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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Way, way OT, car purchase decision

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Timothee

02-15-2005 19:03:49




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Could use your opinion...

My bonneville was totalled last week by a 92 year old driver...I am looking at another bonneville...I drive 35,000 miles per year, so I dont want anything really new.

Narrowed down my choices to the following:

1997 bonneville with 97,000 miles....$4,000
good shape. Came from an auto auction.

1998 bonneville with 70,000 miles - been wrecked and repaired, has rebuilt title. $4,000. looks better than the 1997, but front of car and hood has been repaired and repainted.

1999 bonn with 101,000 miles - 1 owner - perfect maintenance records, tip top shape....guy took care of car...$4700. Looks great.

I value your guys and gals opinions...
whatcha think?
Tim

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davefr

02-17-2005 08:24:18




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
From what you describe, I"d pick the "99 in a heartbeat.

The difference in mileage is negligable among those 3 so it"ll boil down to how it was cared for. Auction vehicles and previously wrecked vehicle are 2 major warning signs - avoid them.



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leland

02-16-2005 19:27:53




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
Since you asked the wife and I are looking at a new volkswagon jetta with a diesel this beast got 50+ on our 2 day test drive. And it being turboed it's zippy.



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yellowdog

02-16-2005 16:23:09




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
1998 Bonneville. I'm 69 years old. Best car I've ever had. Never been in for repair. Just put new tires on for Florida trip. Good ride, good pick up,good looking [SLE model],and scary mileage. In fact I seem to pretty good luck with all my vehicles.1991 GMC same thing. I read about people having all this trouble with the same vehicles I have. Makes you think about the care their givin don't it .Yellowdog.

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Don L C

02-16-2005 15:53:11




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
No brainer --The 1999 is the best buy....good luck....Don



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dvtw

02-16-2005 09:38:19




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
I'll chime in here. I've got 2 Bonneville's too. My wife drives a '92 with the supercharged Series I 3.8 liter and it just rolled over to 190,000. I drive a '97 Series II supercharged Bonneville and it just rolled over to 160,000. We got both from Auto Auctions with high miles. We've had to put in little repair money to keep these going. Gas mileage on the '97 is around 28 mpg. Unbelievable for a supercharged 240 hp engine. My wife's brother has a 92 also and it has 240,000 on it. It burned a valve last year but all of these have been good cars for us. Other than the standard waterpumps, alternators and pulley type repair they have given no real problems to speak of. I like the older style better but the 99 sounds like the way to go...newer and good history. I plan to drive these till they blow. I put about 30k a year on mine as well. Goodluck.

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LK

02-16-2005 07:20:07




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
Buy a used Toyota or Honda, keep good oil in it and drive it forever. No big mystery here. These are the most reliable cars on the road. Sorry to say, but true.



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Dug

02-16-2005 06:43:31




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
Hi Tim,

Looks like you have thrre good choices, I would lean toward the 99 if records have been kept on maintenance.

Don't buy into the new car theory. I have been in the banking industry over 10 years and would much rather finance a used vehicle as opposed to a new vehicle. With the miles you drive the depreciation on a new car would kill you! A quality older vehicle makes perfect sense. In fact I just bought an '01 Taurus with 72,000 miles for $5,000. One owner, I knew personally, records in good order. I plan on driving the wheels off of it(I also drive about 35,000 miles per year. I'll drive it three years and sell it for about $1,000. That translates into $,4000 spread over three years, $1,300 per year, fairly cheap transportation.)

I would avoid anything with a rebuilt title, that's my banker side talking. Auction cars tend to be a crap shoot. Often times dealers will send cars they don't want to mess with to the auction. Of course, there are good cars also, it's just luck of the draw. I would lean hard toward the one owner vehicle.

Dug

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Brian in NY

02-16-2005 06:20:17




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
I would think that the one owner car is the way to go, but I would not be afraid of the rebuilt car. I would want to know if there was any unibody damage. If they just threw tin and a rad/condenser at it, there should be no issue with it being rebuilt. The rebuilt title, though, makes the value much less, so I would think you would have more bargaining room on that one. Many cars older than 99 reach the total loss threshold pretty quickly...does not mean that they are not repairable, just that the cost to repair is too close to the cost to total...a Bonny hit in the front brings a pretty good salvage bid for the doors and rear body parts....so if it needed airbags and front tin/rad support but the unibody was not damaged, it would likely make a good car. Don't give up on that one til you investigate further. If you have a buddy in the autobody industry, have them look at it..they can tell if the unibody was repaired. Also consider Buick LeSabres as they are the same car for all intents and purposes and can be had cheap.

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Oliver

02-16-2005 06:03:52




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
If it were me, which it isn"t so you do what you want, I wouldn"t buy anything over 2 years old and with over 30k. Then, I would trade every 2 years. I"d also go with a Cadillac rather than a Pontiac. I could figure in advance almost exactly what those 2 years of driving would cost me, and it would be a number I could live with comfortably.



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T_Bone

02-16-2005 05:58:17




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
Hi Tim,

For the amount of miles you drive, the most cost effective is a VW TDI diesel. 50 to 60mpg with a engine that will out last the car.

