Potential GP or Bonneville owner

**Supas Mom** · 02-06-2011

Hey guys, my name is Sam and recently my Honda crapped the bed on me and after talking with a few mechanics they recommended the 3800 engine if I was looking for reliability.

I'm looking for something a bit bigger now as the kids are growing like weeds and I've heard these get 25mpg on the highway? Do they all get that good of mileage?

I would really like a Grand Prix but have been looking at everything from 98-04 Regals, Intrigues, Grand Ams, Bonnevilles and so on. Are there any years or models to watch out for?

Going to look at a 03 Grand Prix GT with 77k for 6k and a 98 Intrigue with 59k that's 4k.

Any suggestions or tips would be great, I'm looking to get 150k out of whatever I get and I'm hoping the 3800 is the right engine for us.

**gtpinsc** · 02-06-2011

stay away from naturally aspirated 97's... with a few basic mods i get 30+ mpg on the highway in my GTP... and yes they are pretty reliable cars.. ive owned 3 cars with 3800's in them. the last 2 i sold have over 200k on them and i still see one around town that was sold 4 years ago. things to look for... transmission problems.. lower intake manifold gaskets..rocker panel rust... strut tower rust.. im sure some one else will chime in... im half asleep and typing and sure im forgetting something. oh yea stay away from intrigues... theyre 3400 not 3800 and if u can find a low mileage regal... theres less of a chance that its been abused.

**mystic231** · 02-06-2011

My GTP will do 32 mpg highway; the GT does about 25 mpg highway. Stay away from '97 and '03 models. Best year IMO is the 2000, last year for automatic air. I expect 300,000+ miles out of each of mine, several guys in town are over 400,000 miles.

**BillBoost37** · 02-07-2011

Any 97+ GP, 97+ Regal, 98 only Intrigue, 96+ Bonneville, 96+ Park Ave, 96+ Riviera etc have the 3800 drivetrain.

With growing kids, I'd suggest more toward the Regal/Bonneville/Park Ave for the added room. Being in Boston, a Regal will have the best turning ability. However for fuel mileage on trips etc, the Bonneville/Park Avenue both have different gear ratio's in the transmission that can get better mileage than the Regal. That's mostly for trips though.

For comfort and options, the Grand Prix is going to come in last place in my opinion. They were designed to be a suedo sports car and come up short in comfort/feature categories.

Bonnevilles/Park Ave/Regals will have options like dual heated seats, heads up displays (even on some non supercharged models), comfortable seats, four doors for ease of loading the kids etc etc.

**txslow6** · 02-07-2011

Everyone hating on the bastard 97 GTP. :lol:

Mine currently has 188K miles on it on the original engine.

I personally like the 97's cause they don't have dual electronic climate control. That's just me though. Good luck in your search.

**BillBoost37** · 02-07-2011

To me there is nothing bastard about the 97 GP/Regals. Just the first year. If any of the folks that think it's a bastard child because things changed in subsequent years, they should look at all the changes that happened per year.

Or learn about 3800's and realize 95 was the true bastard year of the Series II 3800. Because the craziest stuff wasn't done in a GP or Regal because they weren't considered worthy of the 3800 motors at that point.

Only NA was Series II, L67's were Series I's.
OBD 1.5 engine management
Etc etc etc.

**tayl5645** · 02-07-2011

Ive now owned both the GP and the Bonnie. In my opinion the GP is better performance (not as boat like) but to that point the Bonnie had more room. Not to mention if you get the SSEI Bonnie you can have the air ride suspension which made for a nice easy ride. Either way 3800 is a great engine

**VictorSmalls** · 02-07-2011

welcome

GP's can take a real ass beating

**SlowNA06** · 02-07-2011

All of the 3800's before 2005 will eventually need the lower intake manifold gasket replaced/upgraded with a new aluminum one when the coolant starts to mix with the oil. If you don't do it yourself, this is still only like $200 at a shop.

The power steering fluid reservoir is inconveniently located behind and below the alternator, so some people forget to check it regularly.

**gtpinsc** · 02-08-2011

Originally Posted by SlowNA06

All of the 3800's before 2005 will eventually need the lower intake manifold gasket replaced/upgraded with a new aluminum one when the coolant starts to mix with the oil. If you don't do it yourself, this is still only like $200 at a shop.

The power steering fluid reservoir is inconveniently located behind and below the alternator, so some people forget to check it regularly.

LOL i called for a price for ****s and giggles and was quoted 600+ dollars.