Today marks 3000 miles i've driven on my monte since i bought it and i decided to make a topic for it and talk about whats been done, what needs to be done and what i want to do to it.

History:
I bought this car in mid july of this year for just $1000 off craigs list. I had been in the market for a car for a long time but really had no money After my graduation party i recieved some more funds, still not much in the world of cars. But anyway i saw this ad for a 97 monte carlo, it looked in decent shape and was local so i figured i'd go take a look. I took it for a test drive, looked it over and found nothing wrong, i was amazed for a thousand bucks how can this be Told the seller i liked it and we did the paper work and such and now it's mine.

Things that had been done:
I was amazed that this car needed nothing to be used, had new tires and brakes and everything was taken care of. The only thing was the a/c compressor was gone Being a commuter car i decided to have a new compressor installed and the a/c works good ever since. The only other thing that's been done is 1 oil change and i had a slow leaking tire fixed.

Issues:
Lets see my issues list is as follows. Busted center console lid, drivers side window doesn't work right, a/c sometimes goes from face to feet on its own. I have an out of balance wheel, the front speakers dont work 100% and the sunroof suposidly doesn't work. The traction control/antilock brake system does not function at all

Plans:
There are some things i would like to do such as get a better sounding muffler. Replace my radio as the current one has a broken cd player and alot of the lights are out, possibly add a subwoofer to the system.

The bad:
I cant say too many bad things about this car really. My only complaints are it's turning radius is terrible The auto light system is a bit crude and sometimes drives me nuts and the cup holder is a bit too small. Nothing really major to complain about.

Overview:
Overall i'm impressed with this car. Its quite comfortable to use as a commuter car and does reasonable on gas. I've been getting 23-25mpg and my commute is about 80% highway. My last tank i actually got 26mpg, which for a car that has 137k miles and is 14 years old i dont think is too bad. My commute right now is 3 days a week at roughly 120 miles per day and its back and forth to college. The car is not cheaply made either its nice. The dash has some soft vynal parts do it, the doors are covered in a suede like material. Its not an all plastic interior like alot of modern cars. In the end i'm glad i got the car i have and i hope it lasts me a while.

Excuse my long winded post, but it is a report:p

 

Good stuff. Sounds like it was a great deal.

 

nice report, great information, A+ for you!

 

thanks, i hope i dont sound like i'm bragging as that wasn't my intention

 

if u get the time hit the boneyard and see if u can replace that ccracked piece to the interior. ever since i bought my 94 z34 lumina i loved the idea of a monte carlo. hope it makes u a die hard monte fanatic

 

after reading about the center console lid being a common problem i'm actually not gonna bother fixing it, as it'll probally just break again.

 

Deff sounds like u got a good deal

 

Hi `Keane,
I enjoyed reading your update on your first 3K miles..
I think you got yourself a super deal on a super Monte Carlo for only $1K + your repair cost...

It's difficult to find a decent ride for $1K that even runs or needs tons of $'s invested to get it running & keep it running.
Wish you many more safe/happy/trouble`free miles in your Monte Carlo...Thanks for all your contributions to the MCF It's great that you are gifted with a great mind & chose a Monte Carlo + you got a scholarship for college to help you obtain your dreams. Good Luck