And she is down to 4500 on the price......[/quote]

Sounds like a good deal, moreover since it'* a new/rebuilt trans.

I picked up my 1998 SSEi back in late April for 4900

http://tinypic.com/5ebus5
http://tinypic.com/5ebuwi
http://tinypic.com/5ebux2

you almost HAVE to go see this car in person if you're pretty committed. might help to get a carfax report for it too. that flat PCM cover that everyone is questioning worries me as well

In looking at mine, the PCM has a rounded cover over the top of it. Good luck...hope it works out and you pick it up.

Does anyone here with a 97 have the flat cover?

What is going on……………..

First of I want to thank all of you that have posted in this thread, some of you have brought out some very good questions about this car. I have been dealing with Muscle Cars for many years and I can say that I am not an expert but I have had my share of cars and pictures to look at. Every time I was interested in purchasing a car I would always ask for as many pictures as I could get them to send, pictures tell a tale that owners sometime forget or don’t want to tell.

Point number 1: As in this case, if you were to listen to this woman talk about the car, it was her baby, she loves it, she loves the way it handles and she did what ever was needed to keep the car in “tip top shape”, as she said.
Pictures seem to have a way of hiding bad paint and scratches but not neglect, now look at the engine compartment, look at the reservoirs, both coolant and windshield, looks pretty bad to me, I know it may be petty and I am going overboard but I am going on what she has said to me. Next look at the interior pictures, look at the carpet, not only is the front dirty, but look at the back, and it is real dirty. Look at the seats, I will bet my last dollar that they are also real dirty especially the back seat.

Point number 2: She also told me that she works from home and is always there, 125,000mi and works from home doesn’t belong in the same sentence, does it to you?

Point number 3: The 96 PCM cover, I have no idea about that! Can anyone else shed some light about this?

The paint looks good, but all pictures make cars look better than they are.
I called her again and I talked more about the car and she revealed to me that she is a realtor, that explains the 125,000mi and she works from home, which also explains the dirty interior, both front and back.
All in all, I am still interested in this car but I am still worried about the PCM cover.
I can get the interior and engine compartment cleaned up, that isn’t a problem, what is the problem is could she be hiding any internal engine problems that I will not be able to find out about until it is too late.
The seller lives out in the desert areas around Palm Springs so getting big exposure for her car is not there and since she has bout a new ford 500 my guess is that the SSEi will now sit for a while.

I am also contemplating selling my 97 SLE 40th, this car has been good to us and is a real joy to drive. If I do get the SSEi, I will sell the SLE and I hope I don’t regret it.

I am also contemplating on purchasing a newer 2000-2004 SSEi.

So thats where I am at.......

Sorry I just realized that I spoke about pictures and I never uploaded all of them, I have the rest at home and I will add them later if needed.

Why not do like everyone else and just keep the SLE and get the other one too!!