OT: Pontiac Sunfire - Opinions please

[Bud Williams]

TJR,

Whoa...Not making any implications...I personally like the Miatas,

They are fun to drive, economical and dependable...

and can be souped up to race on the track....

Better than a VW Beetle convertible or Subaru...

The Ranger suggestion is also a good one.

The more kids in the car, the more distractions.

 

[Alan Peters]

The only thing I've heard is they are nortorious for coolant leaks. Other than that, I think it would be a great car for him. If he's good with a wrench, a great car to learn on.

 

[Timmy-The-Ute]

I had a 94 Sunfire, but I totaled it, so I can't say much about it.

 

[Shaun Tucker]

TJR,



Being that your son is 16 and has a fresh license he still has a lot of learning to do. Most of the valuable lessons I've learned about driving weren't taught in driving school.



You COULD show him that BMW, but more than likely he will have a couple collisions before he will truly learn how to handle a vehicle. Try to influence him to buy a nice $1500 vehicle (I bought a '91 2WD 2.3L 5 Speed Ranger for that price) and he should keep the rest for any repairs or upgrades he will want to do. I sold that truck for what I bought it for a couple years ago because I kept it in great condition.



I have to disagree about girls not digging the Ranger. You old farts may have forgotten how useful a full bench seat can be in a pick-up truck :lol:



Nah, but in all seriousness that should not be a determining factor in what vehicle he buys.

 

[Ray McIntireJr]

My wife's cousin has had a sunfire for several years and still running fine. That is a feat because that branch of the wife's family tree is notoriously hard on vehicles. Like very other used car you want to check it out very good as I'm sure you already know.

 

[FlipTrac_511]

I have to disagree about girls not digging the Ranger. You old farts may have forgotten how useful a full bench seat can be in a pick-up truck...

Yeahh...that bench did alright in my 'ol 95 Ranger. And some girls aren't so vein as to judge a dude by his ride. Emphasis on 'some'.

 

[Shaun Tucker]

And some girls aren't so vein as to judge a dude by his ride. Emphasis on 'some'.

why do you think I drive a Sport Trac with big ol' All Terrains on it! j/k....sorta

 

[Todd Z]

Tom,



My office is going to sell some of our 2005 Malibu's with about 60K on them, all highway and well maintained...



We also have several pick up trucks ( dodge Dakotas, But 2WD) the Malibu's will be around 4,500 for the cars... We have 3..



I think the trucks may be 5-6K



Todd Z

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Todd,



Please shoot me an email on what you would be asking for the "cream of the crop" of your '05 Malibus.



I have a brother-in-law that works as the head mechanic on a fleet of vehicles for a utility company near Rochester.



I'd rather have a more southern vehicle.



TJR

 

[JerryW Gilliland]

I bought my granddaughter a 98 Civic coupe with 116K miles for $4K two years ago.

She's wrecked it 4 times! (not the best judge of distance or slick roads)

Everything works on it and it's never let her down.

It's a stick. She was scared of it at first, but now that she has the process down, she said her next car will be a stick, too. She says her friends think it's cool that she knows how to drive a stick shift and they marvel at how easy she makes it look. LOL

It's a good car for a young person. Low insurance rates (before all the wrecks!) Great mileage and pretty decent looking.

I'm surprised at how many Civics I see in the high school parking lot.



The coupe is a lot cooler, supposedly, than a four door.

 

[James Kerr]

"The coupe is a lot cooler, supposedly, than a four door"



However, the 4 door is lighter and more rigid.

 

[Kate Andreozzi]

I owned a 97 Sunfire with very low miles just a few years ago. At first the car ran great, then I started having problem after problem. The most costly and unpredicatable problems by far were electrical! I had a Pontiac dealership try to fix it and they had to contact an electrical engineer from the factory that made the car! Very costly and time consuming fix! The car was less than 7 years when it literally started falling apart! I took very good care of it and it was nothing more than a money-pit! My first and last Sunfire and I wouldn't recommend that model to anyone. I bought it really cheap and it ended up costing more than it was worth. If you can do your own repairs, then maybe it'll be worth it, but if not, expect to throw money down in the future!



Hope this helped a little! Good luck!

 

[David Ponder]

TJR,



If you are looking for a cheap import, I started my son out with a 1995 Geo Prism.

Toyota engine and Transmission. Picked it up for $600.00 with 2 bad half shafts.

($50 each, 30 minutes per side install and we were good to go)

Good mileage and a cheap first car.

Ran perfect until he wrecked it on an Icy road...



He now has a 95 Escort Wagon. Bought it with 92K on it for $1800.



Dave

 

[gary s]

tjr,



i have an 06 matrix xr with 81k for 7.5k if you are interested. it is out of my fleet in very good shape with a great carfax report.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

UPDATE:



Thanks for all the advice.



Our son bought the vehicle shown above (link repeated below).



The dealer dropped the price by $1k, which is just a couple hundred over the Edmunds.com "private party" price, so we think he got a good deal.



He paid for it himself, pretty much wiping out his savings, but that was money he was working for for a car, and he will continue to work the next three summers before college (and during the school year on weekends) to build it back up.



We are proud of him.



Oh, and the dealer tossed in a 3 mo, 3k mile warranty.



TJR

 

[Jenn D]

Tom, that's a nice little car. Congrats to your son. Regardless of anyone's opinion, your son has learned a valuable lesson of which I commend you for teaching him. He no doubt will appreciate that car for years to come.

 

[Tom S]

Not a bad Sunfire there... GT w/suroof & monsoon stereo. Do a google search for "SUNFIRE EVIL EYES"... it looks great with that front bumper style w/fogs and still utilizes the factory headlamps, gives it a more-aggressive appearance.



I had a 97 Sunfire convertible with the 2.4 TwinCam & 5-spd manual... was a decent car! Sold it a year ago with 179k miles.



Unlike most 4-cylinders (especially imports), the 2.4 doesn't need to downshift to go up steep hills, TONS of low-end torque in comparison, engine doesn't have to scream to get it to move.



A few things to watch for... the timing chain tensioner is oil-pressure driven... don't go too far over on oil changes or you may have problems later on. The rear strut mounts (stock AND aftermarket) are crap and usually give out after a year or two... not that it's detrimental to driving or anything, but makes a rubbery rattle from the rear, will notice it more if driving with the rear seat folded down.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Winc, Jenn,



Thanks. I hope he is able to put 100k miles on her. Fingers crossed. Up to him now.



I wonder if it is worth going with synthetic oil for her?



TJR

 

[Dave S 2]

Nice TJR.

Very cool that your son was able to foot the bill for it. He'll surely have a lot more pride in ownership and care than if you had provided it for him.



Good luck...

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Already finding little stuff wrong. A leak in the wiper fluid (haven't tracked down where), one washer not spraying (may or may not be a coincidence on the leak), and the driver's door needed adjusting...fixed that one before he took it off the lot this morning.



Frankly, the types of issues above I've had with new cars. It seems I expect too much from cars. I expect everything to work and nothing to leak...which, as I said, for many new cars (including my '04 ST) that often seems like too much to ask. My ST had a power steering fluid leak.



Will watch it for a few weeks, then take her in for all the little nits before the 3 mo warranty ends.



Here is a pic of the proud boy and his new (to him) car:



[Broken External Image]:



TJR