What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

shopping for a school car

oakknight said:
While shopping for a school car i came across this:
http://prideautoplaza.squarespace.com/1980-chevrolet-monza

not sure why i am interested in it , but i am.lol

send help.
Click to expand...

I almost bought one of these in early 90's it was an 81.
I like it but not a family car, nor really a sports car.
I don't think I would get one now that I have a family.
It was good for a couple of guys or even squeeze in another 2 in the back.
 
It would just be a school car for me right now my DD is a 2500 Hd 8.1 '06
that would almost triple my highway mpg.
and just me and a fiancee .
 
Show it to the dudes on the H-body forum, they are rabid for that stuff. Two of my customers are H body wierdos and that's all they talk about. They aren't ghey but they ain't gettin' any either, I think it's a Vega-Monza curse. That Monza is mint but I'd look at it every day and think small block.
 
Look at that factory AM radio! Hate to say it, but I would totally pick that thing up for a DD. Would be far better than my Safari for DD duties, and wouldn't matter that I can't fit the family since it would just be my work car. It is so rare to find a nice clean car like that, the interior looks like it just rolled off the assembly line.
 
ok... ill rain on the parade.

youre lookin for a school car, so im guessing fuel economy and reliability are number one priorities. judging by that ad youre looking to spend around $4000 on a car. in my experience, youve gotta spend about $5000 for something that will be worry free, and reliable. I scored my 2000 TDI jetta for $4700 on craigslist, it gets 40-60 mpg depending on how im driving, and that 40 mpg is when im driving like i stole it and im running from the cops. in a year and a half ive had one check engine light, which was $20 to fix, bad coolant temp sensor. and its got over 160,000 miles on it now. bought it with 126,000 on it.

im just sayin, that monza would be a great car to drop a small block in and make a saturday night special out of, it would be a super sleeper, but for a commuter??? with a 3 speed transmission? and a big honkin V6? dosnt sound right to me. hit up the list of craig, and just search your area for cars between $3500 and $5000 (anything less than $3500 will likely be a project car in the making) and see what comes up. id look for something with a four cylinder, and at least a 5 speed manual trans.
 
raining in the parade is fine .lol

a little more on my search...

I first saw that Monza on CL . That dealer is a regular dealer in the aspect that he doesnt really work like a regular dealer to sling as many POS vehicles he can . Its a MOM n Pop Place that e works when he wants to and sells and trades older vehicles mainly. Occasionally runs CL ads to draw attention to them. very nice guy too I might add .

Current vehicle situation is this .
My 2006 GMC 2500 HD 8.1 allison. 176K showing some oil leak issues. also sees duty as my tow rig(original intended purchase)

My 89 K5 157K while street legal and used in an auxillary role. not so practical as a DD

My fiance' has a 1999 grand cherokee 189K 18 mpg avg has some electrical or sensor issues. Dying after start , hard restart or morning start, not throwing codes. One shop had it for a month , and couldn't isolate the problem.

Driving:
Fiance' drives 45 min one way to work plus errands etc
My drive to school is only 17 miles one way few errands.

When we are together we take the HD. it is the most comfortable and most reliable. But at 9-12 MPG not the most practical.

There are only 2 of us and 2 big dogs . no kids and none planned, so a family truckster isnt a requirement.

We have looked at the TDIs we love em . But honestly if we got one , the fiance' would be the logical choice to drive it, given her distance traveled, i wouldnt see it cept on weekends.lol
So i was looking for a vehicle around 4k as you sumized that would be reliable to drive for my school and a pt job in the near future(provided i cansurvive with calc 2 and physics at the same time, my old brain is fighting me, lol) The Monza would be reliable with only 37K miles regularly services and driven by an old lady. It would also get about 25+ on the highway i would think, most of my driving is highway.that is a good increase.
We have been looking at craigslist not much to choose from to be honest. and the few tdi's i have seen have gone for 5800+ for the older ones.

I posted the Mona cause i thought it was kinda cool in an odd way. Not sure why i like it but i do , maybe cause im old and I was 14 when that one was made.lol
The vehcle i see in my area for about 4k look a bit like this :
http://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/2081873276.html
120-160K + miles.
 
If he was trying to squeeze every dime he can, maybe your thought process is good, but as I see it he is upgrading from a 8.1l 3/4 ton truck to a nice smooth small 3.8 V6
That is a big improvement, and looks like he can afford it if his DD was a 2006.
I couldn't afford a 15 year old car when I was going to school.
It was $500 and it didn't need a thing ran fine for 3 years until I crashed it.
Was a 1975 peugeot 1.4l four banger.


K5dreamer said:
ok... ill rain on the parade.

youre lookin for a school car, so im guessing fuel economy and reliability are number one priorities. judging by that ad youre looking to spend around $4000 on a car. in my experience, youve gotta spend about $5000 for something that will be worry free, and reliable. I scored my 2000 TDI jetta for $4700 on craigslist, it gets 40-60 mpg depending on how im driving, and that 40 mpg is when im driving like i stole it and im running from the cops. in a year and a half ive had one check engine light, which was $20 to fix, bad coolant temp sensor. and its got over 160,000 miles on it now. bought it with 126,000 on it.

im just sayin, that monza would be a great car to drop a small block in and make a saturday night special out of, it would be a super sleeper, but for a commuter??? with a 3 speed transmission? and a big honkin V6? dosnt sound right to me. hit up the list of craig, and just search your area for cars between $3500 and $5000 (anything less than $3500 will likely be a project car in the making) and see what comes up. id look for something with a four cylinder, and at least a 5 speed manual trans.
Click to expand...
 
