Hey All!

First of all, thanks for letting me participate in this forum! I have been reading about the Bonneville for a while, but I stopped, because of school.

I would also like to take this moment to introduce myself to you. I am Geoff, 17 years old, and I might be getting a car for graduation (not sure yet, keeping my fingers crossed). My friend has an 3800 Series Intrigue, and he loves it.

Anyways, before I was interested in the SSEi, but now my tastes have changed to the SLE. I love big cars, and this car is big enough. (LOL).
Furthermore, I would like to take this moment to ask some of you guys/gals about the 2001 SLE. (If I do buy this car, it is obviously used). Gas mileage - I know, I'm not buying this car soely on the gas mileage performance, but it has to be decent. What is the ratings for city? (remember this is non supercharged, therefore I would think I am saving quite a bit of change, at the pumps!) This brings me to another question. The octane used is 87 right? A few more questions. (short though, I hope you don't mind!)

Is the car reliable? I am buying this car to bring to the college, therefore it would be nice having a reliable car. I am trying to buy a decently low-mileage car, and I pray that it hasn't been abused by it'* previous owner.

Thank you graciously!
Geoff

jr's3800 addressed all the drawbacks that I know of, so I'll suggest a solution to one problem that you may face; the tranny.
4T65'* are generally pretty solid, but we've seen a few failures on the forum. There is an option you may want to consider, besides just replacing it when/if it fails. INTENSE offers a beefed-up 4T65 that, I am given to understand, solves the problem nicely, while giving you a better performing tranny in the bargain.
http://www.intense-racing.com/
Go to the menu on the left of the page, and click on TRANSAXLE
They're selling the 4T65-HD for $3,199.99
I can't seem to find a price on the stock 4T65E to compare this price to, but I imagine this is still cheaper than having to replace the second tranny, should it fail.
Also if you should decide to get into any serious mods on the engine, it would give you a good safety margin.
Welcome to the board, and believe me that a Bonnie is a good investment. Any problems that they have are made up for by their advantages: good power, good performance, excellent engine reliability, loads of stuff standard that is optional on most cars, and terrific aftermarket support. You're really going to enjoy this car if you buy it!