Deezul_AwT
New member
Bought a 2000 Grand Prix GT off eBay - here are a couple quotes "excellent condition" "runs and looks great" "well maintained and brought to the Pontiac dealer for it's 3000 mile oil change and mantinance. Bid with confidance this is a great car"
Well, $2200 lighter in the wallet, and STILL not finished with some repairs, I'm a little wiser about an eBay car. I took it in for a Virginia safety inspection and spongy breaks. I figured it might need a bit of work, and saw going in the headlights were pretty foggy and the rear tires had some rot. Maybe $500-$600, but still a good deal for the car I bought.
So what was wrong with it? Leaks in the intake manifold gaskets, valve cover gaskets damp, transmission cooler lines cracked, one front wheel bearing loose, the other has some play and will need to be replaced next year, low brake fluid, outer tie rods loose and replaced, rear roters rusted but should be fine after use, power steering line leaking so it was replaced, struts rusted but luckily good for a while longer, oil pan gasket leaking, junkyard transmission but still good, dry rotted rear tires, resonator rusted but not leaking, front sway bar cracked and broken at both ends, rear speakers on the stereo don't work, car alarm was turned off because it wasn't working right.
They installed the GM Handling kit I recent bought for me, and put in the K&N filter as well. Parts, outside what I spent on the handling kit & filter were $900. The labor killed me - $1300. Now, granted, I could have done about half the work they did for me, like the handling kit, filter, spark plug and wire change, but a lot of the things that were wrong SHOULD have been picked up by the dealer. I need to find the dealer that the guy took this to and never use them.
Granted, I have to take some of the blame, as I bought the car sight unseen. But for a $40 bumper to bumper check over, the shop found A LOT of problems. I trust this shop, and I don't think they were out to get me. I'm just freaking pissed off at this. I figured I would have had to put in about $1000 to get it up to snuff. But after this $2200 I paid, I STILL have to buy new headlights, new intake gaskets, and new valve cover gaskets!!! ARRRGGGHH!! I was hoping to get 2 years, maybe 3 out of the car. Now, I better get 4-5 years!!!
Well, $2200 lighter in the wallet, and STILL not finished with some repairs, I'm a little wiser about an eBay car. I took it in for a Virginia safety inspection and spongy breaks. I figured it might need a bit of work, and saw going in the headlights were pretty foggy and the rear tires had some rot. Maybe $500-$600, but still a good deal for the car I bought.
So what was wrong with it? Leaks in the intake manifold gaskets, valve cover gaskets damp, transmission cooler lines cracked, one front wheel bearing loose, the other has some play and will need to be replaced next year, low brake fluid, outer tie rods loose and replaced, rear roters rusted but should be fine after use, power steering line leaking so it was replaced, struts rusted but luckily good for a while longer, oil pan gasket leaking, junkyard transmission but still good, dry rotted rear tires, resonator rusted but not leaking, front sway bar cracked and broken at both ends, rear speakers on the stereo don't work, car alarm was turned off because it wasn't working right.
They installed the GM Handling kit I recent bought for me, and put in the K&N filter as well. Parts, outside what I spent on the handling kit & filter were $900. The labor killed me - $1300. Now, granted, I could have done about half the work they did for me, like the handling kit, filter, spark plug and wire change, but a lot of the things that were wrong SHOULD have been picked up by the dealer. I need to find the dealer that the guy took this to and never use them.
Granted, I have to take some of the blame, as I bought the car sight unseen. But for a $40 bumper to bumper check over, the shop found A LOT of problems. I trust this shop, and I don't think they were out to get me. I'm just freaking pissed off at this. I figured I would have had to put in about $1000 to get it up to snuff. But after this $2200 I paid, I STILL have to buy new headlights, new intake gaskets, and new valve cover gaskets!!! ARRRGGGHH!! I was hoping to get 2 years, maybe 3 out of the car. Now, I better get 4-5 years!!!
. GP's are notorious for electrical problems. Sucks about all the motor and suspension stuff though. I have replaced the VC's on my car myself. Not hard just time consuming. Be sure to get some brake cleaner to clean up the VC's and lots of old rags.
