how did you get your beloved Bonneville

[ricosuave420]

hey, just wanted to start a post because i was wondering how everyone came across their Bonneville, how did you guys come to own your Bonneville. im talking about if you bought it from a friend and for how much if you would like to divulge it, or did you buy it from a lot and how much you bought it for, or like in my case my dad bought the 1993 ssei in late 1992 brand new fully loaded and its been in my family ever since, i inherited my Bonneville from my dad and since i grew up with her for over 17 years i naturally came to love my baby and that's why i drive it today, just wondering about some of your interesting stories, thanks

[redmetrix]

My parents bought the 97 SLE from a lot in January of 2001 for around $12,000. We had a nice 92 SE previously that got involved in an accident; as result we had to take a trip to the car lot since we needed a car. I remember it was dark outside and snowing, nice weather for car shopping. Mom spotted the black SLE and we took er for a drive. My Dad popped the hood and there was an L67 in there, at 11 years old, I was like "must have been a special order" LMAO. I was already pretty sharp on my knowledge of 92-99 Bonnevilles at the time. The salesman let us take it home with us that night before making any deal on it; after this we went ahead and bought it.

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

My Buick was a hand-me-down from an older relative who could no longer drive. They'd had it for 6 years and put 15k miles on it in that time. 3 of those years it was sitting outside in a parking lot rotting. It would get driven maybe 2 miles at a stretch once every 3-4 months. It got pushed on me as a convenience thing when my previous car was totaled, then I bought it outright and started driving it daily. The rest, as they say, is history pretty well documented on this board.

[harofreak00]

Bought mine on 10-30-2005 from a previous member on the old club, caminated2k. It had been previously the 3rd fastest Bonneville in the world, but had been slightly demodded. It was in pretty rough shape, but thats why I was able to get it for $4400, all the way back in '05, when it was booking at about $12k.


Drove 800 miles from Minnesota to Kentucky to pick it up. At 666 miles on the tripmeter, the engine started to let go and blew up a few miles later. Towed it home the rest of the way. Turns out a valve spring broke and dropped the valve, killing the engine.


I put a used engine in it, but then 2 months later, the ZZP built tranny let go. Thanks to our site owner Gordy, I was able to get it towed to a 3800 gearhead to swap in a used tranny for me.


However, unfortunately a tranny cooler line came off on the drive home, spilling out quarts of fluid all over the road. I repaired it on the side of the road, and was able to limp it home.


I bought it with 114k miles. It now has 177k. It hasn't let me down since the new engine and tranny have been put in. I have basically restored the car from ground up, and will finally finish it up this spring with a respray.

[John Deere Boy]

Andrew it looks like you car was trying to give birth.



Got mine in the fall of 2000 for $5000 at 106,000 miles. It had been sitting in a new neighbor's yard for a month, and every time i went past (on the school bus) i liked it more and more. Then after i bought it, i hated myself for buying a big "grandma's car" and figured i'd get teased at school. But after having it six months or so i really fell in love with it, and it's treated me very well in return. 167,000 miles now and the biggest repair has been the headliner.

Earliest pic i have digitized, last day of high school.

[ricosuave420]

good lord harofreak00, it looks like your bonnie was shot and bleeding to death, u, i can honestly say, are the most devoted bonneville owner i have ever met, the car falls apart right in front of your eyes and you just brush it off and keep a true image of beauty on the road, good to hear your almost done with her, what color are you going to paint her?
and very nice picture John Deere Boy, ur bonnie looks to be in great condition, same year as mine so thats pretty cool, glad to know the first (and yea i know that body style came out in 1992) of the 8th generation models are still on the road

[bonneville dan-o]

for my first bonne (2000 SSEI) i traded my 96 sunfire with 200K miles straight up for. bonne had 130K.


my GXP i searched for months for the right one. miles, price, color and options. went to the dealer and tried to buy it. they laughed cause of my age and wouldnt take me seriously. so the dealership that i im working for wrote me a check for it so i walked in and got it about a month after first trying to buy it.

