Hello everyone.
I am about to trade my motorcycle for a 2002 GP GTP (possibly). I have a son about to turn 16 in Apr and he found this car that he likes. It has 132K on it and seems to be stock. Owned and opperated mostly by the wife of a cpl with 7 kids (together). I am not very familiar with Pontiacs as this will be our first. I have owned several makes but never a Pontiac.
I have owned in the past 1985 Dodge Daytona (turbo), 1978 Murcury Bobcat (glorified Pinto), 1989 Dodge Shadow ES (turbo), 1976 BMW 520, 1976 VW Scirocco, 1976 Pinto, 1980 Pinto, 1972 Ford F250 (Camper Special), 1985 S10, 1974 Chevy Cheyenne, 1972 VW Super Beetle, 1994 Ford Areostar, 1996 Dodge Stratus, 1999 Plymouth Voyager, and a 2003 Kia Sedona.
Currently own a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser, 2003 Monte Carlo LS (3400), 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel and a 1961 Ford Falcon Resto Mod (project ongoing).
The 2003 Monte Carlo belongs to my oldest son and now son #2 is turning 16 and Im trying to trade my 2005 Suzuki Boulevard C50 for the Grand Prix. The wife of the couple has a new car and wants the hubby to get a bike so they can go riding. Since she wants a cruiser (apparently the hubby has a need for speed) and she no longer has a need for the Grand Prix this seems to be a match made in heaven. My son has a picky sense about him as he doesn't like most of the early 2000 type cars as he says they have a wedge shaped nose and he doesn't like them that way. He hates the brothers Monte Carlo for this very reason. He prefers the more rounded nose like that on the Chrysler Sebring, 300 M, and so on but says the front end on the Grand Prix is acceptible. Son #2 isn't like my oldest as he is very careful and doesn't like to push anything on the edge for a lack of confidence and hes kinda OCD about making mistakes. Im not very concerned about the added power of the supercharger as I seriously doubt if he will ever seriously punch it to see what it will do. If it were my oldest it would be a very different story.
I joined on here to see if I could pick up on any major concerns about the car, especially drivetrain. I had one guy who claimed to be a mechanic to say something about the cam shafts in the 3800 being hollow. When I mentioned it was suppercharged he said oh well thats a different animal. I have a cousin who has had several of the Grand AMs and I remember they had really cheap interriors to them that seemed fall apart or break often. The GTP seems to have a nicer interrior to it and the seats arent in bad shape at all. The guy claims that everything works on the car and has 132K miles on it. Its red in color and has a sunroof. Other than that I dont know much about it. I have read the buyers guide post on here and am glad I did as the author pointed out several things that I probably wouldnt normally look for, especially the antisway bar.
We are to go this weekend to look at the car and possibly do the swap. If I do then I may become a pretty active member as I like to learn as much about a car as I can. Im not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy building my resto mod Falcon. The more modern cars are to constrictive for me to work on. I prefer the 60's. The only concern I have at the moment about this car is can my son sit behind the wheel and be able to see out the windshield. He is 6'6 1/2 in tall and the front may have too much of a slope for him to be able to see out of? May have to lay the leat way back like my oldest has to do in the Monte Carlo (he is 6'7 305 (plays tackle on offense and will be playing for South Alabama next year in college).
Thank you all for this forum. I hope to make friends and pick you guys for information as needed.
