1990-91 Bonneville Information.

[Benvw99]

So there's this 1990-91 (?) bonneville for sale in my town, and I was thinking about getting a winter beater, because it can't cost too much. I would like info such as their reliability and common problems.

I don't know if pontiac even made packages, but I will guess it is an se, because it has cloth seats. It does come with the alloy wheels though. Not much else.

[nos4blood70]

Not much really goes wrong on those cars, in their entirety. Just check to see if it's rusty and if the motor is leaky or not.

[crash93ssei]

The '87 - '91 were rock solid. Look for rust around the rear of the front subframe and make sure the trans shifts good and fluid isn't burnt. If those three check out it will basically last forever.

[Keepin'her_going]

I bought a 91 LE with 96K on the odometer. They are good cars, but old cars. You might end up having to do hub bearings, and fix seals and gaskets here and there. But that's any old car for ya.

[1oldman]

I bought a 91 LE with 96K on the odometer. They are good cars, but old cars. You might end up having to do hub bearings, and fix seals and gaskets here and there. But that's any old car for ya.

That is so true about old cars, and a few new ones. - BC

[wjcollier07]

Positively rock solid cars. An SE for a 90 or 91 is a mid-range car, which should have at least a few options (trust me when I say that the Bonneville was available in some seriously stripped down versions in these years). I will tell you with absolute certainty that if I came across a random Bonneville from that generation in good condition for a good deal that I'd buy it in a second. Really good cars.

Don't forget though, as already stated, this is now a VERY old car. When I bought my '89, it was younger than my Avalon is now. My reference on the car is it being a 15 year old car...not a 25 year old car. There will certainly be things that need attention and certain parts are starting to get a little thin.

[redmetrix]

I'm interested in seeing pictures of it. As the others have said, very reliable cars. And as John said in previous post, if you find an 87-91 that's been kept in nice condition, it is a really good find.

[rustyroger]

My '86 Olds 88 and '88 Buick LeSabre both have over 150k behind them, they both run just fine.

Roger.

[SSEBonne4evr]

My 91 SSE had 145,000 when I sold it, motor ran like new, but start getting
int water leaks all over the place.
the seals dry out over time. My 96 just started to leak also.

[Benvw99]

Ok I got all the information on it finally.

1991 pontiac bonneville
191k miles
Garage-kept
Been serviced its whole life
Asking $1500 for it.


I can probably talk him down on it, but is there any chance that I could take parts from an up-level 91 bonne and put it on this one and resell it for more? Here are some pics.

[crash93ssei]

Looks like a good solid car, I would try to talk them down a little though. I don't think it would be a horrible buy for $1,500 as they are very reliable cars, but cheaper is always better.

As for adding parts from an SSE or even an SE, yes you can. However, the problem lies in not only finding one, but finding one in good enough condition to swap the parts over, then worrying about painting exterior parts to match. Reality here is that unless you are ridiculously lucky enough to find one in the right color for stupid cheap then there is no possible way you can buy one for parts (or just buy the parts) to swap on this one then sell it in the future for more money then you would have in it. Either buy it and drive as is or buy it and pay to get the parts you want and put them on with the realization that you will not make that money back.

[Benvw99]

So my best bet on if I buy this car is to use it as is? If so that was what I was thinking too. Might fix up some parts around the body, just to make it a little better.

[crash93ssei]

Some time with a good wash, thorough clay bar, and a good wax job will really make it look nice, take it a step further with some 17" wheels from a 2000+ Bonneville and it will be nice looking without too much money invested.

[Keepin'her_going]

I love those mudflaps!

[Benvw99]

Yeah they're pretty beast - a good 3 inches!