These are turbo charged 4cyl diesels, cold instant start (10sec), warm start just like a gasser, that have alot of power (40 to 50mpg) or can be driven for great fuel mileage (50 to 60mpg).

Engine comes in many different body styles. The manual trannys produce best fuel mileage.

T_Bone

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TomTX

02-16-2005 05:51:54




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
From the 3 choices you presented, the only one to buy is the 99 model. The other 2 are trouble waiting to happen. For only $700 difference, get the one-owner car.



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Brokenwrench

02-16-2005 04:36:12




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
Hello Timothy, I disagree with that theory of buy something new. Don"t matter what the payment is, new cars lose alot of value over the first year. Even what you pay for a low mile lease return is still plenty high, and some of the cheaper models may not be all that reliable 50,000
down the road, and I would guess with the miles you run, you don"t want to go car shopping every
year and a half. Your on the right track with the Bonneville, GM has a proven winner with the 3.8. (and I"m a bit of a Ford fan). I,m also a tranny rebuilder. I"ve worked on some of these older GM fwd"s with way over 300,000 miles on them. People want to fix them because they ride nice and the motors tend to be very long lived.
Admittedly, I"m not overly scared of miles if maintenence has been done on the vehicle, so I would lean toward the 99, or another one that is privately owned, where you can see the maintenence records. The 97 & 98 have the same tranny 4T60E, good tranny especially after 96 when they updated some of the components. The 99
has a 4T65E which is a very similar tranny, but fully computer controlled. Also a good tranny. In 2000/2001 GM made some cost saving changes to a
couple of parts, and that seemed to cause more headaches. So if buying used and purely from a tranny standpoint, I"d stay in the 97-99 area. Now my disclaimer, being a shop owner, is that you can have trouble with any make,model,year vehicle, and my opinion is just that, an opinion.
Hope this helps. Brokenwrench

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Ray

02-15-2005 19:50:52




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-15-2005 19:03:49  
If you drive that many miles why would you want a car that's already wore out? There's some late model cars for sale that are pretty reasonable
now.Most people buy new cause the payments are cheaper and no one wants to finance used cars anymore,and rental returns are flooding the market.I've seen some low mile 2000 models for under $5000.



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Timothee

02-16-2005 05:10:16




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Ray, 02-15-2005 19:50:52  
Bonnevilles dont get worn out until 200 - 250,000 I am the former owner of 2 of them...great cars..
Yeah , I might get a 2.2 liter cavalier for 5,000 but that engine just wont last.
Thanks



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Ray

02-16-2005 05:35:22




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Timothee, 02-16-2005 05:10:16  
A friend bought me an 2000 chevy lumina at the car auction for $4000 with 30K miles,bonnevilles are nothing special,still a GM product,probably the same chassis as a monte carlo.Cars past 100K are not dependable,ok for a bang around car if you don't have any money or don't go any where.
I usually buy in the 20K miles range drive to 100K and sometimes get all my money back.



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zachh

02-16-2005 16:22:35




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Ray, 02-16-2005 05:35:22  
Cars are worn out at 100,000 ha ha are you freakin nuts? I dont know what you drive must be a Ford.



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Ray

02-16-2005 16:59:52




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to zachh, 02-16-2005 16:22:35  
I'm smarter than you,I don't have to drive junk.
People don't drive old high milage cars because they want to,it's because there broke,usually lazy and don't work.



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Brokenwrench

02-17-2005 10:16:54




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 Them's is fightin words!! in reply to Ray, 02-16-2005 16:59:52  
Ray,
I'm a 30 year old businessman, I have 3 small kids, and I'm priviledged to have a wife who is a stay at home mom. My day starts at 5:30 when I go out and do chores (horses), I'm at work by 6:30
and usually can be found there until 6pm. That's unless I'm gone on an ambulance call. See, I'm also the ambulance director in our town. Both our vehicles have well over 100,000 miles on them.
The thing is, I own them, they don't own me. If I have to repair them, oh well, still cheaper than 6 yrs of a new car payment, higher licence, and higher insurance. I was married young and moved to a bigger city. I did the new car thing, the credit card thing, and lived well beyond my means. When we started having kids, we moved back to the small town area we grew up in, and have never regretted it. So what if I have to work alittle harder to bring home enough money to make ends meet. I love the fact that any given day one of my boys is sitting on a stool next to me and grampa at the shop watching us work,talkin up a storm.
So, friend, please don't call people lazy or stupid because of the car they drive. None of us are lazy or stupid because we have a couple old tractors around.
Sorry for rambling but this one hit where it hurt
Brokenwrench

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zachh

02-17-2005 07:17:16




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Ray, 02-16-2005 16:59:52  
Hey everone if your car or truck has more than 100,000 miles its junk and it means your lazy and dont work says Ray. But hes really smart.



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zachh

02-17-2005 06:56:37




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Ray, 02-16-2005 16:59:52  
You gotta be the most ignorant sob on this website



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lucasss

02-16-2005 06:52:10




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 Re: Way, way OT, car purchase decision in reply to Ray, 02-16-2005 05:35:22  
sounds like you like bonneville. ive found that one owners with maintnance records are a better choice for me. ..... hey,i guess ill try to convert you too... look at grande marquis and buick century.. lucas



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