Looking into a 2006 Grand Prix with 150k miles for $1800. Thoughts?

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Hello all,

So I have recently found a 2006 Grand Prix SE with about 150k miles on the clock on craigslist. I haven't seen the car yet though I plan on doing that this upcoming Saturday. The pictures I saw of the car look good, and the owner say's it runs well and passed an inspection recently so that all checks out. He did mention that it is needed to give a little gas while starting to get it running. I'm guessing it is mostly highway miles due to the high mileage and it being only 8 years old. He apparently also installed a "nice custom sound system" in the car as well.

So, any thoughts on if it's a reasonable price and what should I be concerned about when I actually go see it in person?

Sorry if this is the wrong area of the forums to post this thread to.

**dsmuts** · 06-17-2014

Clean the throttle body and it'll fix the starting issue

**Madness** · 06-17-2014

post the craigslist ad and we can give you a better opinion

welcome on your 1st post

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Thank you Madness and thank you dsmuts for that answer!

Here is the craigslist ad: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/4522519084.html

The owner doesn't say too much about it but what i've told you is what i've messaged him about.

**Scottydoggs** · 06-17-2014

why so cheep tho? 150,000 aint all that high for miles..... i really thought it would look rougher. it looks to be in pretty good shape.

id go check it out, take it for a good test ride too. make sure it gets to full operating temps, maybe even get it looked at by a shop, you know inspected.

**Scottydoggs** · 06-17-2014

oh, and check it over for rust good, pull the rear carpet down and check the strut towers, and the rockers.

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Yeah, I asked the owner if there were any underlying issues that he didn't mention and all he said was that it runs great and everything is good as said in the ad. Thanks Scottydoggs, I appreciate the info. It would actually be my first car if it all checks out well and there is no major issues.

**Scottydoggs** · 06-17-2014

the pushing the gas to get it fired up, i bet thats a dirty TB. easy fix. just clean it lol

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Alright update with more info I have gotten from the owner:
Car is mostly city miles he states. He is the 2nd owner and a buddy of his was the original owner. Had frequent oil changes and tire rotations when needed. New tires on 3 months ago. There's a little rust in the rear driver side wheel well. Brakes are "good but not great". Also when I asked about the suspension he said it's "good but not great" as well... I asked how it runs, he said there is no engine or transmission issues.

**Scottydoggs** · 06-17-2014

so it sounds like it needs some work. but its priced right to fix it up and still be under the book value on your out of pocket costs.

and see just how little the rust is, if its just surface rust at this point it can be coated with por to stop the rust.

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Sorry that i'm giving info in little bits, i'm asking him about the car as we speak and he's filing me in with the info as best he can.

Now, the heat is great but the A/C isn't too strong. He says when you go over large potholes it's felt "in the car (shocks)". So it may need shocks but i'm going to look over the suspension as a whole. Thankfully there are no warning lights on in the dashboard.

**Scottydoggs** · 06-17-2014

sounds like it needs struts, brakes, lca's and maybe a few other odds and ends, nothing to really worry about. biggest cost would be the struts.

if you had to sink a grand into it your still ahead of the game price wise. shop costs would be way to much cost wise, i bet thats why hes selling it. he got the shop repair bill and said f that. that may be why hes selling it cheap too. to off set the work he knows it needs.

**BostonBoy77** · 06-17-2014

Yeah brakes are easy enough to do in my driveway, and the struts I can always buy and bring to my uncles shop to do them myself for free. Saves me the money. Sorry i'm new to this, what is an lca? lol I can literally do all the work myself one weekend if I really wanted to. KBB says the value to a private party is about 3k-4k if in good to very good condition.

**industrialfish** · 06-18-2014

And if really is an SE (can't tell from pics) you can sell me the SE body parts for a good chunk of his asking price :P

**Slick2500** · 06-18-2014

He meant base model. You can tell by the steel wheels and hub caps in the cl ad.
I know this is gonna sound dumb but that pic of the car is in front of a car dealer. So it might not even be a pic of the actual car.

**BillBoost37** · 06-18-2014

Price feels about right to me. There isn't a huge market in the CT/MA area for "high miles" even though it's low to us and we know these motors are good for it plus many more.

**BostonBoy77** · 06-18-2014

LOL so... The kid selling the car is a complete dumb ass. This makes sense now. He gave me the VIN to look it up and it comes back as a:
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. NOT a 2006. Not sure what to do now. I don't know if that's worse than the 06' that he claimed it was with 150k miles on it lol

Thoughts or comments on this guys? I can post the VIN for you seeing as I don't have a CARFAX account created.

**industrialfish** · 06-18-2014

It's hard to fake a VIN. It probably is at a dealership, and they have more than one GP on the lot.

**Russosaur** · 06-18-2014

I would be more concerned about rust on it, because I don't think 01s had fender liners (or it was 00s *shrugs*) so that stuff is probably rusty and rockers probably look sad. Won't know till you go see it. We got a thread tell you what to look for in a 97-03 car.

Sent from the Milky Way