Going to look at this....BOUGHT IT!!!

[nubuilder]

2002 SSEi
Asking price: $4500
157,780mi
dark blue
tan leather
heated seats
location: Dodge Center, MN

All I have asked so far is if it has been smoked in (no, it hasn't). To me, it's more important to just see everything in person and not as for a mental picture. I believe the seller is a woman, but we'll see if that holds true.

What I like about this car:
1)color - both interior and exterior; looks real sharp together I think
2)wheels - I'm not a fan of the "swoops"
3)year - I know it's minor (and I need to do more research on the year-differences), but I like the TC and heated seats buttons below the radio

What I don't like:
1)mileage - I would've preferred a little lower, but the pickings seem slim

Anything in particular I should be looking out for? (mechanical, physical, electrical)
What are the dangers of not running premium fuel? (I highly doubt they have; I would run it)

Any insight would be tremendously appreciated!!!!

Thanks,
Matthew

[Franksdad]

Great looking car I'd bring a mechanic or mechanically inclined friend with you. Definetaly interior and ext is in good shape

[nubuilder]

My buddy is coming with me. He's a car nut (restoring a car, rebuilt an engine or 2, or 3, rebuilt a lot of alxes, and has stripped down numerous for demo derbies). We've done a lot of work on vehicles, but him a lot more than I.


Just heard back from the seller. I asked if I could see the car cold (engine that is). They responded "yes, I actually haven't driven it for about 2 weeks". I guess we'll see if it starts after sitting for so long!! And it's been cold here too.

[nos4blood70]

I LOVE IT. That is very near to being my dream Bonneville. Looks pretty clean!

[DrOlds88]

To my eyes the carpets look dark...possibly wet. My 2001 Aurora had a sunroof leak that showed up as wet carpets on the driverside in front and back. I would check that just in case.
Otherwise a very nice looking Bonneville!

[1oldman]

I'm not the expert, but I'm 99.9% sure that the super-charged 3800's require premium fuel. If the engine has been run without premium fuel, it's probably toast. Others have asked similar questions about the 2000 - 2005 Bonnevilles. I don't remember the answers, but I'm sure there are caveats as with any car. As far as looks go, I think it looks great! Let us know how things go. - BC

[nubuilder]

I really like the blue and green colors, especially with the tan interior. There's just too many black and silver ones out there.

I'll definitely be checking out the carpet. It does look to have been an overcast day when they took the pics. We have had major melting in the past 2 weeks so hopefully I'll be able to tell...

Yes, all S/C'd engines should have premium. I think this is to avoid detonation and knocking.
I highly doubt the average person puts in premium as they view it as "the expensive stuff" and just go for the "cheap stuff" regular.
How bad could it really be on the internals? Are we talking carbon buildup or damage to pistons and bearings?

One thing is for sure, everything I find bad will make my offer go down.

[swampthing]

Flat out ask them if they ran premium, if they didn't its not necessarily a deal breaker but engine damage could have happened due to the fuel detonating. Make sure the engine gets nice and warm and listen for knocking

The bent 5's are actually one of the more popular wheels I'm sure that there are a billion Bonneville owners who would gladly trade you their 00-01 swoopies for those

[nubuilder]

Flat out ask them if they ran premium, if they didn't its not necessarily a deal breaker but engine damage could have happened due to the fuel detonating. Make sure the engine gets nice and warm and listen for knocking

The bent 5's are actually one of the more popular wheels I'm sure that there are a billion Bonneville owners who would gladly trade you their 00-01 swoopies for those

Oh, I do plan on asking them! I'm just going to ask "what gas do you put in? 87/regular?" and see what they say. I'm also going to test everything on the car, then come back and ask them if they stuff works or not. I want to know if they're being honest with me or not. I can easily tell if they're lying on just about anything other than maintenance done and what fuel has been burned.

