i'm thinking a no on the trade up. as much as i want it to happen there were some very valid points said on both sides and i think i'm keeping LS, at least i know what i have and i have had some good memories. in the end there are plenty more monte carlos in the sea

 

I agree!!

 

Good point, you're talking about spending more than half of what the car is worth on an engine/trans upgrade- and you have to keep in mind that the rest of the car is old/worn out too. You've got to think about how much repair money you're willing to put in the car after the swap.

I totally agree- chances are on a small lot, its from an auto auction (likely was a dealer trade in before that)- and you have to think about why they traded it in in the first place, people don't get rid of cars because they're just running too well- people usually get rid of them when they're tired of multiple problems popping up.

Those little lots are great for people who have terrible credit and need some financing and a cheap car to get them to work.

IMO, if you really want an SS monte, I'd start looking at craigslist and local ad's. Sure it might take some time to find a good one for a good price, but at least you cut out 2 middle men.

For example, when I got my GXP, I traded my GTP in. That thing had a laundry list of problems with it (mostly minor stuff, but there was quite a bit)- the dealer did a detail and wax job- took it to the local auction, and it ended up at another lot near my work (odd that it went 1.5 hours away to auction and still ended up fairly close to the place that traded it in). All they did was re wash it, throw on some tire wet, and hose down the inside with fake 'new car smell' spray. Sure the car looked great, but after a couple weeks of driving it, you'd start noticing all the small problems (some of which wouldn't be obvious or occur on a test drive).