Lstrunk's getting a car, finally! I hope.

lstrunk · 07-07-2002, 10:59 PM

Well, Last week I was driving along, and I spot this Pontiac Sedan sitting in someones front yard, and kinda make a mental note. Well, today, I went up and looked at it, and it looks like a great deal.
Its a 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix, automatic, 4 door. 92k miles.
I called the guy, and by chance, I know his son from school. Really wierd crap ensues, notably that he is going to be out of town till October, but he will give power of attorney to his wife so she can sell it. It belonged to his mother, who died recently.
He stressed that it was really well taken care of, apparently she bought into that oil change every 3k miles crap. He said it has brand new tires, and just a few months ago had everything serviced. Basically its a little old ladies car who drove it to church and bingo.

He was asking 5500$ Being the poor Bastard I am, I shoot back 4500$ and he accepts with out an eye blink. I then call my grandpa, who is loaning me the money for this, and he says he will come and look at it Wednesday and fork over the cash if its a good buy, but really doesn't want to go that high. I then call the guy back, and tell him that I can't go 4500$, but would he take 4000$, fully expecting a firm no, and me having to scrounge for 500$, but what I get is him hemming and hawing, and finally a yes!!
When I probe a bit more, its because he has to split all of his moms stuff between him and his siblings, and that basically even though the price is dropping 1500$, his share is only dropping a few hundred, and its been sitting in his driveway long enough to make him not care.
So, tommorow I'm taking it to the mechanic to see if its as good as he says (its nice to have friends who know mechanics :-)
Then I'll put 200$ down so they don't sell it. Wednesday the check will be in my hand for the payment, and by friday I'll have one hell of a car.

It has this dash overhang thing that is just crying out for an LCD. The only thing that needs done is some window tinting, which I'll probably end up paying out the nose for. Since its a 4 door and not a 2 door.

The only thing I'm worried about is insurance, since it is a Grand Prix, but since its a 4 door, it shouldn't be that high.

SPyder_Flex97 · 07-07-2002, 11:13 PM

damn lstrunk...u have ur eye on a different car every week...

....but thats good i guess...ur learning how to car shop...but a word of advice that i learned while i car shopped is :

A. The longer u wait to get a car...the better ur car will be when u finally get it...

B. Never buy American cars except for 94-97 Mustang V8s....American cars will ony make u waste ur money on repairs...

D. NEVER EVER borrow money to buy a car...especially a used car...

C. The final lesson i learned was to never trust a car dealership!!!!Those cars are there for a reason!!!

lstrunk · 07-07-2002, 11:26 PM

A. Yes, god have I learned that, 2 cars and 2000$ later.

B. I'm sorry, but I feel differently, while I will admit Hondas and Toyotas (plus Mazda and whatever else you want to toss in) do last longer and tend to break down less, they cost more for what you get, and repairs cost more. I have a 1992 Chevy S10 with 230K miles, that I have owned since Febuaury, and the only thing that has gone bad is a temperature sensor, which was a 15$ part. It has really instilled my belief that a GM is a good car.

C. Well seeing as all I have is 1200$ saved up, and I don't want to buy another death-trap, its the only way to go. Plus, its my grandpa, so its not like he's gonna repo it if I'm behind on payments. Which won't happen, cause I got a good job.

D. I learned that in my last car buying venture. I almost got screwed out of 4000$

lstrunk · 07-07-2002, 11:30 PM

admendment to B.
From what I notice, Honda and Toyota have just recently been putting 6cylinder engines in there cars (yes the 4runner and Passport have had v6's though), and quite frankly, I want more power than a 4-banger can provide, plus if I decide to put an exhaust on this car, it won't sound like my weed-whacker.

Adam F · 07-08-2002, 12:14 AM

Never borrow money for a car?????? Unless you are stupidly rich, then most of us blue collar folks cant just cough up 20 grand or more to buy a nice car.

Never trust a car dealership? Kinda agree. But you just have to be smarter than them. I bought my last 2 vehicles, used, on borrowed money, and from dealerships, and never had any problems. One Honda and one Toyota. What reason are they there for?????

Jammer · 07-08-2002, 12:24 AM

1996 Pontiac Grand Prix, automatic, 4 door. 92k miles.

Wow its about time you get a decent car,I would stay away from ford. You never go wrong with buying a Pontiac

or Oldsmobile!

Adam F · 07-08-2002, 02:01 AM

I dont know. My aunt has a 95 Grand Prix GT and has had nothing but trouble. The damn wheel even fell off while she was driving down the road. Luckily she was only doing 20 MPH or so.

lstrunk · 07-08-2002, 09:13 AM

Adam F: May I ask whose fault it was? Did a tire place not put the Lugs on all the way, or did a Bolt break or something? Personally, I'd be looking into suing someone.

I looked on Microsoft carpoint, it seemed to average around 7.5 out of 10 on customer reviews, and an 4 out of 5 on mechanical reviews. The only Major think that seemed to go bad was the fuel injectors, and then minor crap like the steering column key dealy.

Adam F · 07-08-2002, 10:13 AM

This was a stock wheel, hasnt been touched since she can remember.

lstrunk · 07-08-2002, 12:25 PM

Well, that has to suck.
Any car can have problems like that though. I am going to take it to the mechanic and see what he says. I am getting such a good deal on it, I really can't turn it down. This same type of car goes on autotrader for around 8000$

saabmp3 · 07-08-2002, 02:23 PM

I must say, my cousin has that same type of car and it has worked very well for her in the past (she has only had it for about a year). The starter motor has been giving issues (working occasionally) but the dealer has never been able to find the issue. This is only a minor problem as it doesn't do it much.
Good luck with the car.
BEN

Callahan · 07-08-2002, 07:15 PM

Pontiac = teh win.

