ziggo0
06-08-2006, 11:10 PM
Well, about to buy my first ever car to begin with! I'm anxious and nervous all at the same time....
1996 Pontiac Grand Am V6 3100, 2 Door Red Coupe, 158k miles, body in perfect condition, interior in perfect condition. Price? $2,100 (No tax, this private dealer has gotta be the kindest man ever, you don't see many of em around, he said he'd give it to me for $2,000 and throw the extra "$100" as the tax).
Prepare for a biast comment...personally, I've never liked GA's or GP's. I see them EVERYWHERE, it almost seems like 'just because it looks sporty, its fast, and everyone wants one' is the general senario. I've always shunned on them because of that but now go figure I just put money down on one. I test drove the car and to my surprise, I actually loved it! The car ran VERY smooth...pretty comfortable as well. When he started the car there was no delay, even after sitting for a few weeks. Although, when the engine got down to idle it sorta staggered...i guess, RPM looked like it was fluxuating, sorta like the accelerater was jammed or what not, kinda shot up to 2k RPM then i tapped the gas, dropped back down to idle. Aside from that, the RPM gauge sorta 'sticks' you know? The needle is a bit sticky I guess...I'm assuming that can be easily fixed? It rode great, did 0 - 60 in a very quick manor, much better than this shitty 97 Sunfire 3spd I was looking at. Overall I think I'm going to be happy with it.
Now the real question(s) :roll2:
This being a new car I want to get it into best shape I can. I'm willing to lay down a few hundred dollars for changing out things like spark plugs, air filters, other what not...but thats where I ask for help. If you were to buy a used car with a decent ammount of miles, what would you change? I plan on having all the fluids changed/flushed, oil changed, possibly checking out the spark plugs and cleaning them, they are stock I believe. Other things like that...I just want to make her run as best as possible!
OH! One more thing...is there some sorta lock on the shifter that doesn't let you put it into 1'st and 2nd? When pressing in the button to move it outta Park it can go all the way to Reverse, Neutral, Drive & 3rd, but 2 & 1 are outta reach? It's a 3 speed with over drive. When pressing down the button it wont let it go down to second or first. There is also a button on the left side. You can press it in like a button, it stays in, but no noticble difference. On the car I drove before, 95 Mercury Cougar V8, it was to turn on/off over drive. Any ideas? :???:
Hopefully I'll be happy with this car. I just gotta wait for 9 days for my damn bank to clear the 2000$ check !
Edit: Ah, also, if this helps, the check engine/vehicle light wasnt on either :)
1996 Pontiac Grand Am V6 3100, 2 Door Red Coupe, 158k miles, body in perfect condition, interior in perfect condition. Price? $2,100 (No tax, this private dealer has gotta be the kindest man ever, you don't see many of em around, he said he'd give it to me for $2,000 and throw the extra "$100" as the tax).
Prepare for a biast comment...personally, I've never liked GA's or GP's. I see them EVERYWHERE, it almost seems like 'just because it looks sporty, its fast, and everyone wants one' is the general senario. I've always shunned on them because of that but now go figure I just put money down on one. I test drove the car and to my surprise, I actually loved it! The car ran VERY smooth...pretty comfortable as well. When he started the car there was no delay, even after sitting for a few weeks. Although, when the engine got down to idle it sorta staggered...i guess, RPM looked like it was fluxuating, sorta like the accelerater was jammed or what not, kinda shot up to 2k RPM then i tapped the gas, dropped back down to idle. Aside from that, the RPM gauge sorta 'sticks' you know? The needle is a bit sticky I guess...I'm assuming that can be easily fixed? It rode great, did 0 - 60 in a very quick manor, much better than this shitty 97 Sunfire 3spd I was looking at. Overall I think I'm going to be happy with it.
Now the real question(s) :roll2:
This being a new car I want to get it into best shape I can. I'm willing to lay down a few hundred dollars for changing out things like spark plugs, air filters, other what not...but thats where I ask for help. If you were to buy a used car with a decent ammount of miles, what would you change? I plan on having all the fluids changed/flushed, oil changed, possibly checking out the spark plugs and cleaning them, they are stock I believe. Other things like that...I just want to make her run as best as possible!
OH! One more thing...is there some sorta lock on the shifter that doesn't let you put it into 1'st and 2nd? When pressing in the button to move it outta Park it can go all the way to Reverse, Neutral, Drive & 3rd, but 2 & 1 are outta reach? It's a 3 speed with over drive. When pressing down the button it wont let it go down to second or first. There is also a button on the left side. You can press it in like a button, it stays in, but no noticble difference. On the car I drove before, 95 Mercury Cougar V8, it was to turn on/off over drive. Any ideas? :???:
Hopefully I'll be happy with this car. I just gotta wait for 9 days for my damn bank to clear the 2000$ check !
Edit: Ah, also, if this helps, the check engine/vehicle light wasnt on either :)