[human]

Last October, I discovered that my '97 Cadillac Deville Concours had sprung a pretty serious oil leak and I was looking at a couple of grand to fix it. Instead, I started looking for a cheap car to replace it. After about three weeks of frustration, and almost buying a '94 model on eBay, then backing out on a low mileage '95 Regal with a suspicious title, I found my car advertised on Craigslist. A used car dealer in a nearby town had it. I was a little put off by the peeling paint, but once I got behind the wheel and took her down the road a piece, I knew this car was a keeper, especially at about $500 less than the cost of repairing the Caddy. I ended up selling the Caddy just before New Years for about what I paid for the Bonneville, so life is good. Maybe I'll get it painted someday, but for right now, she's my butt-ugly Bonnie and I know her true beauty is under the hood.

[L36Pontiac]

i found it online while at work and i drove to the dealership and test drove it and i think i bought it the same night. i fell in love with it soon as i saw it. i got it i think 6 years ago for 8k with 59,xxx miles and now it has 113,xxx miles.

[00Beast]

I found my first 00 SSEi on craigslist one day at school and watched the price drop for a few months until we finally were able to go look at it. $4750 and rolled away with a Black 2000 SSEi. Month and a week later she met the rear end of a pea-hauling truck. I hadn't sold my previous vehicle, a 98 Tahoe, and my parents wouldn't let me get a new Bonne till the Tahoe sold. This was June 2008, finally sold the Tahoe that October, IIRC the 18th. $3400 + $6200 from the totalled SSEi were BURNING a hole in my pocket.

That week, Marty (olblueeyesbonne) posted this thread: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 253#p59253

Went and looked at it and I was a little love-drunk with it being an 03 with XM, etc and ignored some issues (bad trans fluid, bald tires, ripped seat, no heated seats, etc), but we bit anyways. $7k later I drove home with a 2003 SSEi. Few weeks later put new tires on it, and at that point I had been a member here for 6 months, so I knew about the infamous LIM gaskets, so I planned to change those, and did with a few mods right around new year's. That February I did a pan drop, filter and shift kit to try and get some more miles out of it. Set it down off the lift and I lost reverse. She sat for a month and got a new trans, and it's all been (relatively) smooth sailing and modding since.

[wdean]

I was searching for either an Audi A6 or preferably a BMW 540i. After several disappointing long trips over a 6 month period to look at cars that were either driven really hard or just didn't have the right feel, I came to the conclusion that I was going to wait. I had a must have list: tinted windows, wood dash, chrome rims, leather and of course, fast. Then I saw an ad for an A6 about an hour away, off I went only to be disappointed again. So as I was driving home, I thought I wouldn't mind a nice Bonneville, they're pretty sharp looking and it's a GM so cheap and easy to fix. I looked on Kijiji when I got home and there was a silver 2001 SSEi just listed 20 minutes earlier for $2200.00, photos looked clean. This car was only 10 minutes from where I lived, and had everything on my list except the wood dash. Called them up, went over that night in the pouring rain and took it for a drive and fell in love with it - gave them $2000.00 cash without even looking under the hood or in the trunk!!, and have been smiling ever since. It also came with 4 winter tires and the previous owner had it detailed for when I picked it up the next day - I love my car and hope I have it for a long time to come. I get to rent a lot of cars for business trips but time and time again I can't wait to get back to drive the Bonneville.

[GoldenBullet]

My '88 was a hand me down from my grandma to my dad to my sister and then finally to me. The '93 was a Bonnie I found on craigslist and bought for $1700.

[vogie01]

Kind of a weird story on how I got my 2002 SLE that I have now. I acquired it from my fiancee Amber. When I met Amber I had a 2003 SE silver, and they were basically twins. I drove from Eagan, MN to Brainerd to take her on our first date. I picked her up and we were both wearing black sweaters and jeans. I ended up parking next to my now SLE, and they were twins. I walked her up to the passenger side to open the door, and she just laughed. She pointed at the SLE and said that was her car. Kind of weird. I traded in the SE to buy her the Flex we have when she graduated from college in 09.

[99BonnevilleSE]

Kind of a weird story on how I got my 2002 SLE that I have now. I acquired it from my fiancee Amber. When I met Amber I had a 2003 SE silver, and they were basically twins. I drove from Eagan, MN to Brainerd to take her on our first date. I picked her up and we were both wearing black sweaters and jeans. I ended up parking next to my now SLE, and they were twins. I walked her up to the passenger side to open the door, and she just laughed. She pointed at the SLE and said that was her car. Kind of weird. I traded in the SE to buy her the Flex we have when she graduated from college in 09.

That's a true love story right there!

[WhiteArrow3800]

The '93 was an Alltell company car when My parents bought around 1995 with 32k miles on it. I started driving it in 2005 and now mostly my brother drives it.

Some may remember why I bought the '01. In 2007 the '93 spun a bearing while at SEBF, and we took a chance on what looked like a good junkyard engine and sandrock swapped it in and 66 miles later spun a bearing. Dad and I went down to Florida to tow the car back home and ended up rebuilding the engine ourselves, but it took a while due to money for me at the time. Once things started rolling on the engine it had gone to the machine shop and at the time I had started college and wasn't living at home during the week. My dad had picked up the engine bock from the machine shop and called me either Monday or Tuesday. He had told me the block had cracked. I had called it quits on the 93 when he told me that. We had been trying to get it back on the road and this was the last straw. So that entire week I was furious and began looking for another car. I was looking for a beater-something but then I found this 2001 SSEi that fit in a price range I could deal with. I got home Friday afternoon to find that the "crack" in the engine block was drawn in by my dad as a joke! Anyway, once I had figured out I could actually afford the '01 it was stuck in my head. Took a few more weeks but we eventually went down to North Carolina and picked it up.

What a sick joke right!?

[Grommit500]

Bought my 00 SE for $500 with 143k miles just a few weeks ago from a friend who recently got back from Iraq. It's been sitting for about a year untouched. I've given it some love and still need to work on it some more, but it's running quite well.

[irish91983]

I got My 92 SSEi for $250 and had her for 4 great years. I found her on accident I was looking for a Grand Prix cause I owed 4 already but that time in my life. I saw the ad for the Ei and went to go take it look. The battery was dead and had a fuel leak and it was pouring rain so I said ill be back when its not raining. I went back and Just had to buy her. I jumped started her started right up found the fuel leak and fixed it right in her drive way and then drove one home. Im pretty sure the girl I bought it off of was pretty pissed that I had it fixed in less then 10 minutes. Then 4 years later differential goes and I sold her for more then what I paid and now have a 01 SSEi. I still miss the 92 alot owned it the longest out of any car but I love the 01 and plan to have it a lot more then 4 years.

[tripscarcare95]

My dad bought the SSei back in 1994 brand new off the lot in Fonthill Ontario. I still remember going with him to pick the car up, I was on 8 years old. He drove this car for 10 years or so before getting something new. The car was always rustchecked and maintained very well. The car is now my daily driver and I dont think I could ever part away from it. Its always been a garage car.

[John Deere Boy]

My dad bought the SSei back in 1994 brand new off the lot in Fonthill Ontario. I still remember going with him to pick the car up, I was on 8 years old. He drove this car for 10 years or so before getting something new. The car was always rustchecked and maintained very well. The car is now my daily driver and I dont think I could ever part away from it. Its always been a garage car.

That's awesome. Wish mine had had the same care before me.

[blackbeauty00]

i bought my 90 bon in 2006 with 146xxx mi and it went to heaven this year with 215xxx mi.

Got my 2000 ssei in march of 2008 off of craigslist in MN. it came from a Dairy farmers son, and it was orginally bought in PA and im the 3rd owner of it and it looks like i put the 3rd trans in.. still got it, drive it everyday.