Having a hard time (believe it or not!) finding a decent 04SE to buy...

[scottyb]

First up, I have an 03SE that I love, now my fiancee needs a car so we want to buy a 04SE. Mine is white so this car can't be white. Last year at this time, I got my white 03SE (V6, Alloys, ABS, monsoon) for $13,500 CDN with 20,000km, which I think was a great deal.

Fast forward to today, I'm having a real hard time finding anything close to that. Went to go see a 04SE with same specs but in red, with 29000km, dealer had it listed for $13,995, which is good, but it was sold. Now I am looking at an 04SE (4 cyl, no abs, no alloys) in storm grey for $13,495 with 22,000km.

Which brings me to my question, has anyone else compared the V6 to the 4 cyl head to head in terms of driveability and power? Is this an acceptable sacrafice?

[DontPassTheFence]

if you really like the 3400, thne if you get the ecotec, its going to be noticeably slower. (i do have much experience with this, in my garage sits an 01 GA with the 3400, my 98 GA with the 2.4L, and outside is an 03 cavy with the ecotec 2.2L) -- the ecotec is a bit delayed on the acceleration if you get the auto transmission, and the 2.4L is as well (but they stopped putting those in cars in 01-02)
the 2.2L ecotec is ok with the manual, it stays in the powerband so it isnt sluggish. but the 3400 has all around power, and its easy to drive, so Id say stick with the 3400 for driveability. Although, the ecotec doesnt have the famous LIM leak like the 3400 has. On the whole, however, both are extremely reliable engines.

It just comes down to personal preference. (and the gas mileage is fairly similar in the 2 engines as well- 22-25mpg for the 3400 and 25-28mpg for the eco, IIRC.)

[VanishingImage]

well since its for his wife I don't think she would want something with a whole lot of power. The Ecotech has good enough power for the motor it is,not to mention gas milage it can get compared to the 3400. Id put my car back to stock emissions if I could(don't want to,still race at track time to time) cuz Im gonna be driving more here in a few weeks when I start going back to college.

[GA2002GT2]

The 2.2L Ecotec I think is stronger then the 3400. This is why:

My 01 Grand Am witht he 3400 ran a 15.867 at 85.72mph.
My new 05 Chevy Cobalt 2.2L ecotec ran a 15.413 at 88.76mph.

The only difference is the Cobalt is about 1000Ibs. Lighter and a 5 speed. LOL

[slowbird]

The rule of thumb is every 100lbs shed is one tenth of a second shaved off your 1/4mile.

Considering there's a 1000lbs difference it should run a whole second faster than the 3400. :lol:

You also have to take into account the 60ft times and conditions at the track.

The 3400 swapped in a light car and a 5-speed such as the J-body Cavaliers and Sunbirds run high 14's.

Side by side the 2.2L gets swallowed by the 3400.

[Gimli]

Your selection should broaden in the next few months as 2-year leases start coming back. If you're not too pressed for time I'd wait out a bit.

[slowbird]

Yea...a salesman told me the same thing...wait till September.