I like the "bent 5's" the best (as far as a chrome wheel goes). They wouldn't be going anywhere!! The swoops are my least favorite. The "20 spoke" (right?) don't look too bad, but they'd be my choice if I had to stick with a 17" aluminum wheel for winter purposes.
I'm not a big fan of chrome wheels for the winter. My parents both have cars that have chrome wheels; 1 car has rim leaks like crazy, the other has some face flaking. They have a 1997 Dodge Stratus (which my brother now drives) with 179k on it with steelies and it has never had issues with leaks. Another funny thing, still has the original exhaust on it too!! (transmission, not so much. lol Only on it's 2nd one)

If I end up keeping the Bonneville (any one that I find) and selling my S10, I'd probably look into buying a 2nd set of steelies for winter use. (anyone got any links to a thread or pics that look decent on a SSEi? lol)

[SSEiMan01]

I dig it. Just go over it with a very fine tooth comb before you buy it. I love the color and options, but it's more important to know how it's been treated.

Assuming you've dug around on here there are plenty of threads about the issues these cars have, as well as the consequences of abuse, etc.

Good luck with the hunt!

[00Beast]

Not a bad looking car at all. A little TLC and it will look great. First step would be to clean up the headlights and fog lights. They age the car at least 5 years, whereas nice new ones make it look brand-new.

BTW, where are you at?

[nubuilder]

Went and looked at the car. Did indeed turn out to be a woman (probably late 20's, early 30's). She said the owners before her were an old couple from Iowa. She bought the car in 2007 with 76k (currently has just shy of 158k). Her reason for selling was buying a newer vehicle (a Toyota SUV I believe). She didn't really say anything was all that bad with the car. About all she told me was on her last oil change, they recommended a transmission flush and she had just had the car detailed around Christmas, but then is pretty much sat. She did start it early this morning to make sure it started (can't blame her; I would too after having it sit for 3wks), however it was still stone cold by the time I got there.

She did say she burned 87/regular in it. (I also noticed the gas door says "premium fuel only")

Quick overview of the car....
The exterior was very nice with the exception of 1)rust starting on the front lip of the hood, 2)headlights need to be restored/cleaned, 3)one for light is fogged, cracked, and burnt out, 4)rust starting to bubble under the gas cap, 5)the passenger fender doesn't quite line up flush with the door, and 6)it needs tires. The interior is also in very good shape: heated seats work, carpet freshly shampoo-ed (still had lines in it), original and cleaned floor mats, no tears in the seats (minimal wear on the entry parts of the front seats; edge of cushion and seat back), windows all work, locks all work, she said the sunroof works (didn't want to try it in case it was froze), radio and speakers were good, HVAC functioned fine as far as the heat and fan go, and nothing sagging. The engine was dusty (typical of Iowa) and didn't appear to leak anything. The transmission fluid was low, but smelled and looked alright.

Test drive....
I spent almost an hour test driving it. Did a little in town driving (traction control and ABS work). Got on the interstate and ran into a slight problem...hesitation. I believe this is due to bad plugs/wires. Because of this, the car was reluctant to go into final O/D, but it did on a slight down-grade. The car drove straight. Had a slight shimmy (probably due to tires). Steering was tight and responsive. Brakes were good, but had pulsation. Overall, I was pleased with how it went. She came with on the test drive which was fine with me.

Oh, did I mention she has full service records since she's owned it?!?!?! SCORE!!! She had a binder with all the receipts along with a timeline summary. I didn't have a chance to go through all of them, but things that stood out were these: S/C solenoid, MAF, new fuel tank (pump not listed), intake manifold gasket (didn't say which one), coolant/brake/power steering flushed, valve cover gaskets, MAF (yeah, again), A/C compressor and Drier/Oriface tube replaced. The car had a sticker saying dye was added in 2010. She also recently replaced the battery.
She said that the tank was replaced because if she filled it all the way up, the car would die or something. She did not know if the S/C oil had ever been changed. At her last oil change, they suggested new tires. She couldn't remember if they said anything about the transmission.

