Over in Techinfo, under Specifications and General Information is an article called "How to inspect a car", by jr'* 3800.

First of all, my resounding thanks to jr's3800 for an excellent article. It'* readable, easy to understand and will (if followed) produce either a great purchase or a great sigh of relief for having not purchased. Thanks.

I just bought my first 3800 ('88 Bonneville LE). In fact, I bought it the day jr'* article came out. (Can I suggest someone move it to the Techinfo Index so it'* easier to find? It'* such a basic piece of information that it should be quick to find and refer back to).

Mike

I fell down, but now I fall down less.

that mastermind piece is actually wrote by fuelforthesoul1999, and it was uploaded into techinfo by jr's3800. I agree that it is a great piece of information.

Thanks Cody!

Then thanks fuelforthesoul/Cody. Makes me want to go out hunting for Bonnevilles!

Mike

The gearheads also had quite a hand in getting that article to its current state, too!

Special thanks should also go to the gearheads, they helped me edit the article a million times.

So thank you gearheads for your help in the writing of htis article..

Would it be too much to ask who the gearheads are? I don't have to know, though, in order to either say thank you or to know their efforts are what actually holds up this forum.

Thanks, everyone who contributes time and expertise. It'* really a godsend. I can't say I'm even finished with "Automotive 101" so this site is incredibly valuable to me.

Mike

They have the purple starts just above their avatar, followed by the title of "Resident Gearhead".

That is a great article. One thing I would add is to bring a friend along that knows something about cars, and have them follow you when you do the test drive. Have them watch the exhaust for anything unusual and check to see if the car is tracking correctly. If it is "dog tracking" it probably has a bent or misaligned frame issue.