the only bad part about fixing up the bonneville is that I will have way more money into it then it is worth. I traded my 1991 saturn sc2 and $1500 for the car a little less then a year ago. there is about $2000. a couple of weeks before I got the car, the guy I bought it from put on a brand new supercharger and blower motor. (I have read the postings on floz on this site, and it was not from them, thank god, that sounds like it would be a nightmar it still works perfectly)


after I bought it, I put on new struts and brakes and front springs, another $500. that makes about $2500.my neighbors uncle is charging me up to $1000 for parts and labor to put new metal from the strut towers forward, including core support. I figure around $700 for the headlights, hood, fenders, and bumper between purchase price and gas money to go and get the parts. so that brings me to approximatly $4200. not to mention I am going to need a radiator, and other misc. parts that I don't even know yet...... so, $4200 give or take for a 1993 pontiac bonneville with 180,000 miles on it. yeah, I know that it is way more then the car is worth, and it is sort of dumb of me to do so. even though I know this, I am going to do it anyways. why?? because I can't find another one anywhere that I like (I found three total from four websites and every paper I could find) also I love this car, I have missed it terribly since it was in the accident and I would not be happy driving ANY other car then a bonneville. this is the second bonneville that I have owned, the first was a 1989 se and I sold it last summer for $350 bucks. it had over 260,000 miles on it and I only drove it one way..... foot in the throttle body.


I guess I am kind of addicted? to these cars... I didn't know that could happen..... weird

that is true for everone on here

Welcome to the club.
I only paid $1250 for mine, and easily have an additional $3,000 into it. That'* just repairs/upkeep, and it needs more. I have never put that much into any other vehicle. I would have just junked it and bought something else. And let'* not get started on the mods I would love to do.

yeah, I would also like mods, more power!! unfortunatly, the series I doesn't have much aftermarket support that I can find


and on the 89 bonneville that I sold, the guy still drives the wheels off it, I see the car at wal-mart all the time. 3800s...can't bust 'em.

Check out the performance forum here - tons of stuff is available for the Series I

i work at a g.m dealership and i see most of the older bonnie'* and oldsmobiles with 3800'* supercharged or not, the owners take care of them. the 3800 has a very good track record for high milage life. they love the highway and an owner who doesnt neglect them. scheduled maint. and some T L C is all they need to make you happy.
you wont regret fixing it back to normal....or a sleeper.

Unfortunately, this statement holds true for almost every car built. Unless you get lucky, and manage to get a classic before it is one, you're gonna lose money on any car.

You gotta do it for the love, man, not the green.....

I have done the same to my car. On October 31st 2004 I was leaving my place of work (was an assistamt manager of a gas station at the time) to fix some problems and an off duty cop rounded a corner without stopping at the stop sign and wiped the smile right off my cars face. The end result was that he got a new truck and I was left with a yet again, junked bonne. I have some good contacts at several shops around town and got a new front end for 700 bucks parts and labor. The front clip off a 93 SSEi (frame, fenders, bumper, hood, radiator, and a few misc parts was 600 and the labor which was mostly just shop time and alot of help from a few other people was 100 bucks. Everyone I know was telling my to let the car go and move on but I went ahead and spent the money on fixing the car. Yesterday it hit 120k miles and I have decided to let it go due to the cost of the next step of repairs which is the drivetrain. Ive had an amazing four and a half years with this car. So many memories with it and it has taught me soooo much. Im gonna keep the car around for a while though just in case I get another S1 3800. Lots of really good parts on it that I can swap into another car or part out on here dirt cheap just so this car will live on. Sorta.

To be honest with you, if you love the car go for it and fix it. But also understand that it will be a money pit and will require lots of attention even after you finish with the body work. A strong hit like that screws up alot more than just the body. Take things slow and fix her up right and im sure you wont regret it.

Sam

You've got a 15 year old used car with 180k miles. It'* going to require $$$ to keep on the road.

Say you went out and bought a different 100k+ mile used car for $X. You will spend $2X to $3X to get it safe and reliable. And it doesn't matter whether that car is American, Japanese, German, Swedish or what have you.

If you have $4200 in your current car, and you get a total of 4 or 5 years service out of it, you're doing OK in my book.

yeah, I wasn't wondering as to whether or not to do it, the car was already at the shop for a few days before I even put the post up, I was just stating the fact that here I am with a perfectly good car, nothing wrong with it ( 1995 monte carlo) that I have $1600 into as is. then I am going to spend all that money on a car that I just want but don't at all need, oh yeah, don't worry, its not about the green.... it is all about the love!