SL2 Rotted out & fails NYS Inspection...*Sigh*

Well, my somewhat faithful 94 SL2 is going the way of greener pastures (or
Mexico/Latin America)....

Believe it or not, the roof rotted out from the inside where it meets the
windshield, and I developed 2 long stress cracks from the roof flexing. I
didn't know that the cracks were from the rot until the Safelite guy comes
to fix the glass and tells me he won't touch it because once he gets the
glass out, he's not sure he can get the new one back in. And even if he
does, it'll crack again, and I need to go to an auto-body guy to have the
frame repaired before new glass can be installed.

Well, the car has 180K on it, uses 2 quarts of oil per month, and I had to
slip the inspector $20 the last two years to get him to "help" it through
the emissions. The inspection is due in a few weeks again so between the
emissions and the windshield, I think it's time to put the little car out to
pasture...

Not sure exactly what I'm getting, (although wife is leaning towards a HHR)
but I want to thank all for the help over the years with the few problems I
did have....

Thanks again everyone, and wish me luck as I enter the world of
*gasp*.....car salesmen... ahhhhh!!!!!

Scott

 

My '93 SC2 is going to pasture (literally) by year's end. It can't pass
the NY state smogger, period. High HC's. We've replaced everything but
the motor already.

I'm looking at the Impaler or a Charger. The former's got the
reliability, size, mpg, features, but it's
booooooorrrrriiiiiinnnnnnggggg. The chargeer? If it drives as well and
it doesn't look like it'll fall apart like a Chrysler....

 

Nearly 12 years and 180k?...yeah you got your use out of it.

HHR? Stay away from that ugly beast and look at a 2.2L Vue.

Phil unless you were looking at a 06 Impala with a 5.3 dont bother with
EITHER! I'm supprised you of all people even considered those choises.
The only car in that price and class range that comes close to what
you're looking for is a 06 Grand Prix. It looks aggressive and is
superior in many ways. Especially since you seem to do most of the
servicing yourself.

 

Everyone's got their opinions, but my wife & I for once agree with each
other (regarding cars anyway) and actually find the Vue very *ugly*...(My
parents have one)..But like they say, opinions are like ---holes, everyone's
got one...I actually like the HHR's styling. The thing was, I was looking
for a cheap commuter car to replace the SL2, but with a 2nd kid on the way
and $ being tight, the HHR falls right into what we need, and in the price
range needed (mid to upper teens)....the thing is just a Chevy Cobalt
anyway....

BTW - Yea yea, I know I got the use out of the SL2, but it's not a good time
for me personally to have to go through the BS of looking for another
car....But when is it ever, right? heh...What's even better is that 12
years and 180K, and Chevy's going to give me $586 in trade in value!! A lot
better than I thought, considering that my dad was going to trade in this
SL2 for his Vue 3 years ago and they were only going to give him $800 for
it, so he gave it to me with 100K on it instead....

Oh and Phil - If you can find a station to *work* with, they got mine to get
through the "smogger" with a little trick...They disconnected the fan,
thereby getting the engine hot (almost red-line) by the end of the dyno
test....The hotter she ran, the better she did on the emissions. (Guess
burns off the gasses?) Not sure this works with all cars, but it he says it
does with the Saturns....Where in NY are you? If you want to give my guy a
shot before you give up on your car, let me know and I'll tell you via
e-mail (not here)...

Scott

 

Long Island, Nassau region.

 

I dunno, I kinda liked the Impaler. It's got a good amount of features
(on the 3LT trim level at least) and it's behaves when you drive it.

*sigh* I was thinking of a Caddy, but too much $$$. I'm not happy with
the choices out there but I've got a deadline unless the car 'magically'
passes...

I might look at it. I've been too drowned with Pontiac horror stories,
though mechanicaly it's pretty much the same car anyway...

The Impaler with the 6 didn't look to bad under the hood. Mostly
plastic covers to keep the curious curious. When will the auto makers
finally ditch this dead weight on cars? Didn't drive too bad either.
I'd look at a GTO but the interior SUCKS and the price does too. The
mpg is a touch low for a 2 times a week 75 mile each way field call, too


Seriously, if the Impaler didn't look so Booooooooooring, and was RWD,
I'd probbably go for it, hands down. I don't hate FWD *that* much, if
it's done right it's ok a lot of the time, but I'd like to own at least
one RWD car before I'm dead. The Mr Reliable car won't be it...

A friend suggested a Crown Vic. I'm not into land barges that ride like
a ferry in rough seas...

Actualy, none of Ford's stuff excites me, though the Mustang would have
but it's 1 liter and 100hp too small...

 

The new Impala is rwd? I Havent been paying attention. No wonder they
managed to shoe-horn that 5.3 in. Being an Impala, insurance shouldnt be
anymore for the 5.3l...Yet. Nothing justifies buying that 3.5/3.9
though.

Yeah who are those people? Those are people who havent owned a Pontiac
that was newer than 1992.

