2004 Dale Jr edition SS, is it worth this?
#1
11-26-2009, 05:20 AM
2004 Dale Jr edition SS, is it worth this?
Hi, I'm looking at possibly buying a 2004 Dale Jr edition MC SS. Its a one owner car. The lady who owns it got it in the divorce so I'm not sure if it was her car or her ex husbands. Car is in very good shape and has 87,800 miles on it. Its pretty well loaded with everything and she even has the original window sticker and certificate. It has been garaged its whole life except for the last six months. She won't go any lower than $8,500. Is this a good deal for a private seller.? Almost all of the other Dale Jr cars I've seen for sale are from dealers who are asking quite a bit more.
What are some problem areas to look for on these cars? I test drove it last week and it runs good. There seems to be a clunk in the steering column though and the tach gauge seems to jump around a little. Initially the sunroof didn't seem to want to go back but it eventually did and her new husband said that she never hardly used it.
Its a sharp car and I really like it but I want to make sure the price is right and what problem areas to look out for. I'm not very familiar with this generation of MC. I'm a long time Monte Carlo owner though. I have a 1970 MC with a 396/400 turbo combo. Not the factory engine but its fun. I've had it for 22 1/2 years. Thanks for any info you can give.
Wayne
What are some problem areas to look for on these cars? I test drove it last week and it runs good. There seems to be a clunk in the steering column though and the tach gauge seems to jump around a little. Initially the sunroof didn't seem to want to go back but it eventually did and her new husband said that she never hardly used it.
Its a sharp car and I really like it but I want to make sure the price is right and what problem areas to look out for. I'm not very familiar with this generation of MC. I'm a long time Monte Carlo owner though. I have a 1970 MC with a 396/400 turbo combo. Not the factory engine but its fun. I've had it for 22 1/2 years. Thanks for any info you can give.
Wayne
Last edited by 70monte1; 11-26-2009 at 04:27 PM. Reason: additional info
#2
11-26-2009, 06:00 AM
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 5,611
Price seems pretty good to me. I still owe more then that on mine (after 3 years of large payments), although mine is lower mileage. I never even got a COA, let alone the window sticker. At 87,000 miles it has seen some use, but I'd say its cheap enough and you should buy it if its in good shape. The intermediate steering shaft clunk you hear is a known problem for these cars. It isn't an expensive fix and does not reflect the quality of the rest of the car
#4
11-26-2009, 06:14 AM
...Hi `Wayne & Welcome to the Monte Carlo Family.Sounds like a SuperSuper $ Price $ for a Dale `Jr. Does the lady have service records ? If you are not a mechanic (?) I would have a complete check of this Monte.
Check back on your thread (?) & I'm sure many of our member's will post their thoughts & opinions.
Hope you take pictures & share
We also would luv 2 C your 70 Monte Carlo 4-Sure. Keep us updated on what you decide....Good Luck & Happy ThanksGiving....Buy that Jr Edition & U will have more 2 be thankful 4 : )EnJoy the MCF....Good Luck from `Space
#5
11-26-2009, 11:49 AM
Hi Wayne.
Welcome to the Monte Carlo Forum!
Both JuniorCar and I own the Dale Jr car you're looking at. Among a few others here on the forum.
JuniorCar already addressed the clunk you heard in the steering. A lot of 2000 and up GM cars get that. Not a major concern. I had it on mine, and the dealership service guys took care of it when I got my oil changed.
The guage problem you mentioned is very common on 2000-2005 Monte Carlos. On mine, the temperature guage went. This is not a simple repair unfortunately. This requires the replacement of the faulty guage. If done by the dealership, they will have to special order the entire guage cluster from GM. Because it has Dale Jr's signature and his #8 logo in the speedo. They will then swap out the entire guage cluster, and the bad one goes back to GM for refurbishing.
Or if you're experienced in taking a dash apart, and you're feeling ambitious, you could remove the guage cluster yourself. Then replace the bad guage yourself.
The price you mentioned sounds like a good price. Providing there's no hidden issues with it. Like accidents, water damage, etc...
About a year ago, someone here found a Dale Jr Monte Carlo at a used car dealership with a VERY good price. Too good to be true price. Eventually found out the car was recovered from a river. But this doesn't sound like your case.
To me this sounds like the car was his, and she got it in the settlement. Sounds like she just wants the car gone, and isn't interested in negotiating for the highest bidder.
The fact she has the Certificate of Authenticity and the window sticker is a huge plus. Many owners of these cars didn't get either of them when they bought the car used. And GM claims they won't make duplicates. But that only matters if you really care about having the Cert. of Authenticity.
Personally, I would do a Carfax on it if I were you. Just in case.
Hope this helps.
Welcome to the Monte Carlo Forum!
Both JuniorCar and I own the Dale Jr car you're looking at. Among a few others here on the forum.
JuniorCar already addressed the clunk you heard in the steering. A lot of 2000 and up GM cars get that. Not a major concern. I had it on mine, and the dealership service guys took care of it when I got my oil changed.