Get a vehicle about 10 years old with a 3.8L V6 in it, not a vehicle 30 years old.

The Monza is cool, but it needs a V8 in it, not a DD car.

I had a 98 olds intrigue for many years, 3.8L V6, leather, bose stereo, sunroof, CD changer, got 29 MPG on the highway, and at 160k miles, still drives smooth. I would get another one in a heartbeat if I was in your shoes.
 
what about driving it original for a couple years ,then slipping a ls1 in it :)
I like the way this one looks. but wouldnt want to hot rod it right away. Stock reliable and simple is good for now.

I have all the creature comforts in the HD its like sitting in the living room with all the leather and heated seating cd etc.

please keep the comments coming .i value the input.
 
hey hey, dont get me wrong, i think the monza is very cool, and i would drive it before a civic for sure, im just sayin.

the other issue with the jeep, is if its got these issues, does SHE really wanna drive it that far, where it may leave her stranded.

i say, sell the jeep, buy a TDI, let the pretty one drive the TDI, and get yourself a vespa to drive to school :woot:
 
Ouch a vespa .. A vespa ... and I thought this was a brotherhood .. lol

we have a savings plan for her TDI . the short term get me a school car . she can drive the HD while we sort the jeep out , she wont drive the blazer at all ! shes scared of it.She likes the Jeep minus the frustration factor, and is specific about a newer TDI.
 
define newer TDI...

The TDI engine went through i think 4 models from the mid 90's to now. the first one was a non-turbo IDI engine, not really worth looking at.

the ALH like mine was from 1999.5-2005.5 and is generally accepted as the most reliable, and most fuel efficient version. Mine is GL with no sunroof (no leaks to fry onboard modules), manual windows (far less common to fail), manual trans (dont even consider an auto for this year, worse mileage and prone to failure after 100k miles). Mechanical rotary pump direct injection turbo. this car will last through the apocolypse.

2005.5-2006 they had the pumpe duse (PD) engine, same basic setup as a detroit diesel with unit injectors instead of a central pump, had more factory power than the ALH, and was pretty reliable, except that they had some camshaft eating issues, could have been due to people using non synthetic oil, not really sure.

The new common rail (CR) engines are marvels of modern engineering, and have alot more power than the other ones, but get slightly less mileage, but the car overall is way more well equipped, larger, and more comforateable.

dunno if youve already found it, but if you wanna do some homework on the TDI's and which one will best suit your needs, hit up www.tdiclub.com, im grizzlydiesel over there. good group of guys, kinda like here. but for german cars instead of american trucks.
 
oakknight said:
My fiance' has a 1999 grand cherokee 189K 18 mpg avg has some electrical or sensor issues. Dying after start , hard restart or morning start, not throwing codes. One shop had it for a month , and couldn't isolate the problem.
Click to expand...


may or may not help you, just had a friend with a grand cherokee, strait 6, had a stalling and rough running issue, no codes, finally crapped out by spraying coolant all over the place. turns out her water pump failed and the bearings binding up was stalling out the engine. I replaced the water pump, its been running like a champ since, apparently its a fairly common thing for those jeeps. Also, while i was at the parts department, they said alot of them had plastic thermostat covers which cracked and leaked, the replacement part is an aluminum housing, id do that at the same time. replacing the water pump isnt too bad, i did it in 20* weather with hand tools at 8:30 at night in about 2... maybe 2.5 hours.

anyway, something to look into. might help ya out.
 
I like it, and would buy just cause it's old school, and You can work on them easily. Not all plastic, or fiberglass.

And yeah when money is right its scream 400 small block, turbo 400 and head for the strip.
 
thanks dreamer. What is odd about it is it doesnt always happen. Yesturday morning it started right up but sputtered and died before she could get it out of the garage. and couldnt restart it. she took the HD and i went nd looked at it in a couple hours after she left.
It started sputtering and i gave it some gas and it started right up and continued to to run the rest of the day . four or five stops , about 40 deg out side. its been to aq dealership twice , they did all the normal stuff . fuel cleaning efi etc , new plugs , ignition pack over hte last year. Then a couple months ago had it in a reputable repair shop for over a month. they said it failed two or three times for them , no fuel pressure drops no codes, no codes on thier machines . Oh and i replaced a bad IAC module last fall.
there are no abnormal noises coming form the pump that i have noticed nor has it had any over/under heating issues...
 
K5dreamer said:
may or may not help you, just had a friend with a grand cherokee, strait 6, had a stalling and rough running issue, no codes, finally crapped out by spraying coolant all over the place. turns out her water pump failed and the bearings binding up was stalling out the engine. I replaced the water pump, its been running like a champ since, apparently its a fairly common thing for those jeeps. Also, while i was at the parts department, they said alot of them had plastic thermostat covers which cracked and leaked, the replacement part is an aluminum housing, id do that at the same time. replacing the water pump isnt too bad, i did it in 20* weather with hand tools at 8:30 at night in about 2... maybe 2.5 hours.

anyway, something to look into. might help ya out.
Click to expand...

We had this same problem on my step-daughters Jeep Cherokee...replaced the water pump and ran fine until some idiot lady with no license or insurance rear ended it and totaled it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom