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I'm looking to buy a new Bonneville sometime soon and I've found a couple of good deals recently. One is an '02 Bronzemist SSEi with 75K miles loaded leather sunroof etc. for somewhere around $9,000. The other is an '04 GXP with 88K miles and all of the same features for $7,900. I'm a bit partial to the SSEi being a current owner of one and the Northstar worries me but overall the GXP is the better deal and truthfully a bit more stylish and attractive. So now I'm asking you guys for any insight on my situation or experiences between models etc. Any advice or info on either car would be great.

P.s. If anyone is selling their car you might PM me and tell me what you have. Looking for the body style/models mentioned above.

I have heard the GXP's are hit or miss with the reliability. As far as modding the GXP is what it is (no tuning with the locked PCM), the SSEi have a huge aftermarket and following. I had the same debate as you when I was looking at Bonnevilles and am very glad I went with the Ei

Personally, I'd go with the SSEi.

dpnewfie wrote:Personally, I'd go with the SSEi.

Any specific reason why?

Don't get me wrong, the GXP is a nice car. I just believe that if you are into modding the SSEi is the one for you.

Reliability comes into question with the GXP. I can attest to the fact that a well maintained N* will last a long time but you have no idea how that GXP was treated.

I definitely like modding. I was considering a possible methanol/water injection with the SSEi. I'm interested in the GXP because it's cosmetically appealing and newer but the SSEi is appealing in it's own right and has the opportunity for mods. I just don't want to make payments on something I regret lol

I definitely like modding. I was considering a possible methanol/water injection with the SSEi.

Ya! You won't regret choosing the EI over the XP.

Haha you guys are swaying me toward the SSEi. The Northstar is what really scares me of the GXP. Silver bullet do you have any info on water/methanol injection? Possible thread? I didn't realize anyone had done it already lol. Everything I've read seems positive about injection. How has your experience been?

An 02 with 75k? I'd hit that in a heartbeat. Between my SSEi and GXP, the SSEi is much more moddable, vs. the GXP where you put gas, oil and filters in and drive. The GXP is a little better in all aspects except speed, but not so much that I would recommend getting it over an SSEi with fewer miles.

I think W/M injection is kind of hit or miss on the 3800 S/C. You'll be better off doing a tune up and basic mods on the SSEi, then going from there.

00Beast wrote:An 02 with 75k?

Yeah, and it was driven by a couple in their 60's. It drove like a dream and the backseat looked like it hadn't been sat in even once. I'm not to excited about the color, mainly because it's almost identical to my '95. I'll see what I can do with a negotiation of the price tomorrow and go from there.

I have owned several of these cars, currently my daughter drives a 2000 SSEi and I had a 2002 SSEi and I enjoyed them both when I drove them. I currently drive an 05 GXP and every now and then I drive my daughters 2000 SSEi, it is tough for me to go back, the GXP, to me, is so much more refined and the N* has a very smooth power curve. When the SC really kicks in, the surge is nice but I prefer the smoothness of the GXP, it gets the RPM up so fast and smooth. Others here have said the SC should have a smooth transition when the SC cranks up but I have owned 4 or 5 of the SC cars and they all were the same. The other thing about the GXP, and I have owned enough V6's to know, the V6 exhaust note is unpleasant to me but the N* exhaust sound is a thing of beauty which cannot be duplicated with a V6. I also prefer the styling of the 04-05 Bonnevilles but that is a personal preference thing.

I would agree with the consensus here though, if mods are what you are into, there really is no choice, go with the SSEi. I am at the point in life where I want to drive my car and only worry about maintenance, not mods and the tinkering that goes with it, and the GXP fills that requirement.

I put a K&N air filter panel in my GXP and that's pretty much it for mods, otherwise the only real mod choice is whether to use mid-grade or Premium gas in it when you fill up, which will be fairly often with the V8.

I appreciate the input. I really didn't know a thing about the GXP's until today.

If you are really into the look of the GXP, try looking for a SLE and that has the N/A 3800. Top swap that and you have a GXP with an SSEi engine practically. That's what I would do if I was in the market for a newer Bonneville. But for now my 99 SE is great
Just a suggestion and another option for you to consider.

You could also get an 03 SSEi and swap out GXP parts like the taillights, spoiler, interior carbon fiber trim, suede insert seats, headlights, Etc.

I think Andrew has that done on his SSEi plus more....

Blown93SSEi wrote:You could also get an 03 SSEi and swap out GXP parts like the taillights, spoiler, interior carbon fiber trim, suede insert seats, headlights, Etc.

I think Andrew has that done on his SSEi plus more....

Yeah I knew some of the stuff was interchangeable. Is that the case if I get the '02?

That's a huge cost, unless you find a t-boned GXP in your color or something for dirt cheap. It's taken me 2 years to find a set of flipping GXP vents for my SSEi. If you buy an SSEi, don't plan on having GXP parts in/on it.

i love my GXP..... but really do miss the ability to mod... and of course the supercharger whine

mike2fix wrote:I currently drive an 05 GXP and every now and then I drive my daughters 2000 SSEi, it is tough for me to go back, the GXP, to me, is so much more refined and the N* has a very smooth power curve. When the SC really kicks in, the surge is nice but I prefer the smoothness of the GXP, it gets the RPM up so fast and smooth. Others here have said the SC should have a smooth transition when the SC cranks up but I have owned 4 or 5 of the SC cars and they all were the same. The other thing about the GXP, and I have owned enough V6's to know, the V6 exhaust note is unpleasant to me but the N* exhaust sound is a thing of beauty which cannot be duplicated with a V6. I also prefer the styling of the 04-05 Bonnevilles but that is a personal preference thing.

I would agree with the consensus here though, if mods are what you are into, there really is no choice, go with the SSEi. I am at the point in life where I want to drive my car and only worry about maintenance, not mods and the tinkering that goes with it, and the GXP fills that requirement.

Pretty much why I brought home an 85,000 mile 04 GXP this week to replace my 95 SSEi. I paid considerably less than the $7900 GXP in question in this thread, too. The Northstar does indeed scare me, but my new 04 has a completely redone top end and all major failure points have been fixed in the last 10,000 miles. Otherwise I wouldn't even have looked at it.

I'm not really looking to mod it either, so the GXP is a-okay in my books. Handling is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the 95.

While I do not have Northstar per se, I do have a very close variant of said engine and quite frankly I enjoy the motoring experience more in my Aurora then I do in my GTP (Series III 3800...very potent mill FWIW), but my level of modification interest has waned quite a bit...probably due to the Aurora and its lack of performance modability (new word )

It truly depends on how you want your power delivered, having both powertrains gives me nice options depending on my mood.