Hi I just fell in love with a car I saw for sale while looking for a new vehicle. Its a 92 Bonneville SSEI, Black, Black on grey leather interior, Bucket seats, heads up display, supercharged and so on and so on....Km'* are a bit higher than I wanted but I cant pass up this car for some reason. Im so in love!!!
I have the first appointment to see this car Sunday, Im so amped about this!

So my questions for you guys/gals....

Is 197, 000 km to much for this car?

How many k'* do these cars get to before they spend more time being repaired than driven?

Ive read so much good about this car....there must be some bad?

Anything else you can tell me Id love to know.

TIA!

Welcome to the forum!

Since I live in the USA, I had to do a little conversion to figure out how much 197,000km is; this translates to approximately 123,000 miles. This is relatively young for this engine. Some of these have gone well into the 200,000'* (miles) before the owners got rid of them. The thing to remember is that you are buying this used, which means that you don't know how it was treated by the previous owner(*). You will always run the risk of buying a lemon regardless of new or used.

What I can tell you is that these engines were designed with racing technology and durability in mind. The engines are very reliable. The weak points of this engine MAY be water pumps and alternaters. For 1992, the NA engine was EGRless (but I'm not sure about the supercharged version). The EGRless engine may be prone to burning valves because it runs hotter. If you buy this car--put in a 180 degree thermostat. This may help. I say these MAY be problems because not everyone has reported having difficulties with these items, but some have had multiple problems with these.

As far as the cars themselves, they are hi-tech vehicles--oftem leading the way for GM in inovation. With all the goodies comes some "testing" on GM'* part. This means that some electrical problems may occurr. I have had a power antennea work spiratically (but then I read the Owner'* Manual and it told me that I needed to clean it occationally--problem solved). I have also had a power window work spiratically (but then again I had my driver'* side window quit working in my Volkswagen too). One other thing that I have heard is a potential problem, that is the wheel bearings. These sell for about $300(US) a piece at the dealer and about $50 (US) from a salvage yard--but it is an easy fix. As the car ages, you will find things that need to be repaired or replaced. This is normal. The good news is that this forum has a lot of information about how to fix or mod things, and there are parts in salvage yards that can be had a lot less expensive than from the dealer.

I hope I haven't scared you away from this purchase as I think it is a great car. I know that you will love driving and moding it. But you did want an honest assesment.

BTW, 200,000 miles is roughly equal to 320,000 Km. These cars can go beyond this.

Ok no matter what car you buy with miles like that remember you are taking a risk. it could last another 100000 km or die the day you take it off the lot. So make sure you are ready for the worst. Be ready to replace the drive train (engine and transaxle) and many of the electronic parts. Contact your local Pontiac dealer because they know all the costs and problems that could arise. Ask for repair bulletins for the 92. Don’t go to the dealer just phone service and tell them you own it. Then they will talk to you. Also get a good background check done on the car through carfax. There are many very nice Bonneville’* out there never Rush into a deal. Hope that helped a bit. If you are ready for the worst then you will be ok. Don’t ever do a shortcut repair. With the GM product of 1992 always look for the best upgrade as possible. Often common rebuild options for alternators and the like are not worth the trouble you encounter in the end. I hope this was not a downer. Just be ready that’* all. If you want first hand information go to Bonneville intensity at yahoo and talk to the guy running the forum. His name is Alan and he knows everything about that car intimately. Tell him Ty sent ya.

His e-mail. deathrat64@yahoo.ca



Ty

Nahhh, Doesnt scare me, Im a very focused gal, I saw this type of car and hunted one down, I just feel this is gonna be my dream car, to me usually a car is a car, but this one is gonna get a name...lol! I just feel it.

Not a bad review and Im sure I wont be as lucky as with my last car...89 cutlass calais quad 4...little peice of crap that got me around for 5 years and put nothin into it ....just tires and oil changes , great little peice of crap She is now resting in my driveway...I need to burry her.

Does anyone have any pics of black on grey interior leather....this is what this car has and I cant wait to see it. Also what does SSEI mean and can someone totally explain what the supercharged is, from what I understand it adds more hp?!?!

Also is the heads up display really what they hype it up to be?

Thanks for all that info, gonna print it out for future of computer referencing!!!

Where do you live?

Im in southern Ontario. You??? You know its a small world out there, **** we could be neighbors...lol!

I live in Southern Ontario too Not too southern though...near Toronto. What about you?? We are having a bonneville club meet tomorrow if you want to come. How old are you?

Kimmers,

Okay, the six trim levels of the H body (that is what you will have) Bonneville are LE, SE, SLE, SSE, and SSEi. The LE was discontinued in 1988 or 1989 (someone can correct my on this if I am wrong). It was a base model. The SE (what most of us have on this forum--including me) is now considered the base model. It is usually without the performance features, although they did offer a supercharger for the SE as an option from 1995-1997. This option is very rare. To date I have the only on on this forum. The SLE is the more luxurious mid-level model, usually consisting of leather and other comfort/sporty features (depending on the year). Next you have the SSE (which was discontinued in 2000--again, someone can correct me if I'm wrong) which generally has the sportier-performance options without the supercharged engine (although Pontiac did offer a Supercharger as an option for some years). Finally, you have the top of the line--the SSEi. This is usually fully loaded and includes the supercharger.

A supercharger is a giant airpump that sits on top of the engine (usually) that is mechanically driven by a belt and pulley off of the engine'* crank shaft. This air pump forces air into the engine, which, along with more fuel, causes a more powerful explosion in the cylendars. Thus producing substantially more horsepower and torque. I believe that a 1992 SSEi produces 205 hp.

Finally, the HUD is a great feature. it projects your speed and various other information on the windshield of your car so that you don't have to take your eyes off the road. I believe that some fighter jets and attack helecopters use this technology. You may also look a the dash board cluster, as all of the guages are present there as well.

Congratulations on your prospective purchase.

I have a 97 and I've has almost 100,000 relatively trouble free miles. Everything these guys are telling you is right on. You can log onto trader online and input the VIN # and get a free lemon check. Then after you test driven the car if your still interested invest the $'* to get a full report. Have the car checked out by a local mechanic this will usually cost between $25 and $50. Get the name of the previous owners and phone number from the dealer. If they don't want to give it to you, you probably don't want the car. Good luck Bonnevilles are great cars.

Kimmers, 95 was right on with everything, and the 92SSEi was NOT egrless, just the SE and SSE. You won't have those problems with the SSEi. I THINK csprague (cameron) has the same car....same year and colors. Good luck, and watch out for Drifter420. Really. Tamara will tell you more!