Course... I'm biased

wizardPC · 07-08-2002, 08:57 PM

Part 1:
I had a 92 pontiac sunbird that gave me nothing but trouble. We replaced the ENTIRE cooling system 3 times in 16 months. At least now I know what antifreeze smells like when it hits the engine block. We traded it in when the car ceased to move in a forward direction--I had to drive 3 miles home in reverse. That was funny.

I am on my 3rd GM vehicle now, and the only one that didnt give me problems was the Saturn. That being said, I think that the bad experiences people have with cars are not because of the company that made them (ie GM, honda, etc), but probability. If quality control missed one defect in your vehicle, chances are they missed several more. You can get a car like my sunbird that broke down once a month, or you can get a car like my saturn that rarely, if ever, breaks down. I have never seen a "middle of the road" in these situations.

Part 2:
I feel your pain about getting a new vehicle (well, new to you). I sold my truck a few hours ago so I can get a 99 chevy malibu this weekend when I go back to Nashville. Being on both ends of the car-buying experience has given me a new perspective. I asked $9,000 for my truck, which has a blue book value of $9500. I put an ad in the paper last week and got 1 phone call. The truck breaks down more than I care to remember so I just wanted to get rid of it. The highest offer I got for trade-in was $5500, which is almost exactly what I owe on the truck. Basically, I was getting rid of the truck one way or the other because I cant afford to fix it when the warranty runs up (see part 3). If I got $6000 selling it, it would be about the same as the trade in because of the tax-laws.

Guy calls me, says he is looking for something less than $8000. OKay, I drop the price to 8. Calls me later, asks me if I can go lower. I tell him to come by and look at it. He comes by, and says $8,000 is too much, offers 6. I take $6250.

My point is this: HE thinks he is getting a great deal, and even if he takes it to a mechanic there is nothing wrong with it RIGHT NOW. I had $3000 of work done in the month of june alone, in 2 seperate incidents. If someone comes down 30% way too easily, something is wrong

Part 3:
BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY!
BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY!
BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY!
My warranty company (a third party warranty purchased through my bank) has paid over $14,000 in repairs in the last 2 years. I paid a $50 deductible for each incident, so probably a total of maybe $500. The warranty cost me around $1300 and was added to the loan. The truck had 54,000 miles on it when I bought it, and the warranty covers the next 48,000. It's like insurance--never know when you'll use it but thank god you've got it when you need it. There are several companies out there that will sell you extended warranties, but I dont know if they'll do it if you get a car from a private citizen.

The 99 Malibu I'm getting on saturday has 27,000 miles on it, and the extended warranty costs $1284 for 48,000 miles, bumper to bumper. If nothing ever goes wrong with it, GREAT! I couldnt be happier. if the A/C goes out, or the transmission drops, I pay $50 and have all new stuff. I dont know why people dont buy the warranties.

Oh, if you don't want to get a loan...
lets see, $4000 minus the $1200 you have is $2800
Interest ceiling on used cars is about 8%
Payments for 24mos would be about...$137/mo
payments for 36mos would be about...$94/mo

or, with a warranty that costs $1500
4000+1500-1200= 4300
24mos = 210.52/mo
36mos = 145.86/mo

oh, and since I assume your sales tax is less than the 8.75% we have here, your payments will actually be lower. And you could, of course, try to get a 48 month loan, but on a car that old the bank would probably laugh at you.

Oh, and another reason I need a new car NOW: Tennesse' sales tax goes to damn near 10% in 7 days.

Callahan · 07-08-2002, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wizardPC
Part 1:
I had a 92 pontiac sunbird that gave me nothing but trouble. We replaced the ENTIRE cooling system 3 times in 16 months. At least now I know what antifreeze smells like when it hits the engine block. We traded it in when the car ceased to move in a forward direction--I had to drive 3 miles home in reverse. That was funny.

Early J-bodys like that sunbird are a totally different story....Personally, I wouldn't touch a pre 1995 (when the cav was redesigned and the sunfire replaced the sunbird) j-body with a 10 foot pole. But I'm sure others have different experiences.

GM gets ragged on a lot, but you hear just as many junker stories about the imports as well.. I find its just fashionable to trash them almost.. Not just that, but you hear the good stories a lot less.. If GM was so bad, they wouldn't have the loyalty in their buyers.

lstrunk · 07-08-2002, 10:54 PM

WizardPC: Normally, yes, I would be very worried about getting a car when the guy drops the price so drastically. He's coming down because
1. Its been sitting there for atleast 2 months, that I know of, because we don't get alot of traffic on our road, and he probably doesn't want to pay for autotrader.
2. Like I explained, Its inheritance that he has to split, so he's really not losing alot of his actual take.
3. I know his son, he's not the kind of guy that lies like that, and you have to come from a home of that type.
4. From the sound of it, he inherited a bunch of crap, and just wants to get rid of it. They are financiallly set, so I doubt he cares whether he loses a few hundred, if he can get the car out of his yard thats been sitting there for the last few months.

I'm taking it to the mechanic tommorow, so we shall see.
Does anyone happen to have a carfax account I could use?