Trading in a dead horse for an antelope

[hellziggy]

Well, the '89 Bronco that Rick bought 2 years ago died on Friday. Not too bad considering we expected the thing to just be getting us by for 6 months or so. And it still runs, it just dropped the transmission so it won't go anywhere. Hellbob really couldn't have picked a much better place for it to die. It was the bottom of the exit ramp near home and the gas station literally right across the street is the one AAA dispatches tow trucks from so he was able to just walk across the street, say it was dead, and get it towed on home. 
Saturday we went out in the lovely drizzle to look at cars. We went to the Saturn dealer first and we found a 2002 Chevy Impala for a good price and decided to get that. We go back tonight to sign the financing papers and Hellbob will have a functioning vehicle again! 
Of course, now he'll be able to sneak into the house all stealthy like since I won't hear him coming from a block away!

Comments

[shrique.livejournal.com]

Must be this one

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=219642598&dealer_id=71656&car_year=2002&search_type=both&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=CHEV&transmission=&model=CHEVIMP&distance=25&make2=&address=55420&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2002&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=2002&drive=&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=10

[hellbob.livejournal.com]

Yep! That's the one. I had seen that ad before we left and it didn't really look impressive. We quickly whittled it down to that one and a Ford Escape that was at the very edge of our price range and substantially higher than the Impala. There's only so many vehicles I really fit in, after all. The Escape was nice but it was much more expensive and just a no-frills base model while the Impala had all the cool bells and whistles.

Comments?

[shrique.livejournal.com]

Comments? About cars? Never. (GRIN)

First off make sure you do a Carfax on it if they haven't already. some dealerships give that to you as part of the deal. According to CR it's on the high side of normal for that car (probably due to all the gadgets) so if it's been a rental it might not be a good deal. The CR reports lists some of the more common problems with it. If you can get them to give the car a once-over on the list below or if they have done it already they give you the report on the car. If you don't feel comfortable with that you can also take the car to a mechanic your comfortable with and they can do the once over too. Dealerships will usually let you do that. If they don't then there might be something wrong.

Cooling: This probably has the pink 100k mile coolant. When you check that stuff it's important to have them check the PH balance of the coolant. If its off from normal it can corrode the plastic of the cooling system.

Electrical: I guess from the link i found it has some issues with electrical. Most seems to be the anti-theft passkey having problems. I guess if it starts then no problems. otherwise just make sure you check all the lights, switches etc. http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Impala/2002/electrical/index.shtml

Suspension: On this one do the old bounce test and see if there is any obvious leaking from the struts. Also check tire wear. If the wear is off you might have issues with the suspension too. Besides just an alignment.

Brakes: Obviously the big one is just the pads on this one. Also make sure that after you pump the pedal then push hard on the pedal that it doesn't fade to the floor after a little while of pressure.

Exhaust: Umm, if it's loud then...(GRIN) I suppose you can also just check to see if anything is obviously rusting through hangers etc.

Hell I can't think of anything else. Does all that make sense?

[hellbob.livejournal.com]

I checked most of those things but I don't think I did get a CarFax yet. Everything seemed to be on the up and up. Suspension was a little soft, but I've read that that's a common problem with the model. It's got the 3.8 engine, so that should be solid at least.

I'll have to check into the cooling system, thanks for that. I didn't go crazy checking but everything seemed to be working. I have a three day return option and 30 days to exchange, so it should all work out okay.

[shrique.livejournal.com]

Cool. I like the three day return. That way if you wanted to you could have a mechanic do all the fun stuff like check the compression etc.

I heard about the coolant just last week. Apparently if it's off base for way too long it can really do some good damage. This one isn't too old so I wouldn't be horribly worried about it. See if they will toss in the 100k service on the coolant. Couldn't hurt to ask.

Damn dude that thing is going to be like a Cadillac compared to your Bronco. (GRIN) That and your gas mileage should go up quite a bit. Ive heard of people getting in the 30's on the highway. They have a nice tall cruising gear that really helps.

[hellbob.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a much sweeter ride, that's for sure. The MPG avg that the computer had on it was 24, so that seems pretty good. The mileage ratings in the guides put it on par with our Saturn, so that's fine by me.

[scubagrrl.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the new car! :) I hope it holds up as well as the Bronco did.

Definitely run a CarFax on it.

That's great that you get three days to return it.

[hellbob.livejournal.com]

Thanks! We've been pretty happy with that Saturn service place.

[scubagrrl.livejournal.com]

A car place you can trust is gold.