I think that all sums it up....might have missed something...

[swampthing]

any service engine lights on?

[nubuilder]

any service engine lights on?

Not while driving, but under heavy acceleration, yes.

[nubuilder]

Oh crap!

Forgot to mention....I GOT IT!!!! :)

(really hoping no one says I shouldn't have....)

[repinS]

Stay off the heavy acceleration until you can get premium fuel in the tank. You may be causing serious engine damage otherwise, if it hasn't happened already. We have seen several L67 supercharged motors go south because of 87 octane, the most common failure being chipped or damaged pistons.

The check engine light flashing (confirm with us you're not confusing it for the traction control activating) while driving mean serious issues, ie a misfire.

[swampthing]

Correct the ses flashing indicates something is pretty wrong, get that 87 out of there and get 93 in then you need to figure out why its misfiring

[nos4blood70]

YES! First off, no more going past a third throttle till you can get some premium in there. Might wanna sea foam it or put some fuel cleaner through with the premium. Replace your plugs and wires and see if that solves your hesitation. Drop the trans pan and put in a new filter and fluid. I wouldn't flush it if it has never been done before. Might as well put a shift kit in there just in case your PCS fails in the near future. You can get a fog light from Andrew, restore the head lights by yourself. Get some tires and you've got yourself a dang good car. The hood just needs a respray and you can go with the fiberglass route for fixing the fuel door rot as per Andrew's technique.

[RJolly87]

I am thinking, get it as low on gas as you can on gas, get 93 into it, and then do an italian tuneup, and see where you stand. I would start easing in to it, don't jump to full on blasting right away. You probably have craploads of junk piled up in the cylinders.

[nubuilder]

Stay off the heavy acceleration until you can get premium fuel in the tank. You may be causing serious engine damage otherwise, if it hasn't happened already. We have seen several L67 supercharged motors go south because of 87 octane, the most common failure being chipped or damaged pistons.

The check engine light flashing (confirm with us you're not confusing it for the traction control activating) while driving mean serious issues, ie a misfire.

Yes, the SES is flashing under heavy acceleration/load, not the traction control. Heavy acceleration was completely avoided on the trip home (was all interstate with no large hills).

Correct the ses flashing indicates something is pretty wrong, get that 87 out of there and get 93 in then you need to figure out why its misfiring

I filled the car up (a whole 4gal) when I got home with 93. It won't be going anywhere until tires, plugs, and wires.

YES! First off, no more going past a third throttle till you can get some premium in there. Might wanna sea foam it or put some fuel cleaner through with the premium. Replace your plugs and wires and see if that solves your hesitation. Drop the trans pan and put in a new filter and fluid. I wouldn't flush it if it has never been done before. Might as well put a shift kit in there just in case your PCS fails in the near future. You can get a fog light from Andrew, restore the head lights by yourself. Get some tires and you've got yourself a dang good car. The hood just needs a respray and you can go with the fiberglass route for fixing the fuel door rot as per Andrew's technique.

I kept it under 2500rpm during acceleration. I will be running SeaFoam through the tank, probably multiple times, in the spring after maintenance. I would like to drop the pan and change the filter, but no flush. Do you have a link to an easy/good shift kit? I'll most likely be in contact with Andrew once I have a chance to look the car over more and in better detail. I will attempt the headlights myself before doing anything else with them. I'll be looking for tires now, and waiting for a buy 3, get 1 free sale, unless I find a better deal somewhere else. (that sale is usually in March I think) There will be some searching on tires done on here first, but there may also be a thread started... (don't worry, searching will be done first) I'm going to work with my buddy and his dad on repairing the hood lip, and asking them about the fuel door also.

I am thinking, get it as low on gas as you can on gas, get 93 into it, and then do an italian tuneup, and see where you stand. I would start easing in to it, don't jump to full on blasting right away. You probably have craploads of junk piled up in the cylinders.

I'm not familiar with the term "Italian tuneup". Care to elaborate?