Help me buy a car

[94SilverSSEi]

Ok so im looking at different cars and 3 different ones Ive found are '03 Cadillac Deville '02 Seville SLS or '02 Bonnie SLE
I cant decide on this I will be buying one of these just wondering 148k 72k or 86k 135k
if the Northstars are as reliable or if anyone knows about common problems with these since I know very little about of these 3 which one is going to be the most reliable Im thinking the Seville and that is only about $20-$40 a month more on the loan

Help Me

Any other suggestions must be 2000 or newer

P.S. I love the big boats and will never own a four banger

Thanks for the help in advance

[sandrock]

I'm not too schooled on Northstars, but when I saw that the starter lies between the cylinder banks...meaning, under the intake manifold...that gave me reason enough on to NOT learn them, since I wouldn't own one.

[GXP Venom]

Northstars are a quality, tight, reliable engine, But,.... They dont enjoy the reputation of making it to the 200K mark and beyond like the 3800. As they age and problems arise you will find repairs complicated and expensive. And if the problem is with the lower end or heads, the engine is done. I love my Northstar but wouldn't consider owning a used one. Especially one approaching 100k or beyond.

[Gumball]

being that you are not really asking about you own car maintenance, I am moving this to Gen chat.

for those who want to contribute, he had this posted in the Northstar/GXP section. so keep that in mind.
dont just scream SSEi.3800. be helpful. not opinionated.

good luck in your purchase.

[petraman]

I've always been a huge fan of the Seville, and the '02 is a good year. Not the best, but at least the oil seals were taken care of by that time. In '03 the engine received a steel crank and a couple other enhancements that made it a lot more reliable (long term). So the DeVille would probably be the best bet reliability wise. How many miles do they have on them? Again, I agree that buying a N* over 80k miles should be done with care. I'd ask for service history if possible. Now, the SLE? Obviously most people here would say buy it, but with my luck with the 3800/4t65, I'll never buy another one. It's a weird engine/tranny combo, and my car, no matter how much money I put in it, has never ran right. I'm sure most people on this forum will disagree with me, and that's fine, but I'll never buy an L36 again. The Bonneville as a car though, well, as you know, is a fantastic piece of machinery. So, if you get the engine/transmission checked out thoroughly, that would probably be a great bet too. So, a few things matter here... The Bonneville will be much cheaper to fix than the N*s, and will get much better gas mileage. Again, mileage is a huge factor too, and also how it's been kept. If the tranny fluid is dark or smokey, or if it shifts too hard, I might take it to a dealer or something to get it checked out.

[PRD2BDF]

any particular reasons why you picked those three cars?

[94SilverSSEi]

The only reason I picked them was because I like them and I would be able to afford them

Another option would be 05, 06, 07 Grand Prix
Recently found 07 with 90k for $9k Im thinking about it but dont have the money right now

How does the grand Prix compare to the Bonneville and no its not supercharged
I cant afford it if I get that new of a car



Also its alittle confusing above but he Sevilles I found have either 86k or 72k the Bonnie has 135k and the Deville has 148k

[petraman]

The series III (what's in the grand prix) has an updated aluminum intake manifold, drive by wire (no throttle cable, just two servos) and I think some other changes to the bottom end. (I know the L32 has forged rods). The 4t65e in the GTP, I know, was updated quite a bit too, to accommodate the TAPshift option, but again I don't know about the L26.

Oh, and what about the prices????

[PRD2BDF]

There are many many cars that are cheaper and are much more reliable. Have you looked at 97-04 GPs? The coupes are handsome. There's Monte Carlo SSes, and so on.

[94SilverSSEi]

The '02 Bonnie is $5000
The '02 Sevilles are $6000
The '03 Deville is $4500 and
The Base model '07 Grand Prix is $9000

But all of these would have the same mpnthly payment just a different loan term

[petraman]

those are *dang* good deals, everyone of them. I'd still pass on the Deville just because of the mileage...

[PRD2BDF]

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/ctd/873994532.html

That's one potential in your price range

[94SilverSSEi]

Ok just to make sure Im right the Grand Prix GTP was the only one that was superhcarged correct?

[petraman]

GTP = Supercharged.

[94SilverSSEi]

Ok why then did I just find one with N/A engine swap????

[petraman]

Are you positive it's a GTP? It might have been a GT with GTP badges on it, that's not unheard of. Also, GTs are available with the HUD too, so it's pretty hard to distinguish a GT from a GTP without looking under the hood...

[94SilverSSEi]

Yeah it had the badges and special seats that said GTP

[petraman]

Hmm, what year was it? If it was '96 and below, then yes, it would be a 3.4 DOHC

[94SilverSSEi]

Nope it was a 2003 GTP but it had the N/A Series 2

[Gumball]

Hmmm maybe an l82 3.1 SE with GTP badges?
or a GT with a L36 with GTP badges?