Its called an injector sight sheild and its easy to remove (twist off
oil fill neck) and doesnt weigh anything though I put mine away. I like
seeing and monitoring the condition of my plug wires. Also be sure to
let me know how hard it is to touch every fuel injector on the beautiful
series III 3800 and how hard it is to touch every fuel injector on the
3.5/3.9...

A better car in that class is a Bonneville SLE. Air ride suspension,
corners like a cat. Plus it gets wayyyyyy better gas mileage. Oh wait...
some overpaid ignorant GM bean counters killed that model this year...

Ford once and awhile really hits the mark on styling but when it comes
to everything under that skin...very ugly and poorly thought out. How
those ford engines run is beyond me. I've seen GM vehicles with less
clutter in the 1980's with smog control crap.

 

I'm in Suffolk - You willing to go out to around the Sayville area? If so
and are interested I'll send you the info....

Scott

 

Sure why not? It's not *that* far i do a 75 mile each way field
call once a week anyway heh.

 

Well blah blah,

Not that you talked me into it or anything, but more because that when I
went to the Chevy dealer to sign for the HHR, they rescinded their offer on
my trade-in down to $150!! Plus, after arraigning on Sat. to have the actual
car in question there last night for us to look at, they forgot to bring it
over from another lot making us wait for 1 hour with a 3 year old. In
addition, after arguing with the sales guy over the trade in value and what
he promised, I can overhear the manager calling my car "a piece of sh*t and
if the you want to give him $586 for it, it can out of your f---in' salary".
The whole experience and the way we were treated last night turned my
stomach, so I'm stopping tonight to get my deposit back. Anyway on a whim,
we stopped by the Saturn dealer on the way home, mostly to see what they
had. I really didn't like anything they had except the new Vue. I didn't
realize how much they changed since my parents Vue. (Theirs is the first
year Vue V6 AWD) My wife like the way that they changed some things and
rounded off the front end as well as more importantly for her, changed the
interior, so she's hooked on it. It's got a lot more room in it than the
HHR and more features for our money. The best thing was in addition to a
decent price we worked out, they then went out and checked my Saturn.
They're giving me $1K for trade in plus $500 for being a previous Saturn
owner. Yea, I know that the no haggle thing prevents them from playing
with the MSRP number, so this is where they can play with the numbers, but
there is the psychological impact of making me feel better about my car.
Anyway, payments work out to be $10 cheaper a month than the HHR, so I get
more car for my money. Is it my dream car? No, but I really had started out
looking for a cheap commuter car anyway, so....I guess it looks like I'll be
hanging around here after all, so welcome me back!

Oh, and my wife likes the special promo around here of "Buy a Saturn, get a
$500 shopping spree at Target"....Me personally? Give me another $500 off
the friggin' car, but Christmas is coming anyway, right?

Wish me luck!!

Scott

 

Welcome back? You going through with the buy already or soon? You're
looking at a 4 banger vue right? 6 cyl uses a timing belt and is a bit
of a pain and pricey to service anything on. I had a feeling the HHR
wasnt so great. It looked like it wasa rush job to target the PT cruiser
/ H2 market. (The kind of market that didnt really care if it was a good
or pratical vehicle, just that it looked different.) I never even knew
the HHR was coming out. There wasnt any hype that I read about and I
only learned of it months after it came out I think. Lots of hype about
a lot of other GM concepts that never make it, how the HHR made it, I'll
never know... At least the Solstice made it.

As far as small suv's go the Ecotec equiped Vue seems to be the most
pratical and by far the better looking. It wont tow much of a load but
who tows these days to justify these big gas sucking suv's? (I'm not an
environmentalist but living beyond ones needs in that manner is stupid.)
The ecotec with "traction control" should get you where ever you're
going. Not sure what the weather and roads are like where you're at but
AWD is often over kill so pass on that. (think they dropped the awd opt
for 4cyl. though) I dont know if GM's doing their 24hr test drive thing
still but be sure to take one simular to what you want for a test drive
if you havent already so if you have any issues with something you wont
be disappointed later.

Good luck.

 

Pretty much looks like we're going through....Yes, looking at the 4 banger,
but a 5 speed...Gets better mileage than the auto (sticker states
24city/30hwy which is identical to the HHR - Not that you get what it says
anyway, but it's a comparative guide)...Don't need the AWD anyway.....Long
Island is as flat as a pancake, and the snow we get here is not a big
deal.....Not worried about towing. I have a '99 F150 Lariat that is my real
baby. My wife went with my Dad to look at it during the day and drive
it again, and she's even more hooked....We'll see what happens...

Thanks again,

Scott

between

 

Phil,

Tried to e-mail you at the attached address, but it was kicked back. If
your still interested in the place, send me a e-mail addy to reply to...

Scott

 

Oh, it's usermail.com, not usermale.com. It confuses skimmers, and
sometimes usenet posters