new owner of a 2003 bonneville SLE

[cr8zbonneguy]

Hello guys, love this forum! i got my bonneville about 2 weeks ago... just signed up today, but been reading this forum for awhile, awesome how too's, stickys and all. anywho my galaxy silver 2003 bonnevile sle was a awesome buy, $500 dollars...... but it had a list of things that needed repair! the front bumper was the biggest(here in denver most cars dont have a front bumpers or part of it is gone thanks to snow, pot holes ect. ect.) the oil sending unit was bad, the fuel sending unit was bad, it had a bad maf sensor cel was on, brakes were in need, tires and wheels had seen better days, lower gas filler door rust the usual on these awesome cars! ive done quite of bit, ive replaced all the sensors, the bumper, wheels and tires, brakes, and added some extras that were not stock, tires and wheels from a 98 pontiac gtp daytona 500 that i sold and swapped wheels, thanks to the local salvage yards got my sensors, and bumper! ive added a auto dimming mirror, and the deluxe instrument pannel, ive sanded and repainted the gas filler place. with all that ive done i have some questions, i want to replace the interior lights with leds like i do for all vehicles, i see it has the weird hook type bulbs which ones do i use? this car drives awesome on the highway but once i go over bumbs theres a rattle/shake only over bumps? i do need to replace on of the sway bar link end it rusted off..... could that cause that? i know the wheel bearings need replaced my light abs is on and the miles on the car indicate as well for replacment. i added the deluxe insrument panel i have the compass module that came from the doner car and the wiring from the selector om the dash can i splice that in and make it work without replacing the entire wiring? only thing that works on the display is the avg. mpg. it seems like my sle was the lower level sle it has leather seats, no side airbag, no heated seats no heated mirrors no deluxe insrument panel no duel exsaust what gives? lol any help would be awesome thanks.

[1oldman]

Very glad you joined the "party" - LOL! Reads like you have done a number of things to your car. At $500 just off hand I'd say you did good. Post photos of your ride, inside and out. It would make it a lot easier to be able to tell about your ride. I don't know, especially about the 2000-2005 SLE's, but I have seen a number for sale with cloth interior. As for the rest of the options, I must defer to those actually knowledgeable about that. - BC

[nos4blood70]

Welcome!

If you do a search, you can find the LED bulbs. A couple of members have gone LED in the past.

Can we get some pictures of your car? ALL SLEs had dual exhaust, so something must be fishy here.

[cr8zbonneguy]

Once I figure out how to post pics I will.....? Lol. But the only thing I can can think of is I have a SE with leather? I will post some pics soon!

[jtmontano]

My SE is my baby lol. You'll love yours. I always have little projects here and there on mine. She'll keep you occupied. Good luck and welcome!

[ddalder]

Some SE's do have leather. The SLE typically did come with the Driver Information Center as a standard item. If you have a "Bonneville" emblem on the center lower part of your trunk lid and the fog lamps are on the very outside of the front fascia (instead of being on either side of the licence plate holder) then you'll have an SE. Lots of other little things, but these are some of the easy ones to spot. Either way, you'll quite enjoy the car.

You can also look at the 4th and 5th characters of your VIN...

1G2HX = SE
1G2HY = SLE
1G2HZ = SSEi/GXP

[cr8zbonneguy]

Ha ha ha good to know I guess I have an SE! still a really nice car! Before I got this I had a 1998 gtp Daytona edition was fast but not like the bonneville. This non supercharged 3.8 still has good power and AWESOME mpgs I'm getting 21mpg in mix city and hwy, I can only imagine straight hwy? We will be taking a road trip this summer all through California coast, can't wait to drive this beast! Just have to tackle the rattle/shake and some other minor issues....

[ddalder]

My first Bonneville was an SE as well. I really enjoyed it and it treated me very well. I think the only real mod I did to that one was adding the CD changer in the trunk. I'm sure you'll like yours!

[cr8zbonneguy]

This car has over 240xxx miles, and it runs great.... it was taken good care of from the previous owner, he did regular maintenance and all he used it for was hwy driving from denver to south Dakota and montana. Only upgrade it has is a remote start that works and a aftermarket radio. I've added the auto dimming rear view mirror, the deluxe instrument panel that I need to get the compass to work. I'll drive this for a while and try to find a 2005 SLE I love the body lines off those! I'm not a real fan of the fog lights in the middle! I love the roominess of it the ride and comfort!

[ddalder]

You sound pretty excited about it for sure. Perhaps consider starting a new thread regarding the compass installation and I'll throw some thoughts at you there...

Good luck with everything

[cr8zbonneguy]

Thanks for the info, and I will take you up on that, I'll ask in the right place about the dash.