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Hello, My neighbor is selling his l997 Monte Carlo LS with 138,000 miles (mostly freeway miles), for $2,000. He has maintained the scheduled service and taken care of any repairs that it needed. Car was purchased new by him, and kept in a garage when not driven.. Should I be concerned about the mileage or hugh unexpected repair bills, especially the timing belt/chain? This has never been changed. Engine and transmission appear to be sound, and there's no leaks.
Would appreciate your feedback since I've never owned a Monte Carlo, but they seem to be liked by their owners. He's selling because he got a new car.
Hello, My neighbor is selling his l997 Monte Carlo LS with 138,000 miles (mostly freeway miles), for $2,000. He has maintained the scheduled service and taken care of any repairs that it needed. Car was purchased new by him, and kept in a garage when not driven.. Should I be concerned about the mileage or hugh unexpected repair bills, especially the timing belt/chain? This has never been changed. Engine and transmission appear to be sound, and there's no leaks.
Would appreciate your feedback since I've never owned a Monte Carlo, but they seem to be liked by their owners. He's selling because he got a new car.
Thanks!
Sounds like the price is right BUT you will be spending money for repairs in the near future so figure this in
You shouldn't be worrying about any timing belts or chains, because the 3.1L v6 in the LS has a chain with no scheduled interval. If that thing broke, your valves are gone and it wasn't meant to be, anyway.
That engine, like any other GM v6, is known to be bad on intake manifold gaskets. If the factory-issued plastic versions are still in place, that's going to be worth getting fixed.
I think only the z34 that year got the DOHC 3.4L v6 and that is an entirely different and finicky animal of its own.
Although I would be buying this car from a neighbor, and he seems like the type who would take care of his cars, being an engineer himself, should I take it to a mechanic and have it checked out?
Though I'm more of a Ford guy, I think GM makes an excellent sedan. I had two Chevy Luminas, one was a 93 and the other a 94 both with the 3.1 litre engine.
I took both of them north of 200,000 miles with no major problems.
Sounds like a pretty good deal for two grand. Like others have said, with a car that old with that many miles, you're gonna have some repair issues. You're still in better shape than having a monthly car payment though......
Although I would be buying this car from a neighbor, and he seems like the type who would take care of his cars, being an engineer himself, should I take it to a mechanic and have it checked out?
If you want some extra peace of mind, yeah. I think you're alright, though. I wouldn't fret that much if as you say, most of the mileage is highway driving; such is a lot more easy going on the mechanicals compared to stop-and-go mileage of the city.
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