What To Look For When Buying A Pontiac Grand Prix

[njgp]

Forgive me if there is already a thread discussing this, but what should one look for when looking at at purchasing some of the last gen (04-08) of Grand Prixs? Also, what is a good guide to compare prices for these cars (other then KBB, NADA, etc)

[smg267]

Craigslist is king. Forget NADA and KBB. Search outside of your area as well. I'm more familiar with 97-03 but I am sure some of the common problems are the same as well.

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threa...ommon-problems

[SaukRapids]

Really look under the back arches these days. Ask about any transmission issues directly, last time fluid changed, etc.

Also, if you're looking at a supercharged one, this helped check the coupler and bearings for noise. Saved me a headache on an 04 CompG.

[njgp]

Craigslist is king. Forget NADA and KBB. Search outside of your area as well. I'm more familiar with 97-03 but I am sure some of the common problems are the same as well.

http://www.grandprixforums.net/threa...ommon-problems

Thanks, I'll look through that link.

What do you mean to forget NADA and KBB? Do they not give a good estimate of what to pay?

[fst]

areas to check for rust:
rear/underneath side skirt rocker panel
front/rear strut tower

bearing/coupler sound from the S/C
oil leak around front/rear valve covers (verify if the recalls been completed yet or not)
condition/color of trans fluid/level
ensure stock pulley is on there and not an aftermarket/smaller
if GTP the HUD and DIC are well illuminated

[WarStryker13]

One issue that 04-08 tend to have is the ground right next to the battery on the strut tower, and there's another place you want to check for rust: the front lower rad support and the front inner fenders, right behind the headlights.

As for price, it all depends on the condition of the body, the trans, and where you are. But as a very rough guesstimate, I would say at the most $5k for a GTP. And quick tip if you weren't already aware, 06-07 supercharged Grand Prixs were labeled as GTs.

[Moozery]

Definitely check if it has a plastic or aluminum LIM gasket and/or coolant elbows, and check if it's leaking too.
I just bought an 04 CompG a couple months ago and I just had to replace the plastic gasket and elbows last weekend since it was leaking in a bunch of spots causing my coolant and oil to mix.

Also, water on the passenger floor. I thought this was only a previous gen issue, but my CompG had this as well. Luckily I already had the part to fix it from my old GP, not an expensive or hard fix either way though.

And like previously mentioned, leaking valve covers. Had this too, but I caught it before purchase and got the dealer to fix it for free.

[njgp]

Thanks all. Keep the suggestions coming. I'll file them away for future reference.

I was about to pull the trigger on a 2005 GTP Comp G Edition with only 40k miles. The car was about 1.5 hours from me. Dealer agreed to my price. Next day I went to give deposit and and credit card was declined. I thought it was because it was so far from my usual area and had been flagged. I called CC company and long story short it was close to limit. Wife had put charges on it for various large expenditures (upcoming 20th wedding anniversary/vacation, kids tuition, etc) and forgot to tell me.

I thought we were debt free. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. So I'll be paying off my CC instead of getting a very nice, very gently pre-owned Comp G.

The sales person was actually relieved. Other sales people had people willing to pay more than the price we had agreed upon. Indeed car was gone less than 24 hours later.

I was disappointed as this was like finding a unicorn. Put as I've said before, I don't need to buy a car but this one would have been great if it had worked out.

[Moozery]

Keep your eye out, there's plenty more out there.

I've found there's nothing wrong with a high mileage car as long as it's been decently taken care of. I bought my GTP at 60k miles thinking it would be in great shape judging by the body, but it's taken a pretty hefty amount of cash and work to get it back on it's feet, because the previous owners didn't do a lick of maintenance to the poor 13 year old thing. I'm about a thousand dollars into it and it still misfires a little and starts like crap, which were problems my 160k mile GT never had haha.