucker) then ill definately pass. I was really excited cus I thoguht I could get my mom a belated mom'* day gift, but now im more mello now.

As a footnote, mayby what im asking is too low, but it needs work. And im a college student damnit! :P

Well, I will post my experiences with the 93'* as i have had one SSE previously and the SSEi and SSE SC currently. With leaving the sunroof open, I myself did that a few times with my old car. It never really affected me aside from the occasional wet butt due to not realizing it rained. With the supercharger, if it is making noise, then it might be the coupler, in which case you can rebuild it quite easily and I think the parts are under $100. A rebuilt one on ebay is like $450, or you can get some cheaper here sometimes. Depending on the location of the rust on the roof, and how bad it is, this could go either way. If it is just surface, it can be sanded, primed and possibly painted. If it is almost through, then you might have issues. The acceleration could be the supercharger, or it could need a tune up. The mirror... that'* self explanitory I think and the windshield depends on who you talk to.

To put it in perspective, there is a 93 SSEi just like that one with 111k in Binghamton, NY by my parents for $2195/BO. I think it is still there, I'll have to ask my dad. I got my 93 SSEi with 90k for $400... But I also had to put an engine, fender and rear bumper on it. In total, I have about $1800 in it but it isn't quite roadworthy yet.

Its also noted that the engine is more noisy than the SE, but that can be attributed to the supercharger needing work correct?

I think a more fair asking price is $1600 or $1700. Ill think on it overnight and ill call him tomorrow afternoon and see if I can get it for that price. I doubt it but cosidering that the right mirror is ghetto its worth a shot among other things that need work.

From the sounds of it....I'd maybe pass on that......If he won't go lower than 2K.

But very good cars none the less... 95'* are a pain for the code scanning and a few other lil things here and there. But they're a lil more powerfull than the 92-93'*, and I've gotten a lot of use out of mine for having almost 203K.

Yeah 3100 is still fairly cheap for a low miles SSEi, but with what you said I would not pay over 2200 or so. Since you may need up to 800 bucks in repairs.


I have driven a few 93/94SSEis and all 3 THREW me back in the seat like a car should.