The guage problem you mentioned is very common on 2000-2005 Monte Carlos. On mine, the temperature guage went. This is not a simple repair unfortunately. This requires the replacement of the faulty guage. If done by the dealership, they will have to special order the entire guage cluster from GM. Because it has Dale Jr's signature and his #8 logo in the speedo. They will then swap out the entire guage cluster, and the bad one goes back to GM for refurbishing.
Or if you're experienced in taking a dash apart, and you're feeling ambitious, you could remove the guage cluster yourself. Then replace the bad guage yourself.
The price you mentioned sounds like a good price. Providing there's no hidden issues with it. Like accidents, water damage, etc...
About a year ago, someone here found a Dale Jr Monte Carlo at a used car dealership with a VERY good price. Too good to be true price. Eventually found out the car was recovered from a river. But this doesn't sound like your case.
To me this sounds like the car was his, and she got it in the settlement. Sounds like she just wants the car gone, and isn't interested in negotiating for the highest bidder.
The fact she has the Certificate of Authenticity and the window sticker is a huge plus. Many owners of these cars didn't get either of them when they bought the car used. And GM claims they won't make duplicates. But that only matters if you really care about having the Cert. of Authenticity.
Personally, I would do a Carfax on it if I were you. Just in case.
Hope this helps.
#6
11-26-2009, 04:13 PM
Hi guys, thanks for the warm welcome. I'm pretty mechanically inclined and have been working on my own vehicles since I was eighteen
How expensive is the gauge fix. I could probably remove the gauge cluster and take out the bad gauge since I removed the original cluster on my 92 Cavalier RS and put one from a Z24 in it that had more gauges and a tach as well as replacing the original gauge cluster in my 70 MC with one that had the factory tach and gauges. I also had to do some wire swapping in the plug in so all the gauges would work correctly.
Taz, you are correct, she wants to get rid of the car because it reminds her of her ex and that whole mess. I don't know about the maintence records but her ad on the car said it has been well maintained. I pulled off the oil fill tube and its as clean as it can be on the rockers and head that I can see. It also has a new battery.
It is #473 of 2883 so its a low numbered car. Thanks again for all of the help.
Wayne
How expensive is the gauge fix. I could probably remove the gauge cluster and take out the bad gauge since I removed the original cluster on my 92 Cavalier RS and put one from a Z24 in it that had more gauges and a tach as well as replacing the original gauge cluster in my 70 MC with one that had the factory tach and gauges. I also had to do some wire swapping in the plug in so all the gauges would work correctly.
Taz, you are correct, she wants to get rid of the car because it reminds her of her ex and that whole mess. I don't know about the maintence records but her ad on the car said it has been well maintained. I pulled off the oil fill tube and its as clean as it can be on the rockers and head that I can see. It also has a new battery.
It is #473 of 2883 so its a low numbered car. Thanks again for all of the help.
Wayne
#7
11-26-2009, 07:05 PM
If you're able to get the cluster out and do the work yourself, it should only cost you the amount of the one guage you need. Instead of the entire cluster.
Plus your time and the beer.
I wouldn't let the steering clunk and the guage thing stop you from buying the car. If the car is in as good a shape as you describe, I'd go for it. Hell, that's less than half the price I paid for mine two years ago.
Plus your time and the beer.
I wouldn't let the steering clunk and the guage thing stop you from buying the car. If the car is in as good a shape as you describe, I'd go for it. Hell, that's less than half the price I paid for mine two years ago.
#8
11-26-2009, 09:21 PM
Well, as someone suggested, I bought a Carfax subscription and ran a record of this car. I did find one thing that does concern me. The car has been in an accident with a stationary object. The report says no airbags were deployed so I don't know how bad the damage was. Looking at the car the other day, I didn't see anything obvious that showed there had been previous damage. I didn't look underneath the car though. At 58,354 miles, the report shows that the dash gauges were checked at our local chevy dealer so that probably shows that there has been some gauge issues for awhile. There are a few records of oil and filter changes. I also remember that when I drove it the other day, the front end shook just a little at higher speeds. That could just be an alignment or balance issue.
The report shows that there are two owners which I'm assuming the current owner is when the wife took sole possession of the car after the divorce. At 82,156 miles, one day before a new owner was reported, a maintenance inspection was completed by the local chevy dealer. In September it shows the title or registration was updated when the owner moved the car to a new location which is kind of strange since the title or registration was issued to a new owner in February.
The knowledge that the car has been in an accident has kind of cooled my desire to buy it. I'm going to call the owner tomorrow and find out some info about the accident. I'll let you guys know what I find out.
Wayne
The report shows that there are two owners which I'm assuming the current owner is when the wife took sole possession of the car after the divorce. At 82,156 miles, one day before a new owner was reported, a maintenance inspection was completed by the local chevy dealer. In September it shows the title or registration was updated when the owner moved the car to a new location which is kind of strange since the title or registration was issued to a new owner in February.
The knowledge that the car has been in an accident has kind of cooled my desire to buy it. I'm going to call the owner tomorrow and find out some info about the accident. I'll let you guys know what I find out.
Wayne
