Thread: So, *how* do I replace my GTP?

I lurk, here and at other forums. Created an account just to post this.

Some Personal Background, FYI:
For a few years, my '99 GTP has been my winter driver while I worked on summer projects. Unfortunately I went through a rough period of unemployment and had to sell off those projects, and the GTP has become my daily driver. I'm working again, so I need the car, but looong hours, and pretty crappy pay, so I have neither the money to spend on a shop, nor the time or workspace to do it myself, and the GTP is starting to need a lot of work.

The car is dead:
I love the car; It got driven a lot more often than the project cars and entirely through the past few winters. Unfortunately it missed an undercoating one year and ever since then its been rusting away... seriously bad. I brought it to a shop to put the summers on (right when I started the new job, really should have done it myself but soo tired/busy) and they knocked 4 holes in the floorpan from the lift pads not being positioned on the frame... that's how thin the metal is now :S. I pulled the rocker panel covers a few summers ago and there was nothing but metal filings underneath.

So the car's on it's last legs, and has been for a while. Last summer I had to do some work on the front end, with a new rack and pinion etc; last fall I redid the rad -> tranny cooling lines (god that was messy, one of them burst right over my head during the assessment phase, before draining :S), this spring I had to pay a shop to replace an injector and flush the others (no time/workspace anymore, some $600+ bill ) The summer before I'd done new bearings, installed the crap ones and learned that lesson hard; this winter, one of the front wheels broke off and rolled away, the posts into the bearings had shorn completely off. When I put the summers back on last week, the car is pulling about 10-15 degrees to the left :S.

My GTP is done.

I love this car:
Some of the features are just awesome, and I don't want to give them up. Powerful (enough for my daily drive, that is), aggressive styling, enough driver/storage room (I'm a big guy, 6'1"), leather interior, great sound system, heated seats, the HuD is very impressive for the car's categorization, power mirrors/doors/windows etc... only thing I would change is my AC is crap (gotten used to not having it tho) and I wish I had a standard transmission. I hadn't done much work on my GTP; basically just dropped it, got rid of the fat tires, and installed a u-bend delete straight pipe exhaust. Toyed with doing some tweaking to the sc but never got around to it. Rest of the changes were entirely cosmetic. It had enough power for my winter drive, and the features included in the GTP package were enough for me internally.

So... What now?

I'm still not-well-off financially - buying a *new* car is out (leasing a cheap one might be ok). I don't have the time to dedicate to a fixer. I'm lacking the funds to pay for repairs. And I'm really, really reluctant to put money into something I'm going to hate driving - a significant drop in performance characteristics is gonna make my daily commute a chore.

TLDR;

I guess I'm looking at a handful of options. Buy a crap car to get me through to when I can afford something better; find a different used car with the features I want, or buy another Grand Prix in better condition (maybe a GT only; think I could drop in some of the stuff outta my GTP (hud, sc, speakers, seats, etc?).

Thoughts? Anyone have any suggestions for other vehicles that are 'hidden gems' like my GTP?

Lease options are amazing right now and will help you repair your credit. Best bang for the buck on a lease right now honestly is Ford or Chrysler...look into the cheap cars...Dart or Fiesta.

Originally Posted by Bio248

what's your new car budget?

Right now, not any more than ~ 7-8k at most, I'm still in the 'paying off debt' phase and that has to be my priority; and not even that if its not something I'm gonna enjoy driving... and my GTP probably can make it through the summer... If I can hold off till next spring (by minimum repairs or a crap-driver till then) I could do up to around 15-20k for something I'm gonna hold on to for a few years.

What are people's opinions on the newer GrandPrix generation (post 2002) and maybe the G6/8's?

Originally Posted by coolone

Just buy another GTP as clean as you can find it, you'll never be happy otherwise!

Honestly, this is what I'm leaning towards, but I don't really have the time to do much work, and the GTP's seem a good bit rarer in decent condition than just a GT... thoughts on swapping some of the upgrades from the GTP to a GT? Possible/tough? The Gt is still the 3800, just not with the supercharger, right... would it be possible to drop in the sc from the GTP? I can do without tho... how about the HUD?

Originally Posted by Bio248

i'd keep your car and continue repairing it.

One of the front wheels fell off and rolled away while I was driving. This, more than anything else, convinced me I needed to start looking at other options. I'd never even heard of that happening before. It's probably my bad for 1) buying the cheap bearing hub and 2) getting a shop to put on the tires (probably wayy too tight), but still... scary.

It might make more sense to dump 5k worth of repairs into it instead of spending 5k+ on another vehicle with unknown issues and history, etc.

Well I was in a similar situation with weather to go new or fix. I decided to fix because my GTP, was in good shape from a Rust perspective and the my Engine really only had minor issues. My suspension & Exhaust was shot and had to replace and as I went along other things Popped up as they do in a 12 yr old car.
I would make a List of everything it needs. It you are not sure get a mechanic to inspect. Then decide if the repairs are in budget, where you can save by doing yourself and sourcing your own parts. (New or Used) and then prioritize by safety. It can feel overwhelming but when you have a plan not so bad. I am six months into bringing it back and I learned a ton and saved a lot by doing the work myself when I could.

Now you might want to buy a "beater" just to ride around in when you GP is down for repairs....this way the pressure is off , then sell that when its back, some 1k car thats ugly and runs....

I would just get a newer model grand prix 04+.I sold my 2001 gtp coupe. I still kinda regret it though because it was in really decent shape. A 97-2003 in decent shape is hard to find nowadays.I basically sold it to get a black one. I never did find a decent one after that.I ended up getting a 05 gtp comp g which I am very happy with so far. They have there problems but not as many problems as the 97-2003 models

I think I'll take a deeper look at some of the options and stay flexible; If I can find a replacement in good condition I'll jump on that; if I don't, I don't and I'll take a look at other vehicles, including the newer Grand Prix's and maybe a beater. I don't think I want to feel locked into a lease on something I wouldn't enjoy driving; I'd like to be in something 'fun' by next summer.

Having something else to drive will allow me to do some work on the GTP I have, piecemeal, if I don't need it every day. Maybe I can keep it going as a winter driver for a few more seasons for fairly cheap. The winters up here just destroy vehicles with the salted dirt crap they spread on the roads :S.

I may pop in to ask for help more often than instead of just lurking on the 'how to' threads. Thanks for the helpful responses guys!