Hi all,
Apologies in advance for length but I wanted to include as much detail as possible. I really need advice so please don't just pass by this. I'm new to the group, but not new to the world of Grand Prix. Had a 97 GTP for a few years until 2002. Easily my favorite car I've ever owned. Still remember almost everything about the car sort of like riding a bike!
I'm in a bit of a dilemma, hoping everyone can chime in. Lifers, pros, newbies, I'd love everyone's opinion. My wife totaled her 04 Explorer a few weeks ago, rolled it 5 times. Thankfully walked away with only stitches on her leg, bumps and bruises, and trauma she's still dealing with. Yesterday she found a silver 98 GTP for sale for $900. Seller offered to do $800 if we bought today.
The good:
18" wheels, Clear tail lights, Aftermarket boost gauge, Leather, Smaller pulley (not sure of size), AC delete (could be a bad too), K&N cone, Performance PCM, Accel wires, Newer alternator and AC compressor (I got a little confused since it's bypassed)
The bad:
207k miles, Runs a bit rough, ABS light, CEL, DIC shows low oil (supposedly changed 3k ago), 1 rim dinged up (doesn't hold air), Bottom of outside door missing (plastic bottom piece on door)
But there's more. After a short test drive, could smell antifreeze pretty strong under the hood, and some from exhaust. Oil seemed to look okay, but not great. The coolant reservoir was VERY low and looked like brown sludge. I started thinking it needs a head gasket as did my wife, so we poked around more in depth. With the car off and at operating temp (they had it running before we got there), I uncapped the radiator without even a small hiss or pressure release. The tube going into the radiator had some sort of sludge residue all around the inside. Coolant was low enough that I couldn't see it in the radiator. Just saw that crap and smoke coming from the open cap. Bottom of the oil pan and metal lines down there are covered with coolant. It's also around most of the engine block where the valve cover bolts down, and some sort of sensor/filter/I don't know near the top right of the engine (looking from front of car) was pretty badly rusted.
The sellers said they had it for a little over a year and kept up on maintenance, full synthetic oil changes, always used 93 octane. They told us it keeps losing coolant and the oil level is low. Said that all the work was done by previous owner and they don't know much about it. I'm no mechanic but have been messing with cars for a while. This made me feel even more that the head gasket is bad. Why can't they keep coolant levels normal? Why is the oil level low if it was changed 3k ago? I could see dirty, but low? Pretty sure that shouldn't happen. We wanted to see how the coolant flowed, so I grabbed some and topped off radiator and filled reservoir (was still low). Started it with the radiator cap off. It rose and started coming out so I quick capped it up. After running a while with the hood open, the upper hose was hot but the lower hose was hardly outside temp. I also noticed coolant starting to puddle up around the block where I saw signs of it earlier.
We told the sellers we're 99.99% sure the head gasket is bad so we can't do $800. My wife was able to get them as low as $575 but I still wasn't feeling it. They started saying someone else was coming right after us offering $800 even knowing about the head gasket. Kind of odd, how do they know about it? Did the seller tell them after we told them, did they know but not tell us, or was it just a bluff to pressure us?
My wife loves the car and really wants it. I love it too, but I don't love the idea of having to drop another couple grand into the head gasket. Not to mention probably needing a new radiator, water pump, hoses, and possibly the whole engine if that residue built up bad enough in the block or enough damage is done from the gasket being bad. All that being said, I said not interested and dragged my wife away kicking and screaming. She heard from the seller a few hours later saying it's still available. Here's where I need your bruyally honest opinion...
- Does it sound like a head gasket or am I way off base?
- Am I dumb for walking away?
- How much do you think these repairs would run?
- How long do you think it will last as is, and/or should it even be driven?
- Would I be smarter to buy this and fix it, or save the $ and buy one for a little more with better mileage and less issues?
- What would YOU do? And have you dealt with these repairs?
My budget is very limited right now. I don't have a lot to buy a car let alone major repairs, and the insurance claim isn't even finalized yet (not sure if we will get any $ but had full coverage with loan payoff, still owed about $2k). The price is great but she needs something reliable that won't blow up with our 3 kids in it, not a money pit project she can't even drive. I'm trying to make her understand this but all she's looking at is how pretty and fast it is. I don't expect a Lambo for under $1k. But I just bought myself a 96 T-Bird 4.6L with 126k for $500. Could use minor repairs and cosmetics but has no problems as a daily while I fix them. I personally think it would be dumb to buy this thing if we can't drive it and need to put a bunch of $ into it, especially this close to the holidays. Better to wait, see how insurance turns out, and save up some cash to get something better. Help!!
Originally Posted by The Sunfire Guy
, flipped dogbone bushings, Transgo shift kit, Hayden 403 trans cooler,
