Hi!

My first car was a 93 Bonny SLE, Loved it to death, literally, I went through 3 transmissions in almost 200K mi.

Getting ready to buy a 2000 SSE from my dad, wanted to know what you all thought of the deal...


2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSE

3.8L Pushrod V6
All Power
Moon Roof
Halogen Headlamps
Dual Zone Climate Controll
Leather Interior
Aluminum Wheels
AM/FM/CD
New Brakes/Rotors
New(er) Tires (Goodyear AquaTread'*)

Comes with a YAKIMA Roof bike rack that looks really nice on it.

He bought it new, and It'* been solid as a rock. One accident (rear end), completely fixed up, with no lingering effects.

145,000 miles

Only known problems:

1. Traction Controll isn't working (may be an easy fix, it'* a newer problem)

2. ABS goes in and out (Light is on sometimes, and off others... Not a false indicator, but I actually prefer not to have ABS, I guess I'm just old school like that)

(1 and 2 are definitly related)

3. Backlight on Raidio LCD is out

4. Minor cosmetic damage on roof (I pulled into a parking bay with a bike on the roof, popped the rack off... nothing I couldn't fix with a rubber mallet...

5. Gas Gauge no workey... Just use the Trip odometer, and fill up ~every 300 mi.

Grand total: $5000 + tax/title/licence/insurance

The thing that makes this a good deal for me, is that right now I'm unemployed, but my dad owes me about $1500. That will cover my first two payments of $500/mo (to my dad = no interest ) and also all the associated fees with getting insurance and title transfer.

And, I'll have time to find a job before I start making payments.

Also, It'* my dad, so he'* not gonna go crazy if I'm a few days late on a payment or something.

What do you all think??

It'* not an SSE, they didn't make them in 2000. Probably an SLE. That'* pretty high miles, too.

ABS can be very expensive to fix, but if you don't car, don't sweat it.

for 5000, that should be that bad.

Yeah, it'* the SLE, I don't care about ABS. The ABS was broken when I bought my 93 bonnie, and got used to driving without it. I achtually prefer no ABS. TCS would be nice to fix tho.

It'* been well maintained, but it'* got a couple issues like i mentioned above.

Also, it'* been doing a wiered thing where every now and then it will take forever to start. It turns over, then stalls immediately.

It'* an intermitent problem, and probably only happens once or twice a week.

Any Idea what that could be. I'm betting it'* cold weather related, so hopefully it will be warming up here soon.

Any guesses as to how many more miles I'm gonna get out of it before something major comes along (engine or tranny related)?

Hard to say, you're kinda already in the yellow (caution) area for those types of problems, along with any other amenities that might start to falter (other power features & electronics). I mean sure, many 3800-II'* will run 250k without a bump... but that'* probably more exception than rule. What kind of driving will you be doing? Back and forth to school/work? Long trips? Most city miles, highway, or a mixture?

At "good" condition it books at $6,600 with those miles.

Perhaps go get some estimates on what it would cost to fix the fuel and ABS problems...IE maximum costs and show it to your dad and see if he cant drop the price a little.

But even at 5K sounds like an alright deal since you know the vehicle history.

Nay. It sounds like you have some electronics issues, and gods only know what it might take to fix them. It'* VERY high miles for a 2000.
And my philosophy is: Never buy a car from a friend or a family member. It'* a good way to sour a relationship.

*EDIT* Also it'* an N/A car, thus subject to the dreaded upper intake failure.

Yeah, I was gonna mention that too... but I couldn't remember if they fixed/upgraded the intakes in 2000+. Gabe, that would be another $300 - $1800 repair if/when it happens (depending on the replacement parts and whether you do the work yourself). :?

From what I hear, the fixed/upgraded intake hasn't entirely solved the problem. And if the intake fails, it has the potential to kill the motor entirely.

Try to find an SC car with fewer miles for that price.

I'm not familiar with this, if anyone has more info, it would be appreciated. A link might be